This week the House of Representatives passed a package of eight spending bills, covering topics from the EPA to defense spending. Along with the four spending bills passed previously, this means that the House has passed all twelve spending bills for the year. In contrast, the Senate has passed no appropriations bills, and only ten of the twelve have even cleared the appropriations committee. Congress faces a deadline, recently extended by a continuing resolution, of Dec. 8th to finish the appropriations process.
The House package contains a number of policy riders, including blocking EPA enforcement of its methane pollution rule to restricting and blocking use of civil asset forfeiture by the Department of Justice. Given the changes that Senate efforts may bring to the final budget, it is unclear if these restrictions will ultimately remain.
