A central goal for congressional leadership this year was to be able to complete work on all 12 appropriations bills, through regular order, before the fiscal year ended on September 30. This was an ambitious goal, as work on the fiscal year 2018 budget was not wrapped until late March, putting members of Congress about…
The House and Senate returned to session last week, after adjourning in August for the summer recess. They come back for an uncertain period of time, as the midterm elections are approaching and members from both parties want to head home for as long as possible to campaign for themselves and their colleagues. There are,…
As we reported last week, the Senate passed legislation that would increase the appropriation for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by $2 million, to $155 million, for fiscal year 2019. That action matched that of the House of Representatives, which voted for the same earlier this summer. While these moves put the NEA…
With the July 4th recess in the rear-view mirror and the midterm elections only four months away, members of the House and Senate expect to be working furiously over the next few months. So much work is left on the agenda that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already announced his intention to cancel…
Following the Memorial Day recess, Congress returned to session with a full agenda of must-pass bills it would like to tackle. Perhaps indicative of this full slate, the work period began with an announcement from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that most of the August recess would be canceled to allow the Senate more…
Following a busy work period that included passing a large federal spending package that increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to $153 million, members of the House and Senate are currently out of session and are spending time in their districts. When they return on Monday, members of both chambers are…
With Arts Advocacy Day only a few days away, we are at a critical point in time here in Washington. At this moment, members of Congress are working feverishly to wrap up work on fiscal year 2018 appropriations legislation while simultaneously beginning the process for FY2019. Because our champions on the Hill have a lot…
Last month, when members of the House and Senate agreed to end the shutdown and fund the government until February 8, the prevailing thought at that time was that a longer-term agreement was within reach. Unfortunately, at the time of publication of this column, members of Congress appear no closer to resolving their differences than…
President Trump and congressional Republicans secured their most substantial victory since assuming office last year when they passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the most significant change to the nation’s tax code in 30 years. While passage of that bill is truly noteworthy, there isn’t much time to celebrate as the President and members…
After months of frustration, Republicans in Congress appear poised to score their first significant legislative victory of the Trump presidency. Late last week, the Senate, on a narrow 51-49 vote, approved legislation revising the tax code. The chamber has now moved to go to conference to negotiate differences within its bill with the version the…
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