House Republicans this week said efforts on a two-year budget deal to fund government programs and agencies are progressing as the current, short-term government funding extension is set to expire on Jan. 19. 

Consensus on outstanding policy disagreements did not emerge this week, despite a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Tuesday between President Trump and congressional leaders.  (  White House video  , Jan. 9)

Congress may pass a fourth "Continuing Resolution" (CR) for FY2018 to fund the government until mid-February and buy time to address spending limits on military and nondefense programs – including immigration policies such as border security and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA, or "Dreamers") program. 

The budget affects other issues of importance to CRE such as the National Flood Insurance and  EB-5 foreign investment programs.  If an agreement among policymakers is not forged next week and another CR cannot be passed, the government will shut-down. 

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters yesterday that a negotiated solution on both spending caps and Dreamers is uncertain. "There is no point in having another CR unless we have an agreement on DACA and funding, disaster aid, a number of issues that have to be dealt with," Pelosi said.  

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) this week said, "I believe we can get to a solution here in the next day or two so we can move forward.  If we're able to have that budget agreement, we'll need some time for appropriators to do their work, so we'd have a continuing resolution." (CQ, Jan. 11) 

Consensus on outstanding policy disagreements did not emerge this week, despite a bipartisan meeting at the White House on Tuesday between President Trump and congressional leaders.  (White House video, Jan. 9)  

Other issues under discussion include the fate of a bill introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) late last year that would extend various expired energy and other temporary tax provisions. (Wall Street Journal, Dec. 21, 2017) 

A separate tax "technical corrections" bill to address gaps and inconsistencies in last year's landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts is expected this quarter.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said this week that several extenders may be included in an upcoming CR. "I think it's important for Democrats and Republicans to really come together on a lot of key issues … I'm hopeful they all stay at the table and bring us either in one or two steps what we need to do," Brady said. 

It is unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with only a slim one-vote majority in the chamber, will be able to attract enough votes to pass a budget resolution. 

A separate tax "technical corrections" bill to address gaps and inconsistencies in last year's landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts is also expected this quarter.  Republicans would need to attract Democratic votes to reach a 60-vote threshold to pass another tax measure. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 5) 

The Roundtable and its Tax Policy Advisory Committee will discuss these issues in detail during The Roundtable's Jan. 24-25 State of the Industry Meeting in Washington. Among the prominent policymakers who will engage Roundtable members during the business meeting is Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and the Treasury Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Dana Trier.