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The Week Ahead: 113th Congress Finale

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The Final Moments of the 113th Congress

On Saturday night, the Senate passed the government-spending bill, averting a shutdown that would have started at midnight. The House had passed it on Thursday, before adjourning for the rest of the year. Here's a look at that bill, known as "cromnibus," and other priorities that emerged this week. 

The Continuing Resolution/Omnibus Spending Bill, or "Cromnibus"

On Saturday night, the Senate passed the government-spending bill, HR 83. The Senate final vote was bipartisan — 56 – 40 — with 21 Democrats, 18 Republicans and independent Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT) voting against it. The House had already passed the bill on Thursday, Dec. 11th. The bill includes 11 of the 12 annual appropriations bills — providing funding for federal programs through the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2015. According to the House Appropriations Committee, "the 12th bill, which funds the Department of Homeland Security, is also included in the legislation, but is funded under a temporary “Continuing Resolution” that expires on February 27, 2015." 

In addition, the bill includes emergency Overseas Contingency Operations funding to combat the emerging real-world threat brought by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and emergency funding to address the Ebola crisis. According to the House Appropriations Committee Chair, Hal Rogers:

This legislation represents exactly what our constituents sent us to Congress to do in November. It is a bipartisan compromise that makes hard but responsible decisions to govern responsibly and effectively. We worked together across the aisle to find common ground, while advancing policies that will promote job creation, economic growth, fiscal responsibility, and a better future for families and communities across the nation.”

We also wanted to identify a few additional provisions in the bill that might be of interest to POPVOX users:

  • Prohibits chickens from China in school lunches. 
  • Prohibits funds for portrait-painting of elected officials.
  • Requires heating modernization for Kaiserstautern, Germany military base must include US coal.
  • Blocks DC recreational marijuana proposition, which was passed by referendum in Nov. 2014.
  • Clarifies that Interior Secretary may make agreements regarding long-term care of excess wild horses and burros.
  • Mandates that minimum 50% of BSEE fees be used for development of Outer Continental Shelf.
  • Clarifies that breast feeding is allowed anywhere in federal buildings.
  • Bars “federal agency monitoring of individuals’ internet use.”
  • Removes funds for placing the Sage Grouse on the Endangered Species List.
  • Bars federal contracts with inverted domestic corporations.
  • Explicitly bars IRS targeting for ideological beliefs or exercise of First Amendment rights.
  • Authorizes assistance to Syrian opposition to combat ISIL.
  • Extends the Internet Tax Freedom Act until Oct. 1, 2015.
  • Prohibits funding of salaries for the White House Director of Health Reform and Assistant for Energy and Climate Change.
  • Prohibits funds for the NSA to acquire, monitor or store electronic communications of US person under FISA. 
  • Requires all US Attorneys in Task Force to combat human trafficking.
  • Prohibits funding for inspecting horse slaughter facilities for horse meat for human consumsion.
  • Explicitly prohibits use of funds to support or justify use of torture by any US official.
  • Blocks the Air Force from retiring the A-10 close-air support aircraft and U-2 spy plane.
  • Prohibits funds for abortion under the federal employees health benefits program.
  • Freezes pay for the Vice President and senior political appointees.
  • Prohibits funding to require that entities bidding for federal contracts disclose campaign contributions.
  • Prohibits funding for all agencies in the bill, including the IRS, to be used for activities in contravention of the Federal Records Act, such as inappropriately destroying documents.
  • Requires Executive Orders issued during fiscal year 2015 to include a budgetary impact statement.
  • Establishes additional reporting requirements to increase transparency of the activities of agencies whose funding jurisdiction fall outside annual congressional review, including the Office of Financial Stability and the Office of Financial Research.
  • Requires that the Office of Management and Budget report on the costs to the government of Dodd-Frank financial reform.

Immigration Reform

In November, President Obama announced his plans for immigration reform, which may delay the deportation of up to five million people:

If you’ve been in America for more than five years; if you have children who are American citizens or legal residents; if you register, pass a criminal background check, and you’re willing to pay your fair share of taxes — you’ll be able to apply to stay in this country temporarily without fear of deportation. You can come out of the shadows and get right with the law."

