Folks, no time today to do my own notes so just forwarding Sheryl’s verbatim. I think Senate Dems will cave and they will get a CR passed tmw, but as Sheryl says, stay tuned…. Jeff > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Sheryl Cohen <cohen@cef.org <mailto:cohen@cef.org>> > Subject: CEF Update: 01.18.2018 - House vote today on CR, public school infrastructure, CEF schedule and member events > Date: January 18, 2018 at 12:58:43 PM EST > To: CEFMembersList <CEFMembersList@americancontinentalgroup.onmicrosoft.com <mailto:CEFMembersList@americancontinentalgroup.onmicrosoft.com>> > > > > > Thursday, January 18, 2018 > > Dear CEF Members: > > I. Policy Intelligence and Education News > · Government funding ends tomorrow at midnight – It is looking increasingly likely that Congress will pass the Republican bill that extends government funding until February 16; the bill also reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for 6 years and delays implementation of three Obamacare taxes. The House is scheduled to vote on the bill later today, and almost all Democrats are expected to vote no because the package does not extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection for “DREAMers” who could otherwise face deportation this year. While some fiscal conservatives and defense hawks may also vote against the bill, Speaker Ryan today said he was confident it would pass, and the White House this afternoon clarified that President Trump would sign it. Passage in the Senate will require support of some Democrats, and several Democrats up for re-election this year in “red states” are considering supporting the bill. (The Congressional Budget Office’s cost estimate <https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/rulescommitteeprint115-55-c.pdf> shows the package in total deepens the deficit by $31 billion over ten years, but the legislation includes instructions not to add that total to the PAYGO scorecard that tallies the deficit impact of all direct spending and revenue legislation and then triggers a sequester after the end of a two-year session of Congress if the sum is negative.) Stay tuned. > · 25 Senators ask the President for public school construction funding – Yesterday Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and 23 other Senators (all Democrats) wrote the attached letter to the President supporting investments in the nation’s public school infrastructure as part of any comprehensive infrastructure bill. The letter cites a 2014 Department of Education study <https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014022.pdf> that found a need for an investment of $197 billion to bring all public schools into good condition, and recommends that “the federal government should consider partnering with states on innovative financing mechanisms to help every community ensure that their schools are safe, health, and modern.” The letter cites the economic growth from this investment, noting “that a federal investment in school infrastructure of $100 billion would yield an estimated 1.8 million jobs.” > >