“Cromnibus” Includes HOS Language
The resolution currently funding Federal Government operations will expire on Thursday, December 11, and the House and Senate introduced text for a spending package late Tuesday night. Negotiations to avert a government shutdown are once again coming down to the wire. The latest series of negotiations have yielded proposals for a “cromnibus,” a combination of a short-term continuing resolution (CR) for the Department of Homeland Security with eleven appropriations measures to fund the other Government Agencies through September 2015.
The “cromnibus” includes transportation language from Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), which would suspend two parts of the controversial hours-of-service rule for truck drivers. The provisions which may be suspended are: (1) require drivers to be off duty from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. on two consecutive days before restarting their weekly work clock, and (2) mandate that 168 hours or seven full days pass before a driver can start a new week.
The language is supported by trucking organizations including the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA). However, appropriations bills only remain in effect for one year, so even if the provision is included in the “cromnibus,” Congress will have to revisit the Hours of Service Debate either in a long-term Highway bill or in an appropriations measure prior to September 30, 2015.
The omnibus portion of the spending package would contain eleven appropriations bills that would fund most government agencies until current federal fiscal year ends on September 30, 2015. Full appropriations bills are the end-goal for Congress because they provide detailed instructions from Members of Congress to the Federal Agencies on how to spend money and enforce the law for the entirety of the fiscal year. The appropriations bills within the omnibus will target funds to specific areas depending on current needs, on a line-by-line basis.
The twelfth appropriations bill, which funds the Department of Homeland Security, will comprise the continuing resolution (CR) portion of the “cromnibus.” A CR provides funding for a department or departments, with limited Congressional instruction on policy or specific appropriations. A CR merely carries forward previous spending levels and does not start new programs or meet new policy needs.
The CR can last for only a few months, or an entire fiscal year. In this case, the use of a CR for Department of Homeland Security funding, only until February 27, 2015, in order to allow House and Senate Republicans to push back against President Obama’s Executive Order on immigration once they claim the majority in January.
Both chambers of Congress are now expected to vote on a stopgap bill to fund the Government for two or three days to buy time for the Senate to consider the larger package.
The House Rules Committee will mark up the “cromnibus” Wednesday afternoon, setting up a probable Thursday vote in the House. The Senate could also vote on it Thursday, but it’s more likely that work on the bill could spill into Friday or the weekend.
