Washington Update 11.12.13 ift.tt/1eHZvE4 Washington Update November 12, 2013 Appropriators Say Moving Labor-HHS Bill Will Be ‘Difficult’ Department of Labor programs will likely continue to be funded through stopgap spending measures, key appropriators said this week. The possibility of a stand-alone Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is a casualty of the ongoing budget battles. “I think it’s very difficult to do a Labor-HHS-Education bill,” said Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), ranking member of the subcommittee that oversees Labor-HHS spending. “We discovered that in the past. I don’t think it’s any easier this year, perhaps even less so.” House appropriators have never released a draft bill, but carved out $121.8 billion for the bill in their budget blueprint – 35 percent less than allocated in a bill the Senate Appropriations Committee approved on a party-line vote in July. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said he and his colleagues understand the importance of the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations. “Some of the most challenging problems the country faces fall under the jurisdiction,” Cochran said. “But I’m not sure if there is a consensus there.” Budget Conferees to Meet Weds. The House and Senate budget conference committee continue looking for ways to address looming fiscal pitfalls. Conferees have been engaged in informal discussions since the committee met Oct. 30. The committee’s second meeting, next Wednesday, will offer a glimpse into whether the two sides are any closer on spending levels, sequestration relief or options for new revenue. Lawmakers have said they do not expect the committee to reach a grand bargain by their Dec. 13 deadline, saying it is more likely there will be an agreement to fund the government for one or two years and offer some relief from sequestration. “Congress and the Administration need to do more than simply avoiding catastrophes and harmful spending cuts,” W. James McNerney Jr., chairman of the Business Roundtable, wrote this week in letters to the President and Congress. Mikulski Won’t Talk Appropriations until Budget Panel Sets Levels Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) said this week she will not begin negotiations on funding until the House-Senate budget committee sets a framework for spending. “We’re doing a lot of our preliminary work in terms of paperwork and so on, but we’re not starting negotiations until we know what our top line is,” Mikulski said.. Mikulski and her House counterpart, Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) are pushing the budget committee to finish its work ahead of its Dec. 13 deadline. “Specifically, we ask that the budget conference: under your leadership, endeavor to agree on a common overall discretionary number by no later than December 2 and preferably by November 22, prior to Thanksgiving, to allow the Appropriations Committees of the House and Senate to begin their much-delayed work of coming to a conclusion on the FY 2014 spending bills,” Mikulski and Rogers wrote in a letter to conference committee leaders. Perez Speaks to U.S. Chamber in Continued Outreach to Business Community The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its member businesses will always have a seat at the table, Labor Secretary Tom Perez said this week in remarks to the Chamber’s Labor Relations Committee. “Idealism and pragmatism are not mutually exclusive,” Perez said, acknowledging that his department will not always agree with the business community. Throughout his confirmation process and since taking the helm at DOL, Perez has said it is a priority to strengthen the department’s ties with the private sector. Julian Martinez Washington, DC ift.tt/1728HQg
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 16:06:36 +0000