Since then, many Republicans in Congress have been calling out President Obama's immigration executive actions as unconstitutional. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made opening remarks at a committee hearing on immigration: 

President Obama’s latest action on immigration is the culmination of a pattern of abuse of power. The President swore an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, his action on immigration is contrary to that oath. It’s a serious blow to our system of checks and balances established by the Framers. Most importantly, it’s a total disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law."       

From our Hill Sources: This week's government spending bill provided funding for 11 out of 12 appropriations through the 2015 fiscal year. The 12th, which funds the Department of Homeland Security, is only funded under a temporary “Continuing Resolution” that expires on February 27, 2015. This hybrid continuing-resolution–omnibus strategy would allow Congress to extend current immigration program funding without having to debate funding for President Obama's new immigration initiatives. In other words, the 113th Congress is punting the debate of President Obama's immigration actions to the 114th Congress. So stay tuned! 

Bills Introduced Related to the President's Executive Actions

In the meantime, several bills have already been introduced in response to the President's new immigration policy. We can expect that many of these bills will be re-introduced next year. 

Tax Reform

The long-awaited Tax Reform Act (HR 1) was introduced — the day before the House adjourned — formalizing a comprehensive tax reform proposal first discussed by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) ten months ago. It also got the coveted bill number of "one." According to Chairman Camp:

At its core, the Tax Reform Act of 2014 is about making the tax code simpler and fairer for hardworking taxpayers. I believe every taxpayer should be able to do his or her taxes without fear that someone with better accountants or lawyers is getting a better deal. This legislation does that by ensuring that virtually all taxpayers would pay the least amount of taxes without having to keep track of every receipt and record and live in fear of an IRS audit. This legislation makes the Code more effective and efficient by getting rid of narrowly targeted provisions to lower tax rates across the board. This will enable small and large businesses alike to expand operations, hire new workers, and increase benefits and take-home pay."

  • Tax Reform Act (HR 1)

    To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for comprehensive tax reform. Flattens the code by reducing rates and collapsing today’s brackets into two brackets of 10 and 25 percent for virtually all taxable income, ensuring that over 99 percent of all taxpayers face maximum rates of 25 percent or less. Reduces the corporate rate to 25 percent. Increases the standard deduction. Taxes long-term capital gains and dividends as ordinary income, but exempts 40 percent of such income from tax. Repeals the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for individuals. (Read more.)

So What Happens Next?

Next, the 113th Congress will adjourn “sine die,” or “without day,” and not reconvene until the new Congress starts on January 6, 2015. The House adjourned on Thursday, and the Senate is expected to adjourn soon. The Democratic-leadership in the Senate wants to confirm as many as President Obama's executive and judicial branch nominees before adjourning. As of last week, 172 nominations were still pending on the Senate's executive calendar. Any nominee who isn’t approved before the end of this Congress would have to be renominated in 2015 — when the leadership in the Senate changes to Republican hands. 

So what happens to the over 10,000 bills and resolutions that were introduced in the 113th Congress? The slate will be wiped clean; there will be no business pending. All of the bills and resolutions that have been discussed and debated for the past two years will be archived. When Congress reconvenes on January 6, 2015, the process will start all over again. Bills will be introduced and given a chronological number. Expect a flurry of activity in the first few weeks. 

Some Members of Congress are methodical about bill reintroduction. For example, Representative Rob Woodall (R-GA) waits every session to introduce his "Fair Tax Act" in a way that guarantees him the same bill number – HR 25. However, not all bills get reintroduced. Some bills that were sponsored by Members who are not returning are essentially orphans, waiting for someone to take them up and commit to introducing them. In some cases, sponsors who know they are not returning will hand over a bill to a colleague to champion and sponsor in future sessions.  

Even for bills with returning sponsors, the re-introduction process can take a while. Most offices plan out their legislative agenda ahead of time, and will want plenty of time to build support and plan a press strategy for reintroduction. Some bills may not be reintroduced for many months, or even until the second session (the second year) of the new Congress. 

On POPVOX, all bills from the 113th Congress — and the user and organization comments on those bills — will be archived and available at the same URL. When the 113th Congress is over, you will no longer be able to send a message to Congress for or against the archived bill. But we will see you in January!

 

— Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn't imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we're simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system. — 

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