Of all the five-alarm fires brewing already in September, the debt limit might be the most pressing. Administration officials have indicated a desire for a “clean” (read: no policy changes to entitlement programs) bill. For a clean bill to pass the House, Democratic members will have to support that package as conservative members of the GOP caucus will not vote to raise the limit without the inclusion of entitlement reform in the package.
FY18 Appropriations
With the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, the House has passed four appropriations bills and still has eight that have yet to make it across the floor. The Senate, for its part, has yet to pass any of its bills. Complicating the situation is President Trump’s desire to see included in the package funding for a wall along our southern border.
As talk of a government shutdown heats up, the expectation is that the House will wrap the remaining eight bills into a single package and send it to the Senate. Reports also indicate that the Senate has no intention of acting on it, or on the earlier package sent to them by the House. The expectation is for a continuing resolution to be debated that effectively allows the House and Senate more time to finish—or in some cases start—their work.
