The Senate yesterday approved funding to keep the government open through March 11, allowing congressional negotiators an additional three weeks to reach a spending deal for fiscal year 2022. (CQ, Feb. 18) 

From CR to Omni 

• The legislation (H.R. 6617) extends FY2021 funding levels, averting a government shutdown at midnight tonight. President Biden is expected to sign the Continuing Resolution (CR), which was passed by the House last week. (Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 11)
  
  
• Congressional appropriators are now focused on crafting an “omnibus” bill to fund the government though the end of FY2021, which began Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. A deal on an omni package would consolidate 12 separate spending bills and release additional funds for infrastructure. (Tax Notes, Feb. 18)
  
  
• The must-pass omnibus could become a vehicle for additional tax measures, including expired tax incentives and energy credits known as extenders. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, (D-OR), told Tax Notes on February 10 that certain credits may be included in an omnibus bill or in a scaled-down Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376).
  
  
• The Biden administration’s request for Congress to appropriate billions more in COVID-19 response funds is meeting bipartisan resistance. Senate Appropriations Chair Patrick Leahy (D-VT) this week commented on negotiations about the omnibus and the White House supplemental, stating, “That should probably be a separate bill.” (Politico, Feb. 17 and PoliticPro, Feb. 18) 

Roundtable & Energy Measures 

• Omnibus negotiations and pandemic funding may be followed by congressional consideration of a pared-down BBB bill as the mid-term elections grow closer. Key Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has signaled his support for climate measures in a revised BBB package. (CNN, Jan. 5 and New York Times, Jan. 20)
  
  
• The Roundtable has supported the BBB Act’s climate measures, which include a suite of clean energy tax credits and incentives amounting to $300 billion. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 7)
  
  
• The Roundtable sent a letter to Congressional tax writers on Nov. 16, 2021 detailing five recommendations aimed at improving the green energy tax provisions affecting real estate. (Roundtable letter, Nov. 16)  

The Senate returns on Feb. 28 for President Biden’s first State of the Union address on March 1, which will be followed by the administration’s FY2023 budget request. 

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