CONGRESS STRUGGLES TOWARD ADJOURNMENT WITH HEAVY AGENDA

News Date December 11, 2007

       The House and Senate are rushing to complete a heavy agenda before adjourning for this year's legislative session. Lawmakers are trying to finish their work by December 14 and are struggling to pass the FY08 appropriations bills, the farm bill, a comprehensive energy bill, and a tax measure.
       Both chambers will consider a massive omnibus spending bill that will combine eleven of the twelve annual appropriations bills for FY08. Details of the omnibus spending bill remains uncertain as budget negotiations between Congress and the White House continue. President Bush wants Congress to reduce overall federal spending for domestic programs by $22 billion. However, congressional appropriators recently decided to cut only $11 billion. There is also disagreement over the amount of funding for the Iraq war and supplemental emergency spending for a variety of programs, such as agriculture disaster assistance. The final outcome remains in doubt especially since the president has threatened to veto the spending measure.
       Another legislative priority is a comprehensive energy bill (H.R. 6). The House passed the energy legislation on December 6 after months of gridlock. The bill would require automakers to increase vehicle fuel economy standards for the first time in decades to 35 miles per gallon by 2020. It also requires refiners to increase the current volume of renewable fuels by five-times to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The House-passed energy bill faces major obstacles in the Senate and lawmakers are working to revamp and pass the legislation before adjourning.  (Contact: Charlie Ingram)