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The Senate yesterday approved 72-25 the continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through December 16, and the House is expected to clear the measure today, before the midnight deadline. Ukraine funding, a five-year FDA User Fee reauthorization, LIHEAP heating cost funding, and water and natural disaster funding are included.

Both chambers will now be out of session until after the midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced Thursday that he would be giving back the scheduled two-week October work period that had the NDAA on the agenda, meaning members can remain in their states and campaign ahead of the elections. The Senate will return November 14 and members should be prepared for a busy agenda in the lame-duck session prior to year's end, Leader Schumer said.

The Senate also confirmed 49-36 the nomination of Lisa Gomez to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration, after a previous vote in June resulted in a tie and the VP was out of Washington and unavailable to deliver the tie-breaking vote.

Administration — President Biden delivered remarks at FEMA headquarters yesterday and said he approved Florida's request for an expedited major disaster declaration. "My message to the people of Florida and to the country is: At times like this, America comes together. We're going to pull together as one team, as one America," he said. The President subsequently approved an emergency declaration for South Carolina.

Tax — Four lawmakers wrote to Treasury September 28 "to urge you to pursue strong implementation of the 15% corporate minimum tax on billion-dollar corporations in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022." Finance Committee members Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), Senator Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with Democrats, and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said, "Strong implementation necessitates standing firm against requests to dilute the regulations in such a way as to undermine the clear intent of the law. While the Treasury Department has regulatory authority to implement the corporate minimum tax, that should be understood to relate to the proper functioning of the corporate minimum tax, including by 'prevent[ing] the omission or duplication of any items' in the calculation of the tax."

Debt limit - News stories continued forecasting possible difficulty in clearing a debt limit increase likely to be required of Congress next year because of objections from conservatives under a potential Republican-led House and/or Senate, and Axios made a connection between that issue and the three-way race for the Ways & Means chairmanship among Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Jason Smith (R-MO), and Adrian Smith (R-NE). "Business leaders and Republican strategists say a key indicator of McCarthy's approach will be who is selected to chair the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, given the debt limit talks fall under its jurisdiction … " the report said. Jason Smith said "he thinks Republicans should leverage debt limit negotiations to 'reverse' the administration's 'radical' policies — including by sending a bill gutting the Democratic agenda to President Biden's desk and daring him to reject it."

Health - On September 28, the White House convened the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health since 1969, convening elected officials, advocates and activists, and leaders of business, faith, and philanthropy from across America to meet a bold conference goal: ending hunger in America and increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack provided an overview of the Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which was released in advance of the conference, highlighting key initiatives from five pillars:

• Pillar 1 — Improve Food Access and Affordability, including a permanent extension of the expanded, fully refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
• Pillar 2 — Integrate Nutrition and Health, including a pilot to test coverage of medically tailored meals in Medicare for those experiencing diet-related health conditions
• Pillar 3 — Empower All Consumers to Make and Have Access to Healthy Choices, including incentives to boost access to healthy foods in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other food assistance programs
• Pillar 4 — Support Physical Activity for All, including connecting more people to parks and other outdoor spaces, particularly in nature-deprived communities
• Pillar 5 — Enhance Nutrition and Food Security Research, including innovative, inclusive, impactful, and science-based, policy solutions to address nutrition and food insecurity

An EY Tax Alert has details.

What to Expect in Washington won't be published regularly while Congress is away, but this and other WCEY Alerts will be published as events warrant.

Today, September 30 (12:00 p.m.), is the EY Webcast, "Tax in the time of COVID-19: Update on legislative, economic, regulatory and IRS developments." Register.

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