President’s Budget Comes Out Next Week

House Republicans announced new restrictions on Community Project funds just weeks before deadline for constituents’ submissions. Even as the new House Republican majority agreed to continue the practice of funding Community Projects through the annual appropriations process, the House Appropriations Committee issued new guidance this week that significantly limits the scope and type of projects that House Members may request, including a ban on any projects in the popular Labor, HHS, and Education bill and the Financial Services and General Government bill. These newly announced House restrictions will also inevitably increase constituent requests to Senate offices, where the guidance remains unchanged. This will set up an interesting dynamic where the Senate Labor-HHS-Ed and FSGG bills will include projects, and the House bills will not. Those differences will need to be reconciled in any final measure. WSW is working directly with clients to make the necessary adjustments in the very short window before House and Senate deadlines. You can read more here. These restrictions will add yet another complicating factor in a year where finalizing FY24 appropriations bills in a divided Congress was already going to be extremely difficult, with major disagreements on overall spending for defense and domestic programs.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

President Biden’s budget will be released on March 9th. This will officially kick off the annual budget and appropriations process in the House and Senate with Administration officials heading to Capitol Hill for high profile budget hearings. They will be defending their budget requests for both defense and discretionary spending and setting the stage for broader battles between the Administration and Congress on topline spending, entitlement programs, and underscoring the need to raise the debt limit in the months to come. As reported, Biden’s budget will cut the federal deficit by $2 trillion over the next 10 years, but House Republicans have already signaled that they will not accept a budget that does not include more significant cuts. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy publicly agreed to take Social Security and Medicare entitlement programs off the table after Biden called out fringe Republican plans to sunset those programs. That leaves plenty of other items in the budget for Congress to negotiate over, and with a looming debt ceiling crisis, appropriators may have to pick and choose which funding is prioritized.

The newly established House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party held its first hearing on Tuesday. Led by Chairman Mike Gallagher this inaugural hearing for the bipartisan committee took place during primetime on Tuesday evening. Chairman Gallagher took particular care to focus the committee on addressing issues like human rights and strategic competition between the Chinese government and the United States. He characterized this competition as “an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century.” The hearing included testimony from former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster and former Deputy National Security Adviser and China expert Matthew Pottinger who compared this strategic competition as akin to the Cold War. Democratic Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi said that efforts to democratize and liberalize the Chinese government through open trade and investment had been miscalculated and had instead provided the Chinese government with a treasure trove of U.S. business and government intelligence. The hearing touched on a variety of interrelated issues, including China’s militant posture towards Taiwan, the possibility that they would support Russia’s war against Ukraine, the recent shootdown of the Chinese spy balloon, and the data concerns over the app TikTok. WSW will continue to monitor these hearings and provide periodic updates.

The Supreme Court heard arguments about Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan this week. Tuesday began oral arguments for the president’s plan which if upheld would cancel $10,000 or $20,000 for all applicants which currently have outstanding student loans. The administration’s argument to provide this unprecedented amount of student loan forgiveness is based on the 2003 HEROES Act which grants broad authority to the Secretary of Education to unilaterally “modify” or “waive” federal student aid programs in response to a national emergency. 5 of the 9 justices expressed some amount of skepticism of the administration’s authority to use the law in this way, but the outcome of this decision is still up in the air until there is a ruling in June. The immediate impacts from this program, either if it is upheld or blocked, could be to the national debt when the government is suddenly saddled with another obligation.

House in Recess, Senate Focuses on Judicial Confirmations and Appropriations

This week in Congress the Senate cleared their 100th judicial nominee for President Biden, exceeding the pace Republicans set under President Trump and Democrats set under President Obama. With 87 more current vacancies and 46 pending nominations, Biden is well positioned to put his stamp on the court system. While both chambers are in recess next week, their members will stay busy traveling internationally on a CODEL to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference. Items of discussion will undoubtedly include Russia’s renewed offensive in Ukraine and the war’s effect on Europe and the world more broadly.

When lawmakers are back in session, they will face a slightly more urgent window to raise the debt ceiling after the Congressional Budget Office issued a revised estimate for how long the Treasury Department’s extraordinary actions can stave off a default. They predict the deadline to be anywhere between July and September, earlier than the Administration’s previous benchmark of August.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

Federal officials visited East Palestine, Ohio this week following a train derailment and chemical spill. The small town of about 5,000 residents near the Pennsylvania border gained national attention after multiple carcinogens were released into the air and water. On Thursday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the town to reassure residents that the air and municipal water quality had been tested and were found to be safe, although private wells would need to be tested individually. Regan also went on to say that his agency would be going after operator Norfolk Southern Railway stating the “EPA will exercise our oversight and our enforcement authority under the law to be sure we are getting the results that the community deserves.” Ohio lawmakers across the aisle are requesting additional federal resources and congressional action to address this issue.

