GOVERNMENT Inside The Beltway


By John Ariale – OABA’s Government Relations Team The Path t


The Path to Keeping the Go


The path to funding the government never seems easy and this year was no different as


Congress struggled to appease the many voices in the legislature and produce a product that would pass in the House and the Senate.


During the month of September, Speaker Johnson brought his continuing resolution (CR) proposal to the House Floor for consideration twice and as expected, the bill failed to pass each time. The concerns from lawmakers centered around the six-month (an extremely long length of time for a CR), allowing higher spending limits to be in effect longer than anticipated, and the inclusion of the SAVE Act (a provision that former President Trump pressured the Speaker to consider) — which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. After two attempts to pass this


CR package failed, Speaker Johnson stated that the Conference would “go back to the playbook, we’ll draw up another play, and we’ll come up with a solution. I’m already talking  to colleagues about their many ideas.





And we’ll get right to it.” As this saga unfolded, the House utilized two of the three precious weeks of legislative time they have in September to agree on a solution and with only a week left, Johnson positioned the House to be in a situation where not many choices remain other than passing a clean, short-term CR. To the outside world, the drama  succeeded in getting members on the record regarding where they stand. He has also attempted – and failed – to address former President Trump’s demands to include the SAVE Act in a much longer six-month CR. All along, Speaker Johnson has steadfastly supported the conservative wing of the GOP. Once it was clear that the path far-right conservatives and the former president want to pursue was not attainable, Speaker Johnson rallied the GOP around a new message – that the GOP must lead and avoid a shutdown so close to the election if they are serious about retaining or growing their majority. Once the Speaker shifted to the inevitable – a clean, three-month


CR – it was obvious that it would pass with overwhelming numbers and both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the stopgap funding measure to keep the government open until December 20th.  Democrat present along with 132 Republicans voted yes. This was the strongest GOP vote for a CR this Congress. The notable GOP no votes included several House committee chairs – Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest of Mississippi, Small Business Committee Chair


20 OABA ShowTime Magazine • NOVEMBER 2024 eeping the Government F nded and What it Means for O rnment Funded and What it Means for OABA


Roger Williams of Texas, Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman of Arkansas and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio. In addition, close allies of former President Donald Trump in the House – Florida GOP Reps. Matt Gaetz, Byron Donalds and Mike Waltz – voted against the stopgap along with several top House Freedom Caucus members including Chair Andy Harris (R-MD), Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Bob Good (R-VA) and Scott Perry (R-PA). Other interesting “no” votes included two likely new senators who


 majority vote of 78-18. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was able to lock in a time agreement on the Senate Floor to pass the CR immediately upon receiving it from the House


currently serve in the House and should be easily elected to their Senate seats in the next Congress – GOP Representatives Jim Banks of Indiana and John Curtis of Utah. Finally, three appropriators also voted no – Guest and GOP Representatives Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and Andrew Clyde (R-GA). On the Senate side, the CR


Once the measure cleared both chambers, Members left town to focus on the 2024 Elections. Their abrupt departure from Washington leaves a tremendous number of legislative priorities that remain incomplete and will undoubtedly set up a harrowing dash of legislative activity between November 12th and December 20th.


What About Our Key H-2B Provisions?


As you know, we have secured language on the House and Senate annual appropriations legislation to address cap relief, seasonality, allow the use of prevailing wage surveys and prohibit the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing the ¾ guarantee rule and corresponding employment provisions of the DOL regulations. The  on hold until Congress returns to Washington later this month to address funding the government beyond December 20th. During the deliberation on the CR, Speaker Johnson made it clear that will not support a massive omnibus spending bill before Christmas this year. “We have broken the Christmas omni and I have no intention of going back to that terrible tradition,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to have any buses. We’ll deal with that in the lame duck.” While there was no clear outline presented, we expect that the House will put several appropriations bills together in smaller packages for passage in Congress. If this is the direction that leadership ultimately pursues, OABA’s legislative priorities included in the Department of Homeland Security Appropriation’s bill along  considered separately or as part of a smaller bundle of bills to secure enough votes to pass the measure.


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