Article
Window on Washington: Roll Green Wave!
Article
Window on Washington: Roll Green Wave!
Second Quarter 2018
This article originally appeared in the Second Quarter 2018 Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin. Reprinted with permission. Any opinions in this article are not those of Winston & Strawn or its clients. The opinions in this article are the author’s opinions only.
Laissez les bon temps rouler! In late March 2018, Congress passed a massive $1.3 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill funding the Government for the rest of the year providing much-needed funds for maritime-related programs. The Bill, which passed the Senate only hours before another Federal Government shut-down, and on the eve of Congress’s spring recess, weighed in at 2,300 pages and $138 billion more than 2017 spending, and was passed so hurriedly that many, probably most, legislators had no opportunity to read it or even get a handle on what it included. House party leaders gave members just hours to review the Bill, tamping down opportunities to explore and object to its detail. And with Congress checked-out and home for two weeks, the President had little opportunity to negotiate.