Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Congress Heads into the Last Few Days in Session

With just days left before Congress leaves town on December 20, the goal is to release and pass in both chambers a continuing resolution (CR), H.R. 10445, the Further Continuing Appropriations and Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025. This will allow the government to continue operating at FY 2024 levels until March 14, 2025. A summary can be found here. As part of this CR, expect the farm bill to be given another extension of up to a year since the 118th Congress was unable to negotiate a bill that could be passed by both chambers and sent to the President for signature for a five-year reauthorization. There will also be money for disaster relief as part of the package, but much less than what President Biden was seeking. Disaster aid will be at the 110 billion mark.

Members of Congress will return to their districts to hold town halls and celebrate the holidays with their families before returning on January 3 for a new Congress. This new Congress will focus their efforts on passing bills that meet President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda since Republicans will control both chambers and the executive branch. Out of the gate will be efforts to use the reconciliation process to pass Republican bills that address border security, energy, and defense issues with another follow-on bill that will focus on major tax reform. 

As a constituent, researchers and others should take the time to sign up for both virtual and in person town halls by making sure you are on the email list for your two Senators’ and U.S. House Representative’s newsletters that will inform you of their next town halls and other ways to stay engaged with them. Go to house.gov and senate.gov to be connected to your Representative and Senators websites, where you should see a link to sign-up for their newsletter. Participating in a town hall will provide a direct opportunity to meet and speak personally with the elected official. Appropriators such as Rep. Ben Cline, who was just re-elected to serve in the 119th Congress, held a 1.5 hour in-person town hall at a popular delicatessen in Roanoke, Virginia, where his constituents spoke directly to him about their concerns. FASEB was there asking him to work in a bipartisan and bicameral way to ensure that NIH reform takes place in a way that does not harm the funding that is coming directly to institutions in and around the Roanoke Valley from NIH. This critical funding not only brings an exceptionally talented, skilled workforce into a more rural and blue-collar area, but also supports the training and development of the next generation of biomedical researchers and the businesses that support the local needs of this talented workforce.