July Outlook: Battles Raging Below

09 Jul July Outlook: Battles Raging Below

While most would rather be somewhere on a back porch in July, this month promises to be extremely busy and potentially brutal in Washington. The Senate will start to fill the vacancy created on the Supreme Court due to Justice Kennedy’s June surprise (not to mention the prospect of being here most of next month) and the long August recess looms large for the House. The appropriations process also will continue to move forward, with a conference expected on the first “minibus” as well as efforts to move other similar packages in both chambers. Outside of the Supreme Court nominee and spending bills, Congress likely only has the bandwidth to do perennial items (flood insurance reauthorization, defense authorization and the Farm Bill are discussed below, but FAA and water resources also must be completed this year) before November 6^th. And as we continue to endure a long campaign season, with the repercussions of some results just beginning to be felt, July offers a bit of a respite before we face the last of the primaries next month and in early September ahead of the two-month slog to the mid-terms. We highlight these and other issues below as we preview what we believe will be the focus in Washington this month, subject as always to external or unexpected events that could disrupt the schedule.