Still No Path Forward on Government Funding, Messaging Bills in the House, Nominees in the Senate, FY 2024 Deficit Hits $1.9 Trillion
Jason Pye - Vice President, Due Process Institute
We’re still waiting on a plan for FY 2025 appropriations: Let’s be clear upfront. There are members of the House Republican Conference who want to shut down the federal government. “Pye, that’s not fair,” you may say. “They just want the SAVE Act to be part of the bill.” The SAVE Act will not become law. Forget that it’s already a federal crime for a noncitizen to vote in a federal election. The votes aren’t there in the Senate. The votes don’t appear to be there in the House, which is why Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pulled the six-month continuing resolution (CR) with the SAVE Act from the floor last week. It’s possible that Johnson could shorten the CR to December, keep the SAVE Act in the bill, and try again this week. We don’t know yet. Still, let me repeat: The SAVE Act will not become law. Including the SAVE Act in a CR is a messaging exercise. By the way, while Johnson may lose dozens of Republicans in a vote on a clean CR, it would pass the House.
Fun fact #1: This is the least productive Congress since at least the 112th Congress (2011-2012). By the end of last week, only 78 bills passed in the 118th Congress had become law. President Biden has vetoed 12 bills. Two more have been presented to President Biden and are waiting for his signature or veto.
Fun fact #2: Do you know how many appropriations bills have passed both chambers of Congress and become law on time dating back to FY 2011? Six. Since FY 2011, Congress has enacted only six of the regular appropriations bills. (One for FY 2017 and five for FY 2019.) By “one time,” we mean before the end of the fiscal year. There are 12 regular appropriations bills each fiscal year. Twelve bills per fiscal year over 13 years; that’s 156 total bills. That’s a success rate of 3.8 percent. Congress has put up goose eggs for FY 2019, FY 2020, FY 2021, FY 2022, FY 2023, and FY 2024. That’s five consecutive fiscal years without enacting a single appropriations bill on time. That’s not as bad as the stretch from FY 2011 through FY 2016. I’ll note, though, the problem with getting appropriations bills done on time has actually gotten worse, not better, since regular order became such a focal point for members. This is because of the constant displeasure with spending levels for roughly a quarter of federal outlays and culture war amendments offered to appropriations bills.
More nominees in the Senate and a vote on IVF legislation: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume the consideration of the nomination of Kevin Gafford Ritz to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Cloture has already been invoked on the Ritz nomination. A roll call vote on Rtiz’s confirmation is expected to begin around 5:30 pm. Cloture was filed on the nomination of Mary Kathleen Costello to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Another procedural vote is expected on the Right to IVF Act, S. 4445, this week. The Senate tried in June to move the Right to IVF Act, but Republicans blocked the bill on the cloture motion to the motion to proceed. The same outcome is expected when the Senate votes again this week.
Senate committee schedule: The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here. If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Schedule and suspensions in the House: The House returns on Tuesday at 2:00 pm for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. The House will also be in session on \Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The last votes for the week are expected no later than 3:00 pm on Friday. Thirty-eight (38) bills are expected to be considered under the suspension of the rules (listed below). The cost estimates for those bills are here.
H.R. 7438, FIFA World Cup 2026 Commemorative Coin Act (Financial Services Committee)
S. 2825, Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act (Financial Services Committee)
S. 2861, Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act (Financial Services Committee)
H.R. 1432, VETT Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 5861, BRIDGE for Workers Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 8292, Taxpayer Data Protection Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 3784, Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 3800, Chronic Disease Flexible Coverage Act (Ways and Means Committee)
S. 1146, Find and Protect Foster Youth Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 9076, Supporting America’s Children and Families Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 8314, No Foreign Election Interference Act (Ways and Means Committee)
H.R. 6324, Fiscal Year 2024 Veterans Affairs Major Medical Facility Authorization Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 7777, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 7100, Prioritizing Veterans’ Survivors Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 7323, Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserves Tuition Fairness Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 4424, Vietnam Veterans Liver Fluke Cancer Study Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 7816, Clear Communication for Veterans Claims Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 7342, Veterans Accessibility Advisory Committee Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 5464, To name the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Guntersville, Alabama, as the "Colonel Ola Lee Mize Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic" (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 4190, Restoring Benefits to Defrauded Veterans Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 2911, Fairness for Servicemembers and their Families Act (Veterans’ Affairs Committee)
H.R. 9468, Making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes (Appropriations Committee)
H.R. 8111, Medicaid Program Improvement Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 8112, To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to further require certain additional provider screening under the Medicaid program (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 8089, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act Energy and Commerce Committee)
S. 1648, Launch Communications Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 8084, LIVE Beneficiaries Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 6160, To amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize a lifespan respite care program (Energy and Commerce Committee)
S. 4351, Poison Control Centers Reauthorization Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 7406, DeOndra Dixon INCLUDE Project Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 7218, BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Reauthorization Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 6033, SPEAK Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 7858 –TELEMH Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
S. 265, SIREN Reauthorization Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 7208, Dennis John Benigno Traumatic Brain Injury Program Reauthorization Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 4758, Accelerating Kids’ Access to Care Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 1513, FUTURE Networks Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
H.R. 7213, Autism CARES Act (Energy and Commerce Committee)
Bills that come to the floor under suspension of the rules require two-thirds of members present and voting for passage. This is the most common way that bills considered by the House come to the floor. Some of these bills may be passed by a voice vote, rather than a roll call vote. Most bills that come to the floor under suspension aren’t widely considered controversial, although leadership may occasionally test a bill under suspension to gauge opposition or sneak a bill through the chamber.
Rule bills: The House Rules Committee will meet on Tuesday at 4:00 pm to markup the rule providing for the consideration of the Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act, H.R. 5339; the Anti-BDS Labeling Act, H.R. 5179; the Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act, H.R. 7909; the End Woke Higher Education Act, H.R. 3724; the Prioritizing Economic Growth Over Woke Policies Act, H.R. 4790; a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles," H.J. Res. 136; and the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, H.R. 5717. Additional legislation related to FY 2025 appropriations is expected.
About those rumors of the House leaving earlier: The House is currently scheduled to be in session next week. However, the rumors that votes could be canceled got a little louder until the vote on the CR+SAVE Act was nixed. The House could still cancel votes for the week of September 23 to give vulnerable members an extra week to campaign, but that would happen only if a CR that can become law passes the chamber.
House committee schedule: The full House committee schedule for the week is here. If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Deficit watch: With only one month remaining in FY 2024, the budget deficit is $1.9 trillion. Receipts are up by 11 percent compared to the same period last year while outlays are up by 13 percent. Although Medicare and Social Security benefits are up by 10 percent and 8 percent, respectively, net interest on the debt had jumped by 35 percent. Thus far, the federal government has paid more for net interest ($870 billion) than Medicare ($847 billion). The $1.9 trillion deficit is at the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) projection for FY 2024. September is sometimes a surplus month for the Treasury, but it’s very possible that the deficit will exceed $2 trillion for FY 2024 once the dust settles.
And a personal note: Emily and I are getting hitched on Saturday, February 8, at a literal f’ing castle in North Carolina. I’ve asked Sarah Anderson of the R Street Institute, who was my deputy at FreedomWorks, to be my “best man” or “groomsmaid.” I picked out my wedding band, and it has literal T-Rex bone in it. Needless to say, Emily and I are pretty stoked. The Kid™️, who is her mom’s maid of honor, is excited, too.
Due Process Institute is a bipartisan nonprofit that works to honor, preserve, and restore principles of fairness in the criminal legal system. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.