The culmination of the year’s legislative activity all comes down to the month of December – so buckle up. Congress will need to pass a government spending bill by December 8th, and this bill is expected to carry a significant laundry list of items. That is why it is widely assumed that, in the next ten days, Congress will pass a two-week continuing resolution (CR) – through December 22nd – to provide time for both sides to finalize agreements on the laundry list. This also gives the Senate a little breathing room to make a run at passing a tax reform package.

It’s possible that a two-week CR could carry certain proposed legislation with it, but expect the Democrats to keep all outstanding items in one vehicle outside of the short-term CR for the sake of securing the best deal possible. By now, we are all well aware of the remaining health care items that are still hanging out there keeping us up at night. As it relates to the minibus, we are trending in the direction of a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the Medicare extenders