GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS FEATURES inside the behtway W
ith a few hours to spare, Congress passed a Continu- ing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded past the end of the fiscal year on September 30th. The CR authorizes funding and provisions to be in place through December 16th. At that time, Congress is expected to return to Washington after the elections — and depending on the outcome of the elections — will pass some version of a full year funding bill, called an omnibus bill (combining multiple spending bills into one larger piece of legislation). Generally, spending measures and provisions are the only things that are carried over through the term of a CR. Policy matters — such as the H-2B cap relief measure included in the FY22 law — generally do not extend through the period of the CR unless specifically allowed for in the legislation. When Congress passed the CR that allows funding through December 16th, they did include our H-2B cap relief language in the mea- sure, thus allowing the provision to remain in effect until the omnibus measure is passed.
The CR that passed began with the U.S. Senate revealing its version of the stopgap funding bill. The proposal includes more than $12 billion in aid for Ukraine. To date, the U.S. has provided approximately $20.6 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict. The Continuing Resolution (CR) announced earlier this week includes an ad- ditional package of aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces, which invaded the country in February but have strug- gled on the battlefield. The CR earmarks more than $12 billion for Ukraine aid, in addition to the $54 billion already pledged by lawmakers earlier this year. The $54 billion is broken down into three main buckets — $31.4 billion in traditional foreign aid, $20.6 billion in other military resources, and $1.7 billion in other aid to Ukraine (like diplomatic programs and enforc- ing sanctions). The CR includes $3 billion to provide military assistance, including training, equipment, weapons and logis- tics support; $1.5 billion to replenish U.S. stocks of equipment provided to Ukraine or to foreign countries that have provided support; and $2.8 billion for continued military, intelligence and other defense support. An additional $35 million will go to fund responses to “potential nuclear and radiological inci- dents” in Ukraine and prevent that material from being stolen. Legislation by Senator Joe Manchin (
D-W.Va.) to expedite the energy-permitting process, which most Senate Republicans opposed, was removed during negotiations, thus avoiding an embarrassing defeat in a Senate vote on the measure.
NOVEMBER 2022 | OABA ShowTime Magazine 23
by John Ariale, Husch Blackwell Strategies – OABA’s Government Relations Team by Government Officlal Name
Continuing Resolution Passes and Extends H-2B Cap Relief; Midterms will Determine Control of Congress
Numerous House and Senate Republicans voiced concern about the Manchin provision including House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro. As a result of the backlash from progressives over environmental concerns and failure to pick up enough support from Republicans, Manchin requested to withdraw the provision from the government funding package. Manchin’s permitting proposal would have expedited the permitting and environmental review process for energy proj- ects — including a major pipeline that would cross through Manchin’s home state of West Virginia. Senate Democratic leaders had been pushing to pass it along with government funding as a result of a deal cut to secure Manchin’s support for Democrats’ controversial Inflation Reduction Act — a key prior- ity for the party.
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