ADVOCACY & POLICY UPDATE - June 3, 2024

FY25 Appropriations Work Underway

Washington Update

Appropriations

House Republicans are trying not to have a repeat of the difficult FY24 spending bills process and many have expressed faith that newly installed Chairman Tom Cole (OK) will be able to navigate the contentious political landscape and keep the appropriations proceedings on track. Cole has set forth an ambitious schedule that has all 12 FY25 funding bills passing the House floor before the August recess. While Republicans aren’t pushing for as steep cuts as they did last summer, the House GOP spending bills are nevertheless full of provisions Democrats oppose which could be a major hiccup in Cole’s aggressive schedule. Conservatives have already threatened not to pass any bills that don’t adequately address their priorities, while moderates say they won’t vote for spending bills full of contentious provisions that could jeopardize their standing in home districts. 

In the coming months Congress will face several issues, including the debt ceiling, federal spending, tax cuts and budget caps, that will almost certainly cause major waves among lawmakers on both sides. Conservatives are pushing to delay spending negotiations into early 2025, which would coincide with another new deadline to raise the debt ceiling. The Trump-era tax cuts are also set to expire next year, along with spending caps that dictate budgets for military and federal agencies. Needless to say, it promises to be a chaotic appropriations season.

Initial Jobless Claims

In the week ending May 25, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 219,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 215,000 to 216,000. The 4-week moving average was 222,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 219,750 to 220,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2 percent for the week ending May 18, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

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