Congress Faces Four Big Issues in the Next Month

by Greg Valliere, AGF Management Ltd.

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Insights and Market Perspectives

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November 10, 2021

Congress Faces Four Big Issues in the Next Month
November 10, 2021
HARD TO BELIEVE that Christmas is only a few weeks away — not enough time, it seems, for Congress to resolve four enormous issues. When lawmakers return from this week’s recess, with the Thanksgiving break scheduled a week later, here are the Big Four issues they will confront:

1. Defense spending: In some respects, this will be the easiest of the four bills to pass; more spending for the Pentagon is popular — it’s largely about jobs and votes back home. And just to make the measure more appealing, Congress may attach a stalled “competitiveness” bill to provide aid to U.S. manufacturers who compete with China.

2. Government appropriations: A catch-all budget continuing resolution (CR) was passed just before the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, with the funding now set to expire on Dec. 3. Failure to act by then could lead to a government shut-down, which neither party wants.

Our best guess is that another CR will be needed, lasting almost literally until
Christmas Eve. Still another CR may be required then, extending the funding fight — and a threat of a government shutdown — into 2022.

3. The social spending bill: Bold predictions by Sen. Chuck Schumer and other Democrats claimed that the $1.75 trillion package could win enactment by Thanksgiving — but reality has set in. It may take weeks to iron out differences on the massive cradle-to-grave measure.

As the Wall Street Journal reports this morning, there are several disputes between the House and Senate, including a renewed state and local tax break, paid leave, tax incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles made with union labor, and a complicated liberalization of immigration laws.

The latter issue may get booted by the Senate parliamentarian because it’s not germane to a budget reconciliation process. And the Congressional Budget Office could conclude that revenue assumptions are too generous and spending projections are too low.

We think a social spending bill will pass eventually, but that’s a low-confidence prediction because Sen. Joe Manchin could singlehandedly kill the entire measure. In any event, enactment of this massive package is unlikely anytime soon; the pressure to act won’t intensify until voters realize that the extremely popular child tax credit could expire in early 2022 if Congress doesn’t act.

4. Debt ceiling extension: No one knows for sure when the U.S. Treasury will run out of money; a surge in tax revenues in recent months — thanks largely to the soaring stock market — could keep the government afloat into 2022. But the debt authority could end in early December, and the media will howl about a possible U.S. default.

A default is extremely unlikely. If there’s no extension of the debt ceiling, one of three options will emerge: first, extend the deadline, kicking the can down the road until late winter. Second, an emergency intrusion by the Federal Reserve, backing U.S. debt.

Third and most likely would be the grudging acceptance by Schumer of a debt
ceiling increase via a budget reconciliation maneuver that would require all 50 Democrats to vote for it. Mitch McConnell wants only Democrats’ fingerprints on this, and he’s likely to prevail.

ALL OF THIS WILL TAKE TIME, and it will be complicated by the furious assault from conservative Republicans aimed at the 13 moderates in their own party who voted last weekend for the infrastructure bill.

PEOPLE OFTEN ASK US why there isn’t more bipartisanship in Washington, but we have seen once again that apostates in either party are vilified. Republicans who voted for the infrastructure bill have been excoriated by hard-line GOP colleagues, who are threating to punish members by taking away their committee assignments. December will be nasty.


The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds or investment strategies.

The views expressed in this blog are provided as a general source of information based on information available as of the date of publication and should not be considered as personal investment advice or an offer or solicitation to buy and/or sell securities. Speculation or stated believes about future events, such as market or economic conditions, company or security performance, or other projections represent the beliefs of the author and do not necessarily represent the view of AGF, its subsidiaries or any of its affiliated companies, funds or investment strategies. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy in these commentaries at the time of publication; however, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Market conditions may change and AGF accepts no responsibility for individual investment decisions arising from the use of or reliance on the information contained herein. Any financial projections are based on the opinions of the author and should not be considered as a forecast. The forward looking statements and opinions may be affected by changing economic circumstances and are subject to a number of uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward looking statements. The information contained in this commentary is designed to provide you with general information related to the political and economic environment in the United States. It is not intended to be comprehensive investment advice applicable to the circumstances of the individual.

AGF Investments is a group of wholly owned subsidiaries of AGF Management Limited, a Canadian reporting issuer. The subsidiaries included in AGF Investments are AGF Investments Inc. (AGFI), AGF Investments America Inc. (AGFA), AGF Investments LLC (AGFUS) and AGF International Advisors Company Limited (AGFIA). AGFA and AGFUS are registered advisors in the U.S. AGFI is a registered as a portfolio manager across Canadian securities commissions. AGFIA is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and registered with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The subsidiaries that form AGF Investments manage a variety of mandates comprised of equity, fixed income and balanced assets.

About AGF Management Limited

Founded in 1957, AGF Management Limited (AGF) is an independent and globally diverse asset management firm. AGF brings a disciplined approach to delivering excellence in investment management through its fundamental, quantitative, alternative and high-net-worth businesses focused on providing an exceptional client experience. AGF’s suite of investment solutions extends globally to a wide range of clients, from financial advisors and individual investors to institutional investors including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds and endowments and foundations.

For further information, please visit AGF.com.

©2021 AGF Management Limited. All rights reserved.

This post was first published at the AGF Perspectives Blog.

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