February Monthly Recap

February was driven by foreign aid, border, and government funding negotiations. The Senate worked through their first weekend since 2022 to complete and pass a $95 billion package that includes aid for Israel, Ukraine, and priorities in the Indo-Pacific. Meanwhile, the House had a quite embarrassing show while failing to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, failing to pass a stand-alone Israel aid package sans Senate support, and the border deal negotiated by both chambers falling through. The Speaker’s leadership abilities continue to be called into question.

This month also had a shocking number of retirement announcements and leadership changes. The future of many pivotal committees and now GOP leadership in the Senate is uncertain as we inch closer and closer to the elections.

During the final week of February, congressional leaders announced that they have agreed to 6 of the 12 appropriation bills. Though they had made progress, in order to get the bills drafted and to the floor, the funding deadline needed to be pushed. An agreement was made, and the new deadlines are now March 8th and March 22nd. Congressional leaders aim to release the text of their first fiscal 2024 funding package this weekend, unveiling long-sought funding and policy details for the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science measures.

Once that first funding bundle is locked up, appropriators and congressional leaders will need to focus on striking a compromise on the remaining six bills — a much bigger challenge with perilous issues to work through, like border security and immigration policy provisions. As we near the April 1st deadline that triggers an estimated $73 billion in cuts to non-defense programs, many republicans in both the House and Senate have begun advocating for this funding route. NECA continues to monitor the status of government funding to ensure construction accounts are fully funded.

After the January passage of the Bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, H.R. 7024, the bill has stalled in the Senate. This pivotal piece of legislation addresses many expiring provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-IA), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, is leading the ‘anti-tax bill’ charge. On Thursday, February 29th, Sen. Crapo released a list of provisions that would need to be added or addressed before he allowed for consideration of the bill. Of primary concern to Sen. Crapo is the lookback provision that would allow Child Tax Credit (CTC) recipients to use income from the previous year to claim the incentive. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), who had worked with House Republicans to craft this legislation and specifically include the CTC, feels it may be too late for the proposed changes. These dynamics have further increased the uncertainty surrounding the bill.

If the Senate does not act before May, this will be a top priority at the 2024 Legislative Conference. NECA has continued to pressure the Senate to take action on this truly bipartisan piece of legislation.

PLC Renewals

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