The Supreme Court has cancelled oral arguments on a pandemic-related immigration case. This immigration rule, known as Title 42, is a holdover from the Trump Administration’s decision to limit asylum seekers from entering the country during the pandemic. Although the Supreme Court has not issued a statement about their decision to scrap oral arguments, it seems likely that the Biden Administration’s plan to end the Public Health Emergency in May influenced their decision. Without this restriction in place, the Administration will revert to alternative regulations, including a planned “transit ban” which will curtail the ability of migrants to apply for asylum unless they have first been denied from a safe harbor country and have entered through an authorized port of entry. Biden has been facing immense criticism of his handling of the southern border, and this pressure is likely to grow if ending Title 42 causes migration to spike. Republicans in the House have used their majority to hold multiple hearings on what they are calling the “Biden Border Crisis.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee has announced Subcommittee Chairs. Deadlines for Members’ requests to the Committee are expected to be announced shortly and will come as early as early March through mid-April, with Member-office deadlines even earlier.

Congress Finalizing Committee Rosters and Awaiting FY24 Appropriations Guidance & Deadlines

On Tuesday President Biden delivered his State of the Union address to Congress, concluding that the country is strong because its people are strong. Much has already been written about the raucous crowd with its mix of applause and booing throughout, just as much has already been said about Biden’s apparent campaign slogan, “let’s finish the job,” a phrase he uttered a dozen times. Biden signaled a number of ‘pie in the sky’ policy priorities, including an assault weapons ban, police reform, and rewriting the tax code to go after the ultra-wealthy. Biden is also leaving the door open for cooperation with the Republican House, congratulating Speaker McCarthy on his new role. He’ll need their help to raise the debt limit and pass the annual appropriations bills that keep government operating at a minimum. The President also threatened to veto any legislation to cut Medicare and Social Security or that would undue his legislative accomplishments. Biden hit the road after the SOTU, heading to key battleground states, with all current signs indicating his intention to run for re-election in 2024.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

Congressional hearings are underway, with both Administration and Industry officials targets on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the Capitol. The House Oversight and Accountability Committee held a hearing on Big Tech censorship, bringing in former top Twitter executives to answer questions including from sitting Members of Congress who were previously banned from Twitter for their political views. The new Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) held its first hearing on Thursday, featuring testimony from members of Congress and frequent Fox News guests who accused the government of unfairly targeting conservatives and big tech of censorship. Department of Defense officials faced tough questions in the Senate on the handling of the Chinese spy balloon over the US and coming soon, the new Chair of the Senate HELP Committee Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced he is calling in Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz before his Committee on March 9th over the company’s efforts to squash labor unions. Notably, the House Ways & Means Committee under their new Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) conducted his first hearing on the road, with a field hearing Monday on the state of the economy held at a lumber company in Appalachia. Chairman Smith has said he wants to take committee hearings on the road to break out of the bubble of Washington.

Appropriations Update: We continue to await both Member and Committee deadlines for FY24 funding requests. To date, very few Member offices have set late February or early March deadlines for constituents to submit funding requests with the vast majority of Members expected to set their deadlines soon. We will update you directly and in real-time on the Member deadlines that impact you. An even bigger question remains which is what the topline spending levels will be, as House Republicans are demanding a return to FY22 spending levels which could mark a $130 billion reduction from the current FY23 baseline. If they hold defense spending harmless, that would mean significant spending cuts in domestic spending programs of the magnitude of 8% if applied equally across the board. It is possible House Republicans would “mark” their bills to those numbers, only to have the Senate ignore and mark to higher levels, with an inevitable and consequential showdown come fall.

Ending the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency. The Department of Health and Human Services has released a fact sheet on their Transition Roadmap to ending the Public Health Emergency consistent with the Administration’s announcement last week. The emergency is scheduled to end on May 11, 2023. Check out what will and will not be affected here.

House District Recess. The House goes on a two-week district recess today through the February 27th. As Members return to doing more public events, your WSW team continue to work with you to engage your key Members both at home in their state and districts as well as here in Washington.

