Busy Weeks Ahead for Congress

The last three weeks in July could be the busiest of the 111th Congress. Many issues are left outstanding, particularly in the Senate, and several others are crowding the legislative calendar. Dominating the news cycles has been the Senate's failure to extend federal unemployment insurance. It is likely that the Senate will again take up this vote when members return from the week-long July 4th recess on July 12. The outcome, however, is very unclear. The extension failed to pass late last month because of the $33.3 billion price tag. Budget concerns also stopped the annual tax extenders package, which contained provisions supported by AGC, from moving forward. Also waiting on Senators' desks will be the confirmation vote for President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan. While her confirmation is expected, the debate and vote will use precious floor time. In addition, the Senate must also take up the final post-conference version of the Financial Regulatory reform legislation that passed the House late last month, and may resume consideration of a small business jobs bill. Also passed by the House last month and waiting for potential Senate pickup is the AGC-opposed DISCLOSE Act, which stifles the right of trade associations and corporations to speak out on behalf of the political candidates they support. Read more about that bill here. Democrats particularly are looking to get this bill passed to help their prospects in the midterm elections this November, where they are forecasted to receive substantial losses in both chambers. Other outstanding issues include authorizations for the Surface Transportation Program and the water and wastewater state revolving loan fund (SRF) programs. The SRF program has been stalled in the Senate over disagreement about the bill's application of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements. While the transportation program has been granted a short-term extension until the end of the year, the Senate has yet to unveil its version of a longer-term bill, which would then have to go through markup and approval by multiple committees before seeing floor time. The future of the majority of federal-aid work that AGC members perform is locked up in these two bills. Also left outstanding in the House and Senate is the next Department of Defense Authorization bill, which has several important possible changes to federal contracting as well as billions in military construction work. A permanent fix to the estate tax seemed to have momentum behind it earlier in the year, particularly because the rate fell from 45 percent in 2009 to zero percent for this year and is scheduled to jump up to 55 percent next year, but the outlook is murky at best. Other big issues include administration priorities like climate change and immigration reform, and, potentially, contracting reform. Also looming is possible legislation dealing with the BP oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon site, as well as Congressional repeal of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.