Republicans and Democrats struck a deal late last night on the long-delayed $1.5 trillion spending bill to fund the government until October and also provide nearly $14 billion to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The House held a 1:30 A.M. Rules Committee meeting on the bill and the full chamber is expected to vote on the massive government funding package this afternoon, in addition to another continuing resolution through March 15th. At this point, there’s not enough time for the Senate to go through the procedural hurdles on the bill in time for the Friday midnight deadline and the stopgap bill will fund the government at the current levels through March 15th, giving the Senate time to deal with the full-year legislation The more than 2,700-page bill would revive earmarks for the first time since Congress banned the practice more than a decade ago. It would also substantially boost funding for the military and nearly every non-defense agency, growing domestic spending to $730 billion, an almost 7 percent increase over current funding. The measure would boost national defense coffers to $782 billion, about a 6 percent increase.
The House which reconvened at 9:00 A.M. is also expected to consider, H.R. 6968 – Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act. Among other things, the legislation would provide President Joe Biden the authority to increase tariffs on goods from Russia and Belarus and would require U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to seek suspension of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization. Tai also would be required to push for a halt to Belarus’ proposed accession to the WTO. This follows President Biden on Tuesday announcing a ban on U.S. imports of Russian oil and gas — the latest move to try to punish Moscow for invading Ukraine. The ban also applies to U.S. imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), and products made from oil, and coal. New purchases are to be ceased immediately, but U.S. buyers with existing contracts for Russian energy have 45 days to wind down deliveries.
Following votes, House Democrats will leave for their Issues Conference in Philadelphia with President Biden expected to deliver remarks on Friday. The House is scheduled to return for votes at 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, March 15th.
The Senate is not in session today, as Senate Democrats gather for a policy retreat that may serve as a building block for a renewed push on a host of climate-related spending originally contained in their stalled reconciliation package. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) laid out in a “Dear Colleague” letter yesterday that the daylong summit would offer lawmakers the chance to look at policies that could help reduce the pains of inflation, including increasing energy costs. President Biden is expected to deliver an address to Senate Democrats this evening. The Senate will reconvene at 10:00 A.M. tomorrow.