White House FY24 Budget Proposal to be Released on March 9th

On Tuesday, February 9th at 9pm, President Biden will give his second State of the Union address, and notably his first since Republicans narrowly flipped the House. He is expected to focus on Democratic accomplishments over the past two years to strengthen the US economy at home and abroad. He is also expected to address police reform and the parents of Tyre Nichols are expected to be guests at the speech. Some Senate Democrats have expressed renewed interest in the 2021 George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, while leading Republicans including Sen. Tim Scott have called it a nonstarter. The President is also likely to discuss his recent meeting with Speaker McCarthy and call on Congress to act early and swiftly to raise the debt ceiling.

Over this past week leading up to the State of the Union, President Biden has been crisscrossing the country to tout a number of accomplishments from the new infrastructure and CHIPS legislation. On Monday Biden traveled to Baltimore and New York City to projects including the Gateway Tunnel between New Jersey and New York. President Biden and Vice President Harris will also visit Philadelphia today to highlight the removal of lead pipes throughout the city.

March 9 FY24 Budget Release. The White House has also announced that they will release their proposed FY24 budget on March 9th. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has signaled that he wants spending levels to go back down to pre-pandemic levels, marking a stark difference between both parties’ budget priorities and signaling a tough road ahead to reach agreement on discretionary spending, for both defense and domestic programs, prior to the new fiscal year which starts October 1.

Important Reminder on Impending Member and Appropriations Committee deadlines. The President’s budget is the formal kick off of the FY24 annual Congressional appropriations process. Members of Congress are already beginning to set their internal deadlines for constituents to make recommendations and funding requests to their offices. The Appropriations Committees will also set the deadlines shortly by which Members have to submit their priorities to the Committee. We will advise you directly of specific deadlines that impact you, but we anticipate these deadlines to come quickly and be very tight, particularly in the House, so now is the time to finalize priorities. Your WSW team will continue to work with you to finalize your priorities and meet these deadlines.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

Biden announces end of COVID Emergency. On Monday the Biden Administration announced the COVID-19 public health emergency will officially end on May 11th after being extended 19 times over the course of three years. This decision will impact the Title 42 border policy, Medicare and Medicaid benefits and flexibilities which were expanded under the emergency (with the exception of telehealth which will largely continue through 2024), FDA emergency use authorization, as well as private health insurance which provided no cost coverage of covid vaccines, testing and treatment. It will also impact policies such as the three year long pause on student loan interest accrual and repayment. Details on the nature of the changes are sparse and officials said the administration would use the next three months to transition the response to conventional methods, warning that an immediate end to the emergency authorities would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty.

House kicks off hearings by targeting the Biden Administration. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “The Biden Border Crisis: Part I” while the Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing titled “Federal Pandemic Spending: A Prescription for Waste Fraud and Abuse.” Republicans are coming out swinging against what they have deemed wasteful spending and mismanagement by the Biden Administration. These types of hearings will only pick up in pace in the weeks and months to come.

House Select Committee on China Sets Key Priorities

Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will be joined by a dozen other Republicans on the 16-member committee who were announced earlier this week by Leader McCarthy. Democrats have yet to name their 3 members to the committee. Gallagher says the committee’s focus will be on hard security issues, like providing miliary equipment to Taiwan to defend themselves against Chinese aggression, as well as more niche topics, like banning Tik Tok and investigating Chinese land purchases near US military bases. Overall, the committee will worry less about determining funding levels and more on influencing policy decisions. Gallagher also wants to try an influence the next National Defense Authorization Act, but he will have to hurry to get achieve that goal. Hearings are expected to begin in early March at the latest.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

House Committee assignments are still being made. Throughout this week, the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee met to populate committees in the House while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced committee assignments for new Democratic members. However, both legislative bodies need final adjustments before things are set in stone. In the Senate, this could happen as early as next week — they are just waiting to adopt an organizing resolution. In the House, the process is trickier because member preferences and seniority are coming to a head with the agreed upon ratios established by Republicans and Democrats. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy has complicated things further by blocking Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from serving on the House Intelligence Committee. Leader McCarthy is also looking to expel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee for her stance on Israel, but that will require a floor vote.

This jockeying at the top is affecting which members will retain seats on committees. Adam Schiff for example, now that he’s blocked from House Intel, can choose to serve on either Appropriations or on Judiciary where he could bump another member to retain his seat. This kind of interaction is happening all across the House at the moment and is partly why committees have been slow to fill their rosters.

