Today on the Hill: Education and Highways Conference Reports in the House; Reconciliation Bill in the Senate

Congress will begin on a bipartisan note this morning as the House is set to vote on the broadly backed conference report to reauthorize elementary and secondary education programs. The report to H.R. 5 would replace the George W. Bush-era No Child Left Behind law and give significantly more power to the states in setting educational standards. House lawmakers will also be reviewing a conference report to the long-negotiated highway funding bill (H.R. 22) that now provides $305 billion over five years for the nation’s transportation infrastructure. The measure will be paid for by tapping surplus funds from the Federal Reserve and eliminating an annual dividend banks get for owning shares of Fed regional banks. Additionally, the conference report would also renew the Export-Import Bank’s charter, ending a months-long debate over the bank after its charter expired in June. House-Senate agreement on the measure paves the way for consideration later this week, beating the Friday deadline for re-authorizing the Highway Trust Fund’s spending authority. 

The bipartisanship is not set to last, however, as the House is also set to complete work on legislation (H.R. 8) that would streamline Energy Department reviews of permits to export natural gas and will consider adding an amendment to the bill that would lift the 40-year ban on crude oil exports. Both the bill and the amendment have drawn veto threats from the White House.

In the Senate, the bipartisan mood will be even less apparent as the chamber is set to take up a revised version of the House-passed budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 3762) that has drawn strong opposition from congressional Democrats and the White House. The measure would cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood and repeal key provisions of the President’s signature health-care law, including the individual mandate and both the medical device and ‘Cadillac’ excise taxes. Republican support for the reconciliation package has been drawn into question as some conservatives believe it does not go far enough in repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), but supporters gained a boost yesterday when Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) announced that he would likely back the measure.

Meanwhile, off the floor, negotiators will continue to work on an omnibus spending bill that would fund the government for the rest of fiscal 2016. Remaining policy riders that Republicans are trying to work into the bill include a repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rule expanding the definition of waterways subject to the Clean Water Act, adjusting refugee resettlement policy, and addressing so-called “sanctuary cities” for undocumented immigrants. On spending, Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said yesterday that there remain some disagreements between the two sides, including on the allocation of spending for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Overall, however, key lawmakers from both parties have expressed their optimism for working through the potential policy riders and passing the omnibus before current government spending expires on December 11.   

‘Today on the Hill’ includes updates provided by the House and Senate majority leaders, as well information derived from publications including Bloomberg Government, The Hill, Politico, Roll Call, and National Journal.