Congress has agreed to fund the government for another five days – through December 16 - to give it time to work out longer term appropriations legislation. The sides are furiously negotiating that appropriations bill, but progress has been slow. The sticking points mostly involve what policy “riders” should be attached to the final legislation. Most of these riders are not directly related to government funding. For instance, Republicans want riders to stop the flow of Syrian refugees and roll back some of Dodd Frank.
There also is talk of a rider to prevent the Department of Labor from implementing its IRA fiduciary proposal. The Republicans want a rider to stop DOL, but the White House does not. The question is whether Democrats on the Hill will agree to the DOL rider and, if they do, whether the President is willing to shut down the government over that rider and any others with a veto.
Also tangled up with the appropriations bill is the need to pass “tax extenders” legislation, reinstating tax code provisions that expired last year. Many of these provisions benefit businesses through items such as enhanced depreciation deductions. Also included is the IRA / charitable contribution provision for individuals over age 70-1/2. The hope is to make these provisions effective retroactively for 2015 and through 2016 (although some negotiators would prefer to make some of the provisions permanent).
(c) The Washington Update
http://www.thewashingtonupdate.com/