Despite the setbacks, two House Committees under their new Republican Chairs have announced their first hearings, including one on February 1st which will address the Fentanyl Crisis, a cyber security breach of Suicide Hotlines, and discrimination against individuals with disabilities. LINK TO HEARING NOTICE

Two more House Democrats announce Senate campaigns. On Thursday, Adam Schiff announced his campaign for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s seat in California. He joins Rep. Katie Porter in what is expected to be a crowded field. California’s jungle primary system means the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, will advance to the general election. In an interview following his announcement Schiff said that he spoke with Sen. Feinstein before announcing and that his office and hers remain in constant contact given their history as lead Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committees. Senator Feinstein has not yet announced her intentions for the 2024 election, but she is expected by many to retire.

In bordering Arizona, Rep. Ruben Gallego announced his campaign on Tuesday to run in the Democratic primary for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat. This announcement comes just over a month after Sen. Sinema switched from a Democrat to an Independent after years of blocking more progressive initiatives in the Senate. Sinema has not yet announced whether she will run for reelection, and Democrats may have to worry about an independent campaign that splits the vote and hands a Senate seat to the Republicans. Gallego raised more than a million dollars for his campaign on Day 1, breaking the Arizona record for the number of contributions in a single day with 27,000 supporters.

Treasury Department Warns of Default by Mid-June

On Thursday this week, the United States officially hit the debt limit. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has announced the Department will take so-called “extraordinary measures” to continue to meet financial obligations. These measures are expected to keep the U.S. Government solvent until June but, in a letter to Congress, Yellen urged action to raise the debt limit above the current limit of $31.4 trillion to avoid defaulting on the debt and to do so sooner rather than later to avoid unnecessary harm to the U.S. and global financial markets and the U.S. economy. The United States has never defaulted on its debt, and experts agree that the consequences of doing so would be catastrophic.

House Republican leadership is opposed to raising the debt limit ceiling without significant cuts to both discretionary spending and entitlement programs, while Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declared there will be no default on the debt. The White House has already called House Republican demands a non-starter. The necessity of raising the debt limit will have significant consequences this new Congress and will increase in volatility the closer we get to the projected date.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

The Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee launched their first probe. Chair James Comer (R-KY) kicked off the first of any anticipated investigations into President Joe Biden after recent revelations that, similar to former President Trump, he too was in possession of classified documents after leaving office. The documents in question have been found at his Delaware home and at the Penn Biden Center in an unsecured closet located at the University of Pennsylvania. Biden’s own U.S. Justice Department Attorney General Garland acted to appoint a special prosecutor, which could stymie requests for documents.

Chair Comer will press on regardless, requesting University of Pennsylvania President to provide documents as well as to identify who may have had access to the documents. The Center has been asked about how the think tank solicited donations and whether they received contributions from Chinese nationals. This also reflects the House intention to explore Chinese Communist Party influence on government and businesses, including through the newly established House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. Your WSW team will be tracking this new Select Committee as well as the newly established Judiciary Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government as it relates to government action and business.

State of the Union scheduled for February 7th. Last week House Speaker Kevin McCarthy formally invited President Biden to give his second such address to Congress. The tone of this speech before a divided Congress will likely be muted in comparison to his previous remarks, emphasizing bipartisan cooperation and implementation of previous Biden policy funding priorities. President Biden will also likely counter or seek to pre-empt Republican criticisms of the economy’s fiscal policy, border security and more.

First Floor Votes and 2 New Select Committees formed in the House

This week, the new Republican Majority in the House of Representatives put their first legislation on the House floor, garnering significant Democrat votes in support of the establishment of a new Select Committee on China and more party line votes on issues like abortion. House Republicans also created a new Republican subcommittee on the House Judiciary Committee to investigate the “weaponization of the federal government” which will likely be the hotspot for many of the expected investigative activities into the Biden Administration. President Biden, for his part, tried to get a lead on the expected battle fronts with House Republicans by visiting the Southern Border. President Biden also had to contend with disclosures about classified documents found at his home and other non-government locations.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

Nebraska Governor appoints former Gov. Pete Ricketts as Sasse’s replacement. While the Senate is in recess until January 23, there is yet another new face in the chamber. Following the announced resignation of Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska to head the University of Florida, Gov. Jim Pillen announced his choice on Thursday to appoint former Governor Pete Ricketts who will serve for two years before a special election which will be held in 2024. Click here to learn more about his background and views on key issues.

