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Congressional Recess Update and Outlook

By Doug MacGillivray posted 08-09-2018 09:51 AM

  
Congress has adjourned for their traditional summer recess. The House began recess on July 26, while the Senate stayed for one extra week and adjourned on August 3. The Senate is planning to take an abbreviated recess this year of only two weeks in order to continue work on several pending legislative issues. The House will return on September 4 to begin its fall session.

August recess is a time for legislators to spend extended time in their districts and serves several purposes. First, members of Congress interact with constituent interests and can hear about issues that affect local businesses, families, and individuals. This is a key opportunity for constituents to establish a connection with their Congressmen or Senators and bring their issues to the forefront. For public natural gas systems, this is an excellent opportunity to invite members for a site visit and explain some of the main issues impacting the industry. This is a crucial step to establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with your Congressional Representatives and Senators.

The second purpose for August recess is campaigning. Since it is an election year, Representatives spend significant time at rallies and other campaign events. Campaign interests often overtake policy initiatives around this time of year, so it can be difficult to make significant headway on many legislative goals. However, if given the opportunity to interact with candidates, public natural gas systems should discuss their priority policy issues and establish a relationship.

Washington grinds to a halt in August and no legislating occurs. The rest of the 115th Congress will be dominated by the highly-contentious midterm elections in November. It is safe to say few, if any, significant legislation will be tackled. It is a near guarantee that no energy legislation will be addressed. However, there are some bills that must be passed.
Congress must complete their annual appropriations process by September 30 or the government will shut down. Both chambers have moved spending packages through the year, so progress is actually moving along better than in previous years. However, uncertainty surrounding whether or not the President will sign an omnibus spending bill that excludes funding for a border wall leaves a threat of a shutdown on the table.

Outside of spending bills, few must-pass items remain. The House is only in for four more weeks of legislating until elections. After the November elections, Congress is set for four weeks of “lame duck.” If Republicans lose their majority in the House (or the unlikely instance they lose the Senate), they could be emboldened to pass last-minute bills before the end of the year. If they maintain their majority, expect little legislation to pass during the holiday season.

For questions on this article, please contact Doug MacGillivray of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2842 or by email at dmacgillivray@apga.org.

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