Budget Conferees Meet Again Next Week

On Nov. 13, budget conferees are scheduled to gather for a second public meeting to debate the appropriate top-line numbers and policy mix for a fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget. The 29 conferees will have four weeks remaining before the Dec. 13 deadline to reach a final agreement. Although no details of the meeting agenda have been released by the budget staff, some of the conferees have expressed interest in having an independent budget expert testify on the fiscal challenges ahead. In addition to ongoing private conversations between the leaders of the conference, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), other conferees on the committee have been talking during informal meetings and phone conversations while the House has been on recess this week. Chairman Ryan and others on the committee have predicted no “grand bargain” on long-term deficit reduction, suggesting they may not tackle any large structural changes in the entitlement programs. Expert observers and members of the budget conference have been alluding that an agreement will most likely take the form of a one- or two-year government funding deal, which would include some relief from the next round of sequestration. Chairman Ryan and other Republicans have pressed Democrats on the panel to consider smaller changes, such as means testing for Medicare, as part of a sequester replacement package. A multitude of leading business groups and coalitions have been asking conferees to seek common ground in order to avert a situation early next year that will lead to yet another fiscal crisis precipitated by brinkmanship. Last week, AGC sent a letter to the conferees outlining industry priorities on taxes, entitlement spending, sequestration and investment in the nation’s infrastructure. The budget conference meeting is expected to be broadcast live either on C-SPAN or the Budget Committee's website on Wednesday, Nov. 13. On the tax reform front, House Leadership met with House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) regarding his proposals and timing on moving a tax reform package, and the House leadership’s chiefs of staff met as early as yesterday with senior Ways and Means staffers to discuss tax reform timelines. Early readouts suggest that leadership is hesitant on the current trajectory for a tax package in the Ways and Means Committee. For more information, please contact Brian Lenihan at (202) 547-4733 lenihanb@agc.org