On October 21, the House passed a second continuing resolution, H.J.Res. 73, to fund the government through November 7. The House bill was also intended to serve as a vehicle for an “omnibus” appropriations legislation which would include the six unfinished spending bills that had not yet been considered by the full Senate. Included among those unfinished bills are the Agriculture and VA-HUD bills.
The Senate has not yet passed a companion CR, and would be unlikely to pass the House bill in its current form. The Senate continues to consider individual spending bills. It is the intention of the Senate leadership to keep any omnibus bill that may be necessary as small as possible. Consideration of VA-HUD may occur next week.
Senate Banking Committee
The Committee held a hearing on improving regulation of Government Sponsored Enterprises (Fannie May, Freddie Mac, and the Home Loan Banks). The hearing explored regulatory independence and “exposure of taxpayers to risks from the GSEs.”
