Congress returns to tackle lengthy list of must-pass legislation

WASHINGTON — Congress returns from a monthlong recess Tuesday to tackle must-pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling, fund government programs and provide relief for storm-ravaged victims of Hurricane Harvey.

President Donald Trump promised fast relief to coastal communities inundated with floodwaters when Harvey slammed into the Texas coast and then sat over the state as a tropical storm, dumping epic amounts of rain.

“There’s never been anything so expensive in our country’s history,” Trump said during a trip to Texas last week to see the devastation firsthand.

The administration is asking Congress to approve a supplemental spending bill to address the disaster.

Trump will meet with House and Senate leaders from both parties at the White House on Wednesday.

In addition to disaster relief, the president has also asked lawmakers to approve a spending bill for fiscal year 2018 that includes $1.6 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Trump has threatened a “government shutdown” if he doesn’t get his top wish-list item.

Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have been lukewarm to spending for a border wall.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., downplayed the shutdown scenario, saying it was more likely that Congress would pass a continuing resolution to provide government spending at current levels, pushing back the possibility of a partial shutdown until later this year.

In addition to an emergency spending bill to help storm victims, other mounting financial pressures and deadlines loom large.

Raising the debt ceiling

Lawmakers must raise the debt ceiling to prevent a default on financial obligations and pass a spending bill to keep the government running and avoid a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin wants a “clean” lift of the debt ceiling by Sept. 29. But conservative GOP House members, led by Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., want spending cuts in the bill that include tighter eligibility Medicaid requirements.

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer of New York said his caucus would oppose raising the debt ceiling if GOP tax reform includes tax cuts to the top 1 percent of taxpayers that add to the debt.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said before the August recess that he expects bipartisan support to lift the debt ceiling and avoid a default crisis that would shake the financial markets.

In addition to the financial battles, other programs and funding are set to expire without quick action by Congress.

“We need to work with the administration and have all hands on deck to meet our deadlines and deliver results,” said Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who sits on the Senate Finance Committee.

Heller said Nevada families are looking to Congress to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Federal Aviation Administration and “tackle tax reform.”

Trump’s tax reform plan

Trump and Republicans have promised tax reform to lower the rate charged on businesses and provide a middle-class tax cut.

Trump rolled out a tax reform proposal last week that lacked specifics. He is seeking a reduction in the corporate tax rate and cuts for middle-class families.

Heller and other Republicans applauded the president’s push to reform the tax code, while Democrats like Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., called it “vague promises” and warned of “trickle-down economics” that would benefit the wealthy and leave the middle class behind.

Schumer said Democrats would oppose any plan that provides a tax cut for the nation’s wealthiest people.

Republicans sought to reduce taxes on higher earners in their House and Senate bills to replace the Affordable Care Act, contentious legislation that stalled in the Senate when Republicans failed to muster a majority to pass the bill.

The Senate could still bring up another health care bill if they find consensus on legislation that can pass.

Meanwhile, Congress faces a Sept. 29 deadline to provide funding for CHIP, which complements Medicaid and covers 8.9 million children, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Failure to extend CHIP funding would likely result in coverage losses for children and increased financial pressure for states, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis states.

There are 25,000 Nevada children in the state’s CHIP, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

Titus, instrumental in creating the state CHIP “Nevada Check Up” program when she served in the state Senate, said any efforts by the administration or the GOP to reduce funding “would be unconscionable.”

The future of the FAA

Another program that faces a Sept. 29 deadline and is of major importance to Las Vegas is the reauthorization of the FAA.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved a bipartisan bill that reauthorizes FAA operations for the next five years.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., a member of the committee, voted for the bill, noting that “the aviation sector is a main driver of Nevada’s economy and an integral piece of our booming travel and tourism industry.”

But the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers have eyed privatization of air traffic control operations, a proposal that Democrats in both legislative chambers say they would oppose.

“Privatization is a bad idea,” Titus said.

Meanwhile, the National Flood Insurance Program under the Federal Emergency Management Agency could run out of funding by the end of September.

The Senate has introduced a bipartisan bill to extend the program. Some House Republicans have called for cuts.

Administration officials, however, said they are optimistic the program will be extended expediently by Congress following the devastation caused by Harvey.

“I have every confidence Congress will reauthorize that program,” said Tom Bossert, White House homeland security adviser.

Contact Gary Martin at 202-662-7390 or gmartin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.