November 4, 2011

Legislative efforts on two separate fronts – addressing deficit reduction and the annual appropriations process – are facing deadlines that are intended to force congressional action in the very near future.

Deficit Reduction Talks
November 23 is the deadline by which the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is charged with voting on recommendations to achieve at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, although an agreement is needed much sooner to allow time for the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score the legislation.  The Joint Select Committee has held two recent hearings and has held numerous negotiating sessions over the past seven weeks, but members have not yet reached an agreement – largely because of disputes over whether new revenues should be included in the recommendations.  In recent days, Senate and House leaders have been meeting with committee members in an effort to move the negotiations forward.  The next ten days are likely to be a critical period in determining the outcome of the Joint Select Committee’s deliberations. 

Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of 100 House members – 60 Democrats and 40 Republicans – addressed a letter to the leaders of the Joint Select Committee, suggesting that $4 trillion in deficit reduction is needed to stabilize the nation’s debt.  Their letter stated: “To succeed, all options for mandatory and discretionary spending and revenues must be on the table.  In addition, we know from other bipartisan frameworks that a target of some $4 trillion in deficit reduction is necessary to stabilize our debt as a share of the economy and assure America’s fiscal well-being.” 

Another recent letter, signed by 33 Senate Republicans, calls for “comprehensive tax reform that lowers rates and promotes economic growth, with no net tax increase” and also emphasizes the need to “place entitlements on a path to fiscal solvency.” 

Appropriations Process
November 18 is the deadline by which Congress must either finalize  appropriations for fiscal year 2012 (which began on October 1) or pass another “continuing resolution” to provide temporary funding for federal agencies and programs. 

As a first step toward finalizing appropriations for FY 2012, a conference committee currently is working to negotiate a final version of legislation, H.R. 2112, which contains the text of three separate spending bills:  the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act; and the Commerce, Justice, and State Department Appropriations Act.  This bill, which has been labeled a “minibus” spending bill, was approved by the Senate earlier this week by a vote of 69 to 30. 

The nine remaining appropriations bills – including the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act – will see congressional action in the coming weeks, possibly in the form of additional “minibus” spending bills.  The pace of congressional action on these bills will be a significant factor in determining when Congress concludes its 2011 session.