July 21st

1000 MORE's weekly nonpartisan roundup of the most important happenings in federal government, written in a way that doesn't require a law degree to understand, with tools to take action

July 21, 2023

This week on the Hill:

How to Avoid a Shutdown
What’s the Farm Bill?
Government Intervention on Flight Drama
Senate Bills on Tribal Matters
Biden Cancels $39B in Student Loan Debt

How to Avoid a Shutdown

September 30th is the deadline for Congress to pass the 12 annual budget bills to keep the government running. These bills are known as appropriations bills that fund the government and its programs. Ideally, Congress can pass each budget bill as a standalone bill by the end of September, but that is not what has happened recently. Federal government funding runs out October 1, which is the start of fiscal year 2024. If a shutdown happens, it could lead to airport delays, stalled Medicare and Medicaid payments, and a disruption in veterans' benefits.

Possible Scenarios

Full Shutdown: if none of the budget bills pass by September 30th, the entire federal government shuts down.

Partial Shutdown: if some pass and others don't, the parts of the government that didn't get funded for 2024 will close on October 1.

Continuing Resolutions: if Congress thinks a deal won’t get done by the deadline, they can pass temporary funding bills known as "continuing resolutions" to buy time and avoid a shutdown. Parties can then negotiate until they have an agreement.

Omnibus: Congress could combine the bills in question into one big “omnibus” bill to pass in one vote. This scenario is what has happened in the last few years, and with the contentious mood in divided government, it is very possible it will happen again this year.

Omnibus bills are often veto-proof, meaning that the president is likely to sign whatever passes into law, either to reopen the government if it is shut down, or to avoid a shutdown in the first place. That could mean that if far-right House Freedom Caucus members push culture war provisions into budget bills, and they end up in an omnibus bill, President Biden will not veto them because he needs the government to be open.

Minibus: Congress could also pass some of the budget bills by the September 30th deadline, and then pass a few continuing resolutions to buy time for a few “minibus” bills to get the remaining budget bills over the finish line.

What’s Next

While the House has passed the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill is waiting on a vote in the Senate. Congress has yet to vote on any additional budget bills. The bills are unlikely to pass both chambers by the August recess, meaning that Congress will only have 12 working days to pass them when they return to D.C. after Labor Day.

Some news outlets are reporting that a government shutdown is likely, even expected by some on the Hill, particularly in light of recent House Freedom Caucus member moves to stop votes until their demands are met. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, (D-CT) said, “they are leading us straight to a shutdown and will only have themselves to blame when we’re there.” Leading Republican committee chairs negotiating on the bills are adamant that there will not be a shutdown. We will keep you posted on Congress’ progress.

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What’s the Farm Bill?

The Farm Bill is the main bill that funds federal agriculture and nutrition programs. It has to be renewed every five years. The bill goes back to the presidency of FDR, who passed three bills to keep food prices fair, sustain the food supply, and protect natural resources during the man-made environmental disaster known as the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. 2018 was the last time Congress passed the bill, so it is up for renewal now.

This year’s bill includes funding for farms and farmers and it impacts what kinds of foods are grown and how food is grown based on funding priorities and allocations. The Farm Bill also funds federal nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as EBT. SNAP is the main federal anti-hunger, anti-poverty program for people with a low income. Roughly 12% of Americans - 41 million people - used the program in 2022, according to the nonprofit Feeding America. Two out of three of those households were families with children.

SNAP’s annual budget has almost doubled since the last Farm Bill: $127B in 2023, up from $65B in 2018. That number is expected to continue to climb, and the SNAP budget is estimated to make up more than 80% of all Farm Bill spending according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That’s why House Republicans want to cut SNAP spending, alongside funding for other nutrition programs. Democrats want to protect funding for SNAP, as well as the bill’s climate related programs.

Neither chamber has voted on the Farm Bill at this point. A vote is expected by the September 30th deadline, but this is considered a lower priority than the annual budget bills. That means Congress might pass temporary funding in a continuing resolution, and then work to pass the bill by the end of the year.

Read About The Bill & Take Action

Government Intervention on Flight Drama

The authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is up for renewal. In the Senate, Sen. Maria Cantwell, (D-WA) put forward the FAA Reauthorization Act, which for the first time would include measures to make airlines provide compensation to passengers for delayed or canceled flights to incentivize them to do better. The House bill to reauthorize the FAA is called Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act, and it’s causing drama in Congress.

United, American, and Alaska airlines are pushing to change FAA regulations so that more “long haul” flights can come into the airport closest to D.C. Certain members of Congress are siding with them because they would be able to land closer to their offices, instead of having to fly into Maryland or Virginia and drive an hour. The House voted down the amendment on this, so there will be no additional long haul flights into DCA, for now.

Pilots and unions are crying foul about the bill’s attempt to change the retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67. While advocacy organizations like the National Air Traffic Controllers Association and National Air Carrier Association are supporting the bill, the Association of Flight Attendants are against it for this reason. The NFL, MLB, NCAA and NASCAR are sharing their own concerns about the bill, saying that it would reverse federal law that bans aircraft from flying over sporting events, which would hurt the safety and health of ticket holders.

On Thursday, the House passed the bill by a vote of 351-69. The bill goes to the Senate next.

Read About The Bill & Take Action

Senate Bills on Tribal Matters

This week, the Senate passed four bills dealing with Tribal affairs:

Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act: This bill would put 700+ acres of land in San Diego County into a trust that would allow the Pala Band of Mission Indians to steward their ancestral lands and preserve sacred sites. After a 20-year fight, in 2016 the Pala Band bought the land from a developer who wanted to turn it into a landfill.

Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act: this bill would streamline and quicken the process the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) uses to approve mortgage packages associated with residential, business, and land mortgages on Indian land.

Urban Indian Health Confer Act: This bill would make the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand their work with urban Indian organizations regarding health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas.

A bill to amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act - This bipartisan bill would change the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to extend the deadline for the Secretary of the Interior to promote regulations implementing title IV of the Act.

Sen. Brian Schatz, (D-HI) touted the bills as bipartisan successes that “restore tribal homelands and support Native economic development.” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, (R-AK) said that the bills “will improve healthcare for urban Indian communities, advance tribal self-governance, increase Native homeownership, and protect sacred sites for future generations.”

The House had already passed the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act, so that bill goes to the president to be signed into law. The other three bills go to the Senate next. You can use the links above to read about the bills, and take action.

Biden Cancels $39B in Student Loan Debt

Last Friday, President Biden announced the cancellation of $39B in student debt for people who have been repaying their loans for 20 years or more under income-driven repayment plans (IDR). This automatic debt forgiveness will reach 804,000 loan borrowers in the coming weeks. The Department of Education has provided a state-by-state breakdown of the impact, alongside a list of who qualifies. Borrowers who qualify will receive a notification in the coming days.

In her statement on the announcement, Vice President Kamala Harris said that this was a move to correct harmful practices, as many borrowers had been, “placed into forbearance by loan servicers in violation of the rules, and others did not get appropriate credit for their monthly payments.”