Federal agencies would be financed for another month under bipartisan legislation approved by the House on Tuesday, the latest emblem of Congress' persistent inability to finish its budget work on time.
Senate passage, expected perhaps next week, will send the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature. Without that the government would deplete its spending authority on Feb. 18 and have to shutter most of its doors, an election-year embarrassment that neither party wants, and it will not happen.
The bill includes $350 million to address leaking military fuel tanks that have contaminated drinking water near Hawaii's Pearl Harbor, and nearly 6,000 people have complained of illness. The military has moved around 4,000 families into hotels and flown in water treatment systems from the U.S. mainland.
Tuesday's House vote was 272-162. All but one voting Democrat supported the bill, but it was opposed by more than 3 in 4 Republicans, who often use such votes to portray themselves as fiscal conservatives.
The short-term measure would fund government at last year’s levels through March 11. Congressional leaders say they hope that will give bargainers time to reach agreement on overall spending totals, and then write the 12 bills that spell out details on how agencies will spend that money.
Those bills finance everything from the armed forces to programs for education, the environment, veterans and public health. In addition, a portion of the 10-year, $1 trillion infrastructure bill — about $14 billion this year — can't be committed to projects until Congress approves a spending bill formally providing the money.
The government's budget year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. It's been many years since Congress has finished all its budget bills by Oct. 1 because of partisan fights over priorities.
“No one wins" when Congress has to rely on short-term legislation to finance agencies piecemeal, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs the House Appropriations Committee. The top Republican on that panel, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, said that while no one wants another stopgap bill, “the alternative is much worse" — a reference to a federal shutdown.
Pfizer has asked the FDA to expand authorization of COVID booster shots for all adults. The agency is expected to grant the request in the coming weeks, allowing vaccinated Americans as young as 18 to get boosted before the holidays. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, Regional Clinical Director at Carbon Health, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block Penguin Random House from acquiring its rival Simon & Schuster. The DOJ hopes this will block the merger, which it says would ultimately hurt authors and consumers nationwide. Barry C. Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute, joined Cheddar to explain what the lawsuit signals about the Biden administration's approach to cracking down on antitrust, and why Amazon might be next.
The major markets took a breather Tuesday, with the Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all finishing lower after notching record closes on Monday. Rhys Williams, Chief Strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he provides his biggest takeaways from the day's activity.
The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in the month of October, painting a better picture of the economy that analysts had expected. Jared Bernstein, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Election Day 2021 is in the books, and it wasn't a pretty picture for Democrats. Governor Phil Murphy narrowly won re-election in New Jersey and Republican Glenn Youngkin upset Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, with many other disappointing losses for the left. Meridith McGraw, national correspondent for Politico, breaks down the key takeaways from this year as the nation looks ahead to the 2022 midterms.
Markets opened higher to kick off the week as investors continue to digest the better-than-expected jobs report, which showed 531,000 new jobs created in October. Ken Johnson, CFA, Investment Strategy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to break down his early market insights.
Almost 2 years into the pandemic, supply chain woes continue to wreak havoc on our everyday lives.
From groceries to chip shortages, both consumers and retailers are feeling the strain with prices only climbing as a result. Data intelligence company Morning Consult is out with its U.S. Economic Outlook for November revealing just how much of a threat these hold-ups could pose to the greater economic recovery. John Leer, Chief Economist at Morning Consult joined Cheddar's Opening Bell.
After many years and at least two presidents hoping to overhaul America's infrastructure, congress finally came to an agreement. The House passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill late Friday, receiving thirteen republican votes but failing to earn votes from the six progressive squad members. Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Economics Reporter at Insider joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the economic impact of the bill.
