Breaking (Down) the Debt Ceiling
Will The Debt Ceiling Standoff End Up In Court?
Lat: Law Firms Must Get Big, Profitable or Lost
Weekly Brief: Lawyers Laid Off After Foreclosure Settlement
“Despite the myriad factions among congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump has for the most part imposed his will on GOP lawmakers. He is now shifting his focus to the independent judiciary.” — Howard Schweitzer,...more
Both chambers are in session this week, although the House will pause its voting schedule so members can travel on Wednesday for the funeral of Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ)....more
This session will provide insights for financial services entities regarding: (1) interpretation of the impact of the recent Executive Orders and early actions of the appointees; (2) status on key appointees and their Day 1...more
The Senate approved S.Con.Res.7 in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 21, concluding a vote-a-rama that began the night before and lasted over 10 hours. The final vote was 52-48, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) joining...more
“Despite all the discussion of spending cuts under the new unified GOP control in Washington, two words that President Trump did not utter even once during his inaugural address: deficit reduction.” — Howard Schweitzer, CEO,...more
On August 2, President Donald Trump signed a two-year, $2.7 trillion budget agreement, raising spending limits and suspending the debt ceiling through July 2021. This agreement increases domestic and military spending by more...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - FY18 Appropriations Work Already Underway. Since the passage of the bipartisan budget deal this past Friday, House and Senate Appropriations Committees have already begun...more
Another Shutdown? Congress needs to pass another short-term spending bill by Friday in order to keep the government open, but some House Republicans are against the plan for a fifth continuing resolution that would fund the...more
Another Continuing Resolution. Or Two? Within days of passing the CR to reopen the government, multiple Members of Congress expressed the possibility of needing another CR to fund the government after February 8. ...more
Shutdown Watch: 4 Days. The government will run out of money on Friday if it does not pass another short-term spending bill. Last week it looked like Congress was close to negotiating a short-term continuing resolution that...more
Another short-term continuing resolution is all but guaranteed as the current continuing resolution will expire later this month and budget talks last week did not result in a deal or hint at one in the near future. As the...more
President Trump came to an agreement with congressional Democrats to extend FY17 federal appropriations and suspend the debt limit until December 8. The deal, which took congressional Republicans by surprise, was paired with...more
Senate Again Delays Action on Remaining Appropriations Bill: The Senate has yet to schedule any mark-ups for next week for its remaining four appropriations bills (Clark Hill Insight). Senate Reaches Deal on Budget...more
House Finishes Work on Its Annual Appropriations Bills, For Now: The House narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2018 by a vote of 211-198. Amendments offered to the...more
House and Senate Overwhelmingly Passed Legislation that Included a Short-Term Continuing Resolution, Lift of the Debt Ceiling, and Emergency Aid: The bill includes over $15 billion in disaster assistance for Hurricane Harvey...more
According to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. will hit its debt limit at some point in late September. Congress has until then to raise the federal debt ceiling before the Department of the Treasury's so-called...more
CBO Confirms Size of Breach of Defense Cap for FY18 Bills: The House FY18 Omnibus Appropriations Bill scheduled to be taken up in September would bust the Defense cap by $72 billion. This would cause the Office of Management...more
US Budget Deficit Narrowed to $42.9 Billion in July: The federal budget deficit fell sharply in July from a year earlier, largely because of a quirk in the calendar. The U.S. Treasury Department said that the budget gap came...more
McConnell Sets Next Senate Vote for Sept. 5 (The Washington Post). House Set to Bundle 8 Leftover Spending Bills in September: Republicans are set to tackle remaining appropriations bills after returning from August recess,...more
House Passes Spending Bill That Includes Over $1 Billion in Border-Wall Funding: The House passed a $788 billion spending bill that combines a $1.6 billion down payment for President Donald Trump's controversial border wall...more
Having returned from its Memorial Day recess, Congress now enters one of the longest continuous work periods of the year and – with the exception of the week of the Fourth of July – will likely be in session until the end of...more
On March 16, the debt limit ceiling suspension agreed to in the lead up to the 2016 elections officially expired, meaning the U.S. government can no longer take on additional debt until the ceiling is raised. Currently, the...more
Despite the headlines coming out of Washington, Congress continues to move forward in regular fashion, discussing and acting upon key issues, such as funding the government, addressing the need to raise the debt ceiling and...more
Because of a deal struck in Fall 2015 to avoid a debt ceiling showdown during the 2016 election season, the statutory debt limit expiration is suspended through March 15, 2017. If Congress fails to raise the debt limit by...more
While the coming 115th Congress and Trump Administration seem to be anything but predictable, there are several known events that will help drive the timing of national, and some regional, policy debates. They should be...more