1. 12345 6789101112 13141516171819 20212223242526 2728293031 123 45678910 11121314151617 18192021222324 25262728293031 Crowded Legislative Calendar for the Rest of the 2015 Source: National Journal Research, 2015; Keith Laing, “House Unveils Six-Year, $325B Highway Bill,” The Hill, October 16, 2015; Kevin Cirilli, “Overnight Finance: Biden Watch; Crunch Time on Highway Funding,” The Hill, October 19, 2015; Alexander Bolton, “Conservatives Demand Spending Reforms for Hiking Debt Ceiling,” The Hill, October 19, 2015; Keith Laing, “House Unveils Three-Week Highway Funding Patch,” The Hill, October 23, 2015; Daniel Newhauser, “Republicans Nominate Paul Ryan for Speaker,” National Journal, October 28, 2015; Alexander Bolton and Mike Lillis, “Bipartisan Budget Deal Appears to Have the Votes to Pass,” The Hill, October 27, 2015; Keith Laing, “Highway Funding Battle Moves to the Senate,” The Hill, October 28, 2015; Deirdre Walsh, “Paul Ryan Elected House Speaker,” CNN, October 29, 2015; Sarah Mimms and Alex Rogers, “Senate Approves Budget Deal, Raises Debt Ceiling,” National Journal, October 30, 2015. October December 1234567 891011121314 15161718192021 22232425262728 2930 November Senate scheduled to be in session House and Senate scheduled to be in session Oct 1: Start of fiscal year 2016 Oct 29: Funding for many programs funded by Highway Trust Fund expire Oct 29: Planned departure date for Speaker John Boehner Nov 3: Deadline for Congress to raise the nation’s borrowing limit Nov. 20: Highway funding patch expires Dec 11: Short-term continuing resolution spending bill expires A Busy Three MonthsWhere Things Stand Highway Trust Fund: The Highway Trust Fund was set to expire on October 29 th. On October 23 rd the House unveiled an extension of the bill for three weeks to prevent a funding shutdown. The House and Senate voted in favor of the patch before the 29 th deadline. On November 5 th, the House passed the 6-year highway bill, the bill now goes to the Senate for conference. Speaker’s Race: John Boehner’s last day as speaker was October 29 th. Many lawmakers believed Paul Ryan was the best option to unite the House Republican majority. On October 28 th, House Republicans nominated Ryan by a wide majority setting up a public vote on Thursday October 29 th which Ryan secured 236 votes from the House. Debt Ceiling: November 3 rd iwas the deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling to avoid default. The House approved a two-year budget deal to raise spending caps and increase the debt limit for the last week of October. The Senate passed the deal to raise the debt ceiling in the early hours of October 30 th. Appropriations: The fiscal 2016 continuing resolution spending bill expires on December 11 th. The House and Senate approve the two- year budget deal the last week of October. While the budget deal establishes top-level discretionary and defense spending, funds to specific agencies and federal programs must still be appropriated; to speed up the process, Congress will consider 4 omnibus bills instead of 12 separate appropriations bills.