​​Quarterly DC Update

Check this page quarterly for an update and inside look at what policymakers are focused on and the political climate in DC.

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Publix Lay of the Land - Q2 2024

Solutions for FY24 Spending & the Start of FY25 Appropriations

In the first quarter of 2024, Congress and the Biden administration have been almost entirely focused on passing FY24 spending measures and turning their attention to FY 2025 appropriations. This is all taking place as the November election is swiftly approaching, with a growing number of lawmakers having announced their intent to depart early or at the end of this Congress.

At the beginning of this year, policymakers were struggling to find a path forward on FY24 appropriations. Congress has avoided a government shutdown several times over the past six months by passing a series of continuing resolutions (CRs) that maintain government funding in the absence of enacting a full omnibus package. The central issue was that Republicans and Democrats were far apart in their desired spending levels and needed more time to complete their negotiations.

Nonetheless, Congress was able to find final bipartisan solutions for FY24 appropriations – albeit six months behind schedule – in the month of March. Lawmakers first passed a six-bill, $467.5 billion package – including the Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water Development, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-HUD bills – in early March. Following the passage of this initial package, Congress then enacted a second package of appropriations measures last week, encompassing the six remaining spending bills for Fiscal Year 2024. This $1.2 trillion funding package included the spending bills for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health & Human Services, Education, and more.

While FY24 appropriations have finally wrapped, the FY25 process is now quickly beginning. On March 11^th, President Joe Biden officially delivered his Fiscal Year 2025 budget request to Congress – providing an outline of the administration's top priorities for funding and policies across the federal ecosystem. Though the budget is mostly just a blueprint of top administration priorities, the delivery of the budget request official kicks off Congress' annual budgetary and appropriations process. This budget request for FY 2025 includes approximately $1.63 trillion in base discretionary funding – $895.2 billion for defense spending and $770 billion for non-defense programs. Furthermore, the budget is also projected to reduce deficits by $3 trillion over the next ten years. In tandem, most congressional offices have now solidified their process for appropriations requests and will move quickly to finalize and review those requests.

Focus on Bipartisan Tax Legislation

Beyond this focus on appropriations, there has also been ongoing support for moving a bipartisan tax package. In mid-January, House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) unveiled a $78 billion bipartisan, bicameral tax legislative package – the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. The bill includes several tax measures – ranging from business tax credits to the Child Tax Credit to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit – and is fully paid for by rescinding the COVID Employee Retention Tax Credit. As far as business solutions, the framework contains several important provisions, such as: 1) immediate deductions of the R&D tax credit, 2) flexibility for businesses related to interest deductibility, 3) restoration of full and immediate expensing for machines and equipment, 4) an expansion of the small business expensing cap, and more.

This legislation passed the House in early February by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 357-70, but remains stalled in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has indicated that he intends to set up procedural votes on the legislation in April. With credits from the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act set to expire in 2025, this year is set to be consequential for tax legislation to reauthorize these measures. There remains interest on both sides of the aisle to find a way forward, but the parties remain far apart on key provisions so it will likely take a while longer to reach a consensus.

Farm Bill

Furthermore, lawmakers will also be focused on reauthorizing the Farm Bill during the remainder of the year. One of the continuing resolutions that was passed last year included a one-year extension of the Farm Bill, which authorizes all funding for Department of Agriculture programs. It is widely expected that lawmakers will focus in the latter months of this year to pass a full five-year reauthorization of the Farm Bill.

Other Areas

Lastly, amid a consequential election year, there will continue to be a focus on other narrower policy areas. This will mainly focus on workforce development, regulation of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), artificial intelligence regulation, potential movement on tax legislation, and a few other areas. 2024 is poised to be an important year to watch with heavy policy activity and an unprecedented electoral season.​