Rep. Katie Porter announces her Senate campaign for Dianne Feinstein’s seat. Despite no announcement by Sen. Feinstein on whether she plans to seek re-election, fellow California colleagues currently serving in the House are already moving to succeed her. Rep. Katie Porter announced the official launch of her campaign for the California Senate on Wednesday, already raising more than a million dollars and securing an endorsement from Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). Rep. Barbara Lee also announced in a meeting of the Congressional Black Caucus her intention to seek this senate seat. Given California’s jungle primary system, it is likely that two Democrats will be nominated and could face-off in a general election in 2024.

McCarthy balks on recommending Rep. George Santos’ removal. This is just the latest chapter in a saga that has been brewing for weeks once it was reported that freshman Rep. Santos (R-NY) had lied about nearly every aspect of his resume and credentials and is also currently being investigated for possible campaign finance violations. McCarthy has now gone on the record to say that despite efforts by Republicans in New York to oust Santos, he will not call for his resignation and says he’ll leave the decision up to the voters in 2024. Santos supported McCarthy’s bid for Speaker and without him in office, the Republican majority would shrink to only 3 members.

After 5 grueling days and 15 rounds of voting, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally secured the required votes to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The immediate result is that we now have a functioning House of Representatives. Members can be sworn in and conduct their official duties. Committee Chairs will be put in place and hearings will begin. Investigations and oversight activities will be launched. Legislation can be introduced and acted upon. Floor votes (on something other than the Speaker) can be cast.

In the days and weeks to come, all eyes will be on the after-effects of this long slog to name a Speaker and how House Republicans move out on their key policy and political priorities. Undoubtedly, it will stand in stark contrast to the work of the Senate Democrat Majority and the Biden Administration. How those dynamics come in to play on “must pass” legislation such as the annual appropriations bills and raising the national Debt ceiling are sure to equal, if not exceed, the high stakes drama of this past week.

Your WSW team will continue to provide updates and insights on how these events and those that follow will impact your federal agenda in 2023.

For further reading on the historic contest for Speaker:
McCarthy claims speakership on 15th ballot – POLITICO
Kevin McCarthy secures Speakership after historic floor battle | The Hill
McCarthy wins speaker election, finally – Roll Call

Republicans Refuse to Back McCarthy

For the first time in over 100 years, Congress has so-far been unable to elect a Speaker of the House, conducting 12 rounds of votes through to today. AS OF 2PM TODAY, on the 12th roll call vote for speaker, current Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally saw some movement in his direction, with 14 Members switching to support him for Speaker. It is still short of the votes needed but significant movement in his direction. We expect McCarthy to continue negotiating with hold outs and we expect additional roll call votes to follow today building on the momentum of the last vote and until he reaches the necessary votes. Prior to today, there was a block of 20 Members-elect from the right wing of the Republican Party whom even after securing numerous concessions on House Rules remained opposed to Kevin McCarthy becoming Speaker.

Until a House Speaker can be decided, there is literally no functioning House of Representatives. Practical impacts include the fact that new and incumbent Members of Congress are unable to be officially sworn-in and the House is operating without specified rules, committee assignments, or even an ability to vote on anything besides adjournment. Legislatively, this week’s events have delayed any movement on advancing a long planned Republican Majority agenda that includes launching multiple investigations and oversight of the Biden Administration, China, federal spending and large corporations, as well as planned policy action on immigration, crime, energy and more. For now, all that is on hold. If and when McCarthy receives the last necessary votes from Members of his Conference, it will be key to understand the nature and scope of the concessions that have been made and to whom and what that portends for the agenda ahead in the House for the next two years. More to come on that.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

President Biden and Senator McConnell head to Kentucky. On Wednesday, in stark contrast to the chaos occurring in the House, President Biden visited the home state of Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell where they appeared together to tout a bridge project funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law. During the joint event, President Biden praised the Senate Republican leader, saying “Mitch, it wasn’t easy to get this done. It wouldn’t have happened without your hand. I believe it sends an important message to the entire country. We can work together. We can get things done. We can move the nation forward.” We can expect to see ongoing efforts for the Biden Administration to work in a bipartisan fashion with the Senate and a focus on implementation of laws already passed in the prior Congress given limited expectations about the ability to move new initiatives through a divided Congress.

