Discussions between President Obama and congressional leaders to sidestep year-end tax increases and spending cuts are picking up, even if it isn’t clear whether any progress is being made. Obama spoke to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) over the weekend, but a follow-up to their Nov. 16 meeting at the White House has not yet been scheduled …
A dispute over an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has pushed back Senate consideration of the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill again, but debate on the annual policy legislation could begin later this week. The latest delay stems from a disagreement between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Paul over the amendment that would guarantee a jury trial for Americans detained in terrorism cases. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, on Monday told CQ that Graham’s concerns would be addressed shortly, which should allow the bill to go to the chamber floor by Wednesday. If the Senate begins debating the authorization bill then, a final vote could take place next Monday. Now McCain and Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Armed Services chairman, are screening proposed amendments in an attempt to limit the floor debate to three days.
Defense community leaders are hopeful Congress will act on sequestration, defense authorization and related spending bills in the remaining weeks of the 112th Congress, ADC President Bob Murdock wrote to congressional leaders. “Among the most immediate concerns is the need to reverse sequestration,” Murdock writes in Nov. 16 letters to Defense Communities Caucus co-chairs, House and Senate leaders, and key committee members. “Our communities would be among the first impacted by drastic defense spending cuts if implemented in January 2013 …
A former senior defense official is betting that the lame-duck Congress will be unsuccessful in blocking $54 billion in fiscal 2013 defense cuts from starting to take effect in January, but at the same time believes lawmakers will have several months to act before the full effects of the deep spending reductions are felt. Perhaps the biggest challenge for lawmakers during the lame-duck session is the clock, said David Berteau …
Discussions among congressional and White House staffers over how to craft an agreement to prevent massive tax hikes and spending cuts from going into effect next year remain divided over the timing and magnitude of potential approaches. Staff from the two parties generally agree on a two-step process to avert the fiscal cliff, but differ on how much can be accomplished during the lame-duck session. Democrats prefer striking a deal during the lame-duck session on a deficit reduction down payment of up to $1.6 trillion over 10 years …
As the year-long fight to overturn $500 billion in automatic spending cuts is overtaken by the larger issue of averting the fiscal cliff, defense industry officials find themselves on the periphery of discussions primarily centered on overhauling the tax code and reforming entitlement programs. At the same time, industry’s campaign to nullify sequestration wasn’t helped by the presidential election as Republican efforts to turn it into a referendum on President Obama’s alleged support for the across-the-board cuts did not resonate with voters …
A high level of interest among senators to offer amendments to the fiscal 2013 defense authorization bill could jeopardize the chamber’s goal of finishing debate on the measure during the lame-duck session that begins in earnest next week, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Monday. Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.) are working to limit amendments to help ensure the debate can be completed in three days, but a hurdle already appeared last week when Rand Paul (R-Ky.) placed a hold on the measure …
Staff for the House and Senate Appropriations committees are nearing completion on an omnibus spending bill to fund the government through the end of fiscal 2013 even though congressional leaders have not yet indicated whether they are interested in clearing the package, or simply extending the current stopgap funding bill. Appropriators are pushing for the omnibus — which would combine individual spending bills for each of the 12 appropriations subcommittees — because it would mean work done earlier in the year preparing each of the bills would not go to waste …
The defense budget likely will not emerge unscathed from any deal that lawmakers and the White House reach to prevent the nation from going over the fiscal cliff, with many defense firms estimating the department will be forced to take a $25 billion hit to fiscal 2013 spending. “If they come up with a deal to avert sequestration, I think the defense portion of that deal will be cuts [at] about half the level that sequestration would require …
Following an hour-long meeting at the White House on Friday, President Obama and congressional leaders expressed confidence a deficit-reduction deal could be reached to avert deep spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect in January. Republican leaders reiterated their willingness to offer increased tax revenue in return for long-term changes to entitlement programs at the kickoff meeting, although the question of whether to extend the expiring Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans was not addressed …