House, Senate return for uncertain week
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| The House and the Senate will both be in session this week, but the prospects for key legislation are uncertain. House and Senate appropriations leaders have reached agreement on allocations for subcommittees that should make it easier for the writing of bills to government agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2024, Politico reported over the weekend. But no numbers for individual subcommittees have been released. The current continuing resolution funding the Agriculture Department and some other agencies expires March 1, and the CR for other agencies expires March 8. The House will meet at 2 p.m. today for legislative business, with votes on bills on the suspension calendar scheduled at 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. On Thursday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes are expected no later than 3 p.m. Under “legislation that may be considered,” the calendar lists H.R. 7024 – Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, as amended, sponsored by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo. The bill contains measures that would provide tax breaks to agriculture and a child tax credit measure that anti-hunger advocates have praised. But opposition to the bill has developed, MSNBC reported. |
| Food Research and Action Center President Luis Guardia said in news release today, “Under this bill, approximately 16 million out of the 19 million children currently left out of the full or any CTC will benefit, and an estimated 400,000 children will be lifted above the poverty line. Congress must seize this opportunity and act now so that more families with children struggling to make ends meet can get these enhanced tax credits this tax season.” Meanwhile, Congress continues to try to write a border and immigration measure to be attached to a bill to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel in their current conflicts. But former President Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president, is opposed to the bill and is discouraging members of Congress from supporting it, according to media reports. |
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