As Congress hurries to its pre- election recess, the list of major bills the House and Senate must pass before leaving may only include one item: legislation to keep federal agencies operating past September. Construction officials also are watching a wide-ranging energy policy bill that has moved into House-Senate conference-committee negotiations but isn’t expected to be wrapped up by Oct. 1. At ENR press time, the Senate was on the verge of passing a new Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). It authorizes 30 Army Corps of Engineers projects, plus Environmental Protection Agency water infrastructure programs, including drinking-water aid for cities such as Flint, Mich. In the House, a narrower bill has cleared committee.
The immediate priority is a new stopgap continuing resolution (CR). To avoid shutting federal agencies, the measure must be enacted by Oct. 1, when fiscal 2017 begins. “The only bill that I see is ‘must pass’ is the CR,” says John Doyle, special counsel with law and lobbying firm Jones Walker LLP.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sept. 12 said he planned to move a CR to fund agencies through Dec. 9 at current levels. He said it would include money to combat the Zika virus and assist veterans.