This Week in Congress
Last week, Congress passed a detailed agreement to fund large parts of the government through September 30th with the expectation to enact it before another shutdown deadline on Friday, March 8th. This funding includes the FY24 Appropriations Bill for Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD. The remaining funding for the Defense Department, Homeland Security, and social programs operated through the Health and Human Services Department are currently set to shut down on March 23rd, and to date, there is no agreement on their funding.
Also, the House considered two bills: one to loosen securities regulations and another to authorize states to pursue civil action against the Homeland Security Department for violating detention and removal requirements. The Senate will join the House on Thursday night for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Finally, Sen. Sinema (I-AZ) is opting against running for reelection, and avoiding what would have been a messy three-way race with an independent incumbent, a Democrat and a Republican.