Today on the Hill: Progress Made Toward Averting November Shutdown

House and Senate Appropriations leaders made progress toward averting a government shutdown and funding the government for fiscal year (FY) 2020 during a meeting late yesterday. In a press gaggle following the meeting, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) announced that the forthcoming continuing resolution (CR) will fund the government through Dec. 20 to provide for additional time to hammer out a broader deal for FY 2020 bills. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are expected to take up the stopgap funding measure early next week prior to next Thursday’s deadline.

On the floor, the House will consider nine bills under suspension of the rules today. This includes a Small Business bill that would amend the Small Business Act to clarify the treatment of certain surviving spouses under the definition businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, as well as a bill out of the Judiciary Committee that would provide automatic citizenship to children born outside the United States to U.S. parents if one of the parents is stationed overseas as a government employee. In the upper chamber, Senators will vote on Chad Wolf’s nomination to be Under Secretary for Strategy, Policy, and Plans at the Department of Homeland Security.