What to Watch in Washington

When lawmakers return the second week of July, the House will take up the defense and intelligence authorization, arms sales, and raising the federal minimum wage. The Senate will take up nominations, spending bills and funding for Sept. 11 first responders. Congressional negotiations with President Trump to raise budget caps and the debt ceiling will continue.

National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

Senate

Before Senators headed home, the Senate passed its $750 billion national defense authorization act (NDAA) for fiscal 2020 (S. 1790) by a vote of 86-8. That amount includes about $642.5 billion in base funding for the DOD and $75.9 billion in OCO funding.

The bill would authorize a 3.1% pay increase for troops. The Senate-approved NDAA would also authorize the creation of a Space Force within the Air Force.

House

The House plans to take up its own defense measure (H.R. 2500) after lawmakers return. The House Armed Services Committee approved a $733 billion authorization bill earlier this month. The Pentagon would be authorized to spend $633 billion in regular funds and another $69 billion in OCO under the measure. The measure would also permit a 3.1% pay raise for troops.

Check out the all the latest from our nation’s capital in this week’s update here.

This Week in the States

• California – Proposed California Sports Betting Bill Likely To Face Tribal Opposition
• Ohio – Missing deadline, Ohio lawmakers pass 17-day stopgap to pay for state government
• Rhode Island – Winners and losers in R.I.’s 2019 General Assembly session
• Oregon – Dems finish legislative session with top priorities in hand
• New Jersey – Murphy Signs Budget After Face-Saving Vetoes
• Pennsylvania – PA GI Bill gives college benefits to National Guard families
• Massachusetts – Moody’s: Massachusetts’ late budget a sign of ‘governance weakness’
• Pennsylvania – Gov. Tom Wolf Vetoes Voting Machines Bill Over Changes To Elections
• New York – What happened to legal weed for New York?
• California – California could become first state to let student-athletes earn profits
• Wisconsin – Gov. Evers signs Wisconsin budget with 78 partial vetoes; ‘A down payment on the people’s budget’
• Louisiana – Louisiana treasurer withholding $25M planned for budget
• Massachusetts – Lawmakers Send Governor Bill to Help Public Worker Unions
• West Virginia – W.Va. ends year with $8.2M surplus
• Florida – Gov. DeSantis signs final bill, drawing a line under the 2019 session of the Florida Legislature
• New York – Panel named to set new public campaign finance rules for NY
• Colorado – Governor Jared Polis Is Working On A New Plan To Block Tax Relief
• Maine – Governor signs breweries, library funding bills
• California – How ‘Big Soda’ used its clout to stop 5 of 5 California laws to regulate sugary drinks
• Delaware – General Assembly puts final budget pieces in place, ends session with little drama

Duane Morris Government Strategies can provide your business or organization with the solutions it needs to track these and other developments in state capitals across the country.

To learn more, please contact us at info@dmgs.com or 609-577-3687