As the Hill begins to swing into action, there are a few updates to pass along today to our clients and friends. To get things started, the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) yesterday to keep the government running until the 31st of January. This is the ninth CR passed but it might not be the last, as FY03 appropriations may take until early February to be completely finished. GOP Leaders are pushing to complete an omnibus spending bill before President Bush's Jan. 28th State of the Union address, but the traffic jam in the Senate (see below) may prevent the markup from occurring in a timely fashion.

Despite passing a CR, the Senate hasn't managed to pass an organizing resolution necessary to begin work on all fronts. (The House has already begun to organize, with almost all committee rosters rapidly being chalked in.) Due to the inability of Senate leaders to reach agreement on committee ratios and budgets for the new Congress, action on the transportation appropriations bill and others has been put off until the week of January 13. As soon as we learn of a change, we'll notify our clients and friends.