19E - FED & STATE LOBBYIST SUMMARY

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their bills and a final bill would then be passed and sent to the President who, presumably, would sign it into law. Appropriations Early in 2017, Congress will need to address appropriations for two fiscal years. Lawmakers punted the FY 2017 appropriations bill last Congress in a continuing resolution (CR) that expires on April 28, 2017. As a result, Congress must determine whether to extend the current CR for the rest of the fiscal year, or try to pass an appropriations package. Many observers believe that Congress may pass a defense appropriations bill (and potentially a defense supplemental to provide funding for the border wall); however, time constraints will likely force Congress to extend all other funding through a CR for the remainder of the year. Meanwhile, the President and Congress will also need to focus on the FY 2018 appropriations process in the spring. The President's budget is due in February—a deadline that was missed. Once Congress receives the President's budget in the spring, they will begin crafting legislation. Around this time, members of appropriations committees will accept requests from stakeholders. Appropriations subcommittees will hold hearings and mark ups, and then the full committee will vote on each individual bill. Debt Ceiling Negotiations & Spending Caps Congress and the Administration will also face a major legislative hurdle: sequestration. When the Budget Control Act of 2011 was enacted, it set in motion very low spending caps, limiting federal funding for defense and non-defense discretionary programs. Since then, Congress has reached short-term agreements to increase spending above the caps and avoid sequestration—or across-the-board spending cuts that are triggered when Congress spends more than the caps allow. Most recently in October 2015, Congress reached a two-year agreement to increase the spending caps for FY 2016 and FY 2017 and to suspend the debt ceiling through March 2017. Low spending caps are slated to return in FY 2018, however, unless Congress acts again. For the last several years, Congress agreed that parity was central to any spending negotiations so that the impact of these spending caps fell equally on defense and non-defense programs. However, President Trump has indicated that he wants to eliminate parity by lifting the spending caps for defense programs. Such an action could result in placing the full weight of budget limitations on non-defense programs. Further, he has proposed cutting non-defense spending by an additional 1 percent each year for the next 10 years. Both of these proposals could devastate funding for many critical programs and significantly impede negotiations on FY 2018 appropriations. Affordable Care Act (ACA) Process The FY 2017 budget reconciliation bill could repeal all of the ACA's tax and revenue provisions, as well as its spending provisions—such as the premium tax credits to subsidize the purchase of insurance policies, the various forms of financial support for insurers offering plans, and the funding for expanded Medicaid matching funds to cover adults. But some provisions probably 19E'=120