Funding bill avoids shutdown, gives wins to Washington and Baltimore
3 min read
Bloomberg
A bumpy week on Capitol Hill ended with a continuing resolution to keep the government open until March 14, though with no decision on what promises to be a brutal fight over the debt ceiling limit, along with decisive wins for Washington D.C. and Baltimore.
“After a months-long push, a united Team Maryland has secured 100% full federal funding for the cost of replacing the Key Bridge and provided the necessary funds our state needs to move full steam ahead with the reconstruction,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen in a statement.
Using federal money to repair the bridge, which was partially demolished by a disabled cargo ship in March 2024, was one of the riders of the contentious CR that was opposed by President-elect Trump but signed into law by President Biden on Saturday.
The CR, which keeps the government open for less than three months, also approved the transfer of the 174-acre site that’s the current home of RFK Stadium to Washington from the federal government. That rider was cut from the CR during negotiations in the House but restored by a late inning move in the Senate.
“D.C. has scored a victory in its fight for self-determination just in time for the holidays,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s non-voting delegate.
Washington notched another win as the CR approved a $90 million appropriation to cover the costs of the coming inauguration in January. The city’s mayor, CFO and the Chairman of the City Council made their case for the funding in a rare
What appeared to be a done deal last week was knocked off the tracks by Trump who insisted that any CR should include raising the debt ceiling while Biden in still in office.
Per Trump’s statement posted on Vice President-elect Vance’s X account, “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now.”
Raising the debt ceiling invariably leads to questions about the country’s ability to pay its own debt and could rattle the Treasury bond market.
The debt ceiling debate became a can kicked down the road as 38 House Republicans working as fiscal hawks refused to get onboard with the plan.
The squabble between Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, and rebellious House members signals what could turn into a move to topple Speaker Mike Johnson, R- La., from his leadership role.
The 119th Congress is facing a series of heavy lifts including the future of the Tax Cuts and Job’s Act, Trump’s key legislative accomplishment of his first administration.
The TCJA eliminated advance refunding on tax-exempt bonds and capped the deduction for state and local taxes – two bones of contention in the municipal bond community.
Leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee will remain intact during the post-election transition. Tax policy flows through the Ways and Means, as Chairman Jason Smith D- Mo., has already started a steady drumbeat for maintaining the status quo.
“Failure to extend the expiring provisions of the Trump tax cuts is not an option, and for the past two years the Ways and Means Committee has been hard at work to extend and build on the success of President Trump’s economic policies,” said the Chairman.
The statement was released Sunday to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the law.