Swearing-in ceremonies welcomed 7 new faces to the U.S. Senate. Monday was much less eventful in the Senate Chambers as Vice President Kamala Harris conducted swearing-in ceremonies for those newly elected or reelected. Those 7 new Senators are comprised of 6 Republicans who won out in seats previously occupied by a Republican, and 1 Democrat who flipped a seat in Pennsylvania, Sen. John Fetterman (who did in fact wear a suit and not a hoodie on his first day).

Elsewhere in the Senate, the 2024 election cycle is already underway. Long-time Democrat Debbie Stabenow announced that she will not seek reelection in 2024, a move that caught Washington by surprise and marks the ending of a career as the first woman elected Senator in Michigan back in 2001. This is the first major retirement of the nascent election cycle and has already prompted speculation about replacement candidates that include Reps. Elissa Slotkin and Debbie Dingell, as well as recently elected Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Republicans will of course have their own shot at the seat which will also undoubtedly prove decisive in the 2024 presidential race like it has the past two cycles.

House has until December 30th to Confirm

Key Dates
December 23, 2022 – Continuing Resolution Expires: Today
December 30, 2022 – Stopgap Funding Expires: 7 days
January 3, 2023 – Swearing-in of 118th Congress: 11 days

Lawmakers worked past midnight on Wednesday to finalize details of the Omnibus. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) organized a vote early Thursday morning and passed the legislation along with a short stopgap funding package to extend government spending through December 30th. While the House still needs to vote, this was positive movement to keep the government open.

Here’s what else you may have missed this week:

A last-minute amendment threatened to derail the Omnibus. On Wednesday afternoon, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) offered an amendment to the Omnibus to prevent the Biden Administration from allowing a pandemic era border policy, known as Title 42, to lapse. In broad strokes, Title 42 is significantly limiting crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, ostensibly to prevent the spread of disease, but a federal judge has ruled it capricious. This has allowed the Biden Administration to proceed with their original plan of axing the order which could in turn cause a spike in migration over the holidays. On Monday, the Supreme Court weighed in on the issue, granting a temporary stay which the Biden Administration asked to extend at least through Christmas.

The Lee amendment was voted down and Schumer successfully ushered through the $1.65 trillion deal. However, a stopgap funding measure was necessary to avoid a partial government shutdown; this buys House members until December 30 to pass the Omnibus. Most members of Congress have already left D.C. ahead of the impending winter storms which could paralyze travel across the country this holiday weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and made an historic plea to Congress. This high-profile visit was a mystery to most until Tuesday afternoon when news broke that, barring security concerns, the war weary president would make the trip from Kyiv to Washington to meet with Biden and speak before Congress on Wednesday. After more than 2 minutes of standing ovation from Members of Congress, Zelenskyy gave a 35-minute speech requesting additional military support to fend off the Russian invasion.

This push for additional assistance is of course highly relevant to the Omnibus which includes $45 billion in military and economic aid for Ukraine. Who was the target audience for this speech? Arguably, it was the incoming Republican House majority which has soured on blank checks to Ukraine in recent months. By some counts, less than half of House Republicans were in attendance for Zelenskyy’s address.

What else is in the Omnibus legislation, and what didn’t make the cut? Several big measures are being included as riders to this last piece of legislation to be passed by the 117th Congress. One such bill concerns new retirement provisions which are designed to expand savings incentives among poorer Americans. The legislation would also encourage enrollment in retirement plans and raise the starting age for required minimum distributions from tax-deferred accounts from 72 to 75. In all, this would significantly alter the way your 401(k) operates.

A bill which did not make the final legislation, despite a softening on marijuana offenses in recent years, was a provision to protect banks who do business with the cannabis industry in states where it is legal to do so. As it stands, these banks still run the risk of losing federal banking charters because marijuana remains a Schedule 1 drug according to the Feds.

The January 6th Committee releases its final report. An executive summary of the report had already been made available and transcripts were being combed through for juicy tidbits. But the long and short of the committee’s findings are best expressed in their referral of former President Trump to the DOJ on 4 criminal charges. With the House set to flip from blue to red on January 3rd, this will be the last action taken in the public forum, unless Senate Democrats are willing to keep the pressure on into the next election cycle.

As a reminder, the 118th Congress begins on January 3rd. The Hill will be buzzing with swearing-in ceremonies and open houses for members old and new. If you plan to visit and make the rounds, your WSW team will be on the Hill and our offices open and available to clients so we can anticipate your needs.