Deadlines Loom, Hurricane Harvey Relief Needed, Shutdown Unlikely
Congress returns next week with only 12 legislative days to deal with several looming deadlines before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Once again, Congress has failed to send any of their annual appropriations bills to the president’s desk for his signature and, as a result, a continuing resolution will have to be in place prior to the end of the fiscal year in order to prevent a government shutdown.  Congress must also deal with raising the debt limit and the expiration of authorizations for the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Flood Insurance Program.
As recently as last week, battles over raising the debt limit and funding the government seemed inevitable. However, the much-needed aid to help Hurricane Harvey cleanup and recovery efforts appears to put off some of those battles – at least for now.  It is speculated that Congress is likely to combine emergency aid for Harvey with a continuing resolution and a debt-limit increase. This scenario would almost ensure passage and avoid a presidential veto, even if the package omits funding for a border wall.
As with most things in Washington, nothing is guaranteed but it does appear that the need to act on Hurricane Harvey relief will delay some of the battles that President Trump and Congress were gearing up for in September.
For more information, contact Sean O’Neill at [email protected] or (202) 547-8892.