WHAT TO … NOT EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING JET FUMES The holidays are upon us – a popular time to catalog everything that Congress still needs to do. So we thought we’d take a more pragmatic approach: laying out what lawmakers are unlikely to get done as they prepare to leave Washington by the end of next week. That leaves only a few chaotic days left in session, which means it’s easy to see quite a lot getting delayed until January or beyond. Here’s where the unfinished business stands: Federal spending: Remember those five individual spending bills that House Republicans have yet to pass? They’ve all but abandoned plans to try, as Speaker Mike Johnson’s staff instead quietly engages in talks over topline fiscal year 2024 numbers with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s staff. An agreement remains elusive. After lawmakers left town this week without that agreement, it’s starting to look very possible they’ll end December without a consensus framework for talks – and with the first government funding deadline looming on Jan. 19. To recap the stalemate, House conservatives are insisting on spending no money outside the spending caps established by this summer’s $1.59 trillion debt deal. That would mean nixing a handshake agreement to potentially add tens of billions of dollars to non-defense programs. Hardliners are also pushing to include any emergency money — such as tens of billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine — under existing spending caps. That’s an obvious no-go for Democrats. So it’s easy to see nothing happening on this before the holidays. Foreign aid: After a failed Senate vote on President Joe Biden’s $100 billion-plus request this week, border security negotiators are back to working on a possible deal that could win over the GOP support needed to pass aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. There’s some chatter among appropriators about trying to shift existing funds to help Ukraine, but Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) shot down that idea. "If we don't give money to Ukraine, there ain't any to reprogram,” he said. Democratic senators are optimistic that progress can be made on the emergency spending package of aid and border provisions before the end of the year – but without an official change in the schedule, it’s an increasingly safe bet that Congress will leave for the holidays without passing anything on this. FAA: Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration got decoupled from government funding months ago. Lawmakers described that as an intentional move to keep aviation safety from causing a “double shutdown” should no overall spending deal get reached. But we’re already close to the Dec. 31 expiration of the FAA patch they passed, and – trend alert! – it looks like yet another stopgap patch will be needed. The House and Senate are expected to pass that next week to extend FAA’s current authorization until March 8, theoretically giving senators more time to negotiate. While the House passed its FAA bill with a large bipartisan majority over the summer, the Senate has yet to move its version. Farm bill: The 2018 farm bill got its own stopgap extension that runs until Sept. 30, 2024, and key lawmakers have already conceded that they won’t even start on a new bill until next year while competing priorities like fiscal 2024 appropriations take precedence. Of course, they also continue to bicker over funding targets for the $1 trillion-plus food and agriculture bill. Happy Holidays, readers! — Daniella Diaz, with assist from Alex Daugherty, Caitlin Emma and Garrett Downs
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