House and Senate Action

Following the Presidents Day recess, both chambers return to action this week. The Senate gaveled in earlier today, and the House will begin its work on Wednesday. The most pressing issue facing Congress is the potential for a partial government shutdown, which could begin this weekend. Despite being nearly five months into the current fiscal year, Congress has yet to approve any of the 12 annual spending bills that make up the federal budget. Since the October 1, 2023, start of the fiscal year, agencies have been operating under a series of short-term Continuing Resolutions (CR). Pursuant to the latest CR, four spending bills – those covering Agriculture, Energy and Water, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development – will expire on March 1st, while funding for the remaining federal agencies runs through March 8th. It should be noted that President Biden is scheduled to make his State of the Union address on March 7th.

There was some hope that House and Senate negotiators would release text of the first four spending bills this past weekend, but that did not ultimately come to fruition. Aside from some of the familiar funding disputes, there are a number of policy disagreements holding up a potential deal. At this point, there is enough uncertainty that a partial shutdown is possible. For his part, President Biden will meet with House and Senate leaders on Tuesday morning, but it’s unclear if this discussion will be enough to break the impasse.

In addition to the budget, the House will consider a short-term extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The extension would keep the FAA authorized until May 10.

Legislation Introduced to Protect Water Resources After Wildfires

Congressman Joe Neguse (D-CO) recently introduced legislation – the Watershed Protection and Forest Recovery Act (H.R. 7294) – that would help communities and water users protect their water supply after natural disasters on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands. Among other things, the legislation would create a new Emergency Forest Watershed Program (EFWP) within the Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would help streamline recovery efforts and protect water resources downstream of national forests. It also would allow local governments and water providers to enter into agreements with the Forest Service to implement watershed recovery protection measures.

Western Lawmakers Push for Improvements to Housing Conditions for Federal Wildland Firefighters

A bipartisan group of Western lawmakers recently sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the National Park Service (NPS) requesting immediate action to address reports of substandard housing conditions and exorbitant rent increases plaguing federal wildland firefighters. The lawmakers called for insight on the current quality of federal housing and the scope of the reported rent increases. A copy of the letter can be accessed here.