Congress officially returns on January 3 to begin the 116^th Congress with Democrats taking control of the House on the strength of their strong returns in November. Divided control of government will face an immediate challenge in the stalled efforts to address the partial government shutdown which began December 22. The new House leaders have pledged to act immediately on legislation to end the shutdown, although Republican Senate leaders indicate they will follow the President’s lead and are unlikely to take up the House legislation. With the shutdown heading into its second...

With attention focused on the White House and the upcoming November midterm elections, Congress made notable progress this summer on FY19 funding measures but returns this week to a busy and likely contentious fall session. Members will be working against several major deadlines: the start of the new fiscal year October 1, which will drive attention to appropriations, and the start of the fall Supreme Court term also on October 1, which conservatives are eying as a deadline for confirmation of nominee Brett Kavanaugh. In addition, Congress and the Administration will increasingly be focused on the midterms with majorities in the House and Senate hanging in the balance. While we will have to wait until November for clarity on who controls Capitol Hill, we know now that there will be a lot of new faces in the next Congress, given near record Republican retirements, a well as turnover on the Democratic side – including last night in Massachusetts, where Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley defeated 10-term Representative Michael Capuano in a district that includes Allston and Longwood.... Read more about Federal Update: September Outlook in Washington

Bringing to an end the drawn-out negotiations over FY18 federal funding, Congressional leaders released a final omnibus-spending bill late Wednesday. The package allocates $1.3 trillion in FY18 funding across all government accounts and, on account of Congress’s agreement last month to eliminate the sequester, provides big increases for defense, as well as boosts to a number of University priorities, including a significant $3 billion increase for NIH.... Read more about Federal Update: Congress Releases Final FY18 Omnibus Funding bill

After Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY, AB’71, JD’74) unveiled a massive budget agreement on early Thursday, Congress moved quickly to continue government funding and pass this deal. There were objections to the deal from Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) that led to a brief middle of the night shutdown but ultimately, the deal continuing funding and providing a $300 billion increase of discretionary funding for fiscal years 2018 and 2019 passed both houses with strong bipartisan votes of 71-28 and 240-186. The President signed the bill this morning.... Read more about Federal Update: Congress Approves Two-Year, $300 Billion Budget Increase