February 9, 2018
The Budget Battle went to the center stage this week. Republicans wanted to raise the caps on defense spending, and Democrats wanted to spend more on domestic programs. Neither party saw the benefit of shutting down the government, and the idea of governing with a series of stop-gap, last minute patches didn’t set well with anybody.
Steve Gordon summarizes the week, including a summary of Glen Hamer’s meetings in Washington, in “Heard on the Hill.” Dana Marston provides a calendar of next week’s hearings and legislative markups, as well as the latest in the nation’s unemployment numbers, the trade balance, and Congress’s proposed budget deals.
Next week, Steve will summarize some of the conversations from the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s winter retreat, and we’ll have updates on pending legislation from some of our colleagues.