CHIP, FAA facing deadline this week

WASHINGTON—Congress is spared the usual end-of-thefiscal-year drama this month, with normal fights over government spending punted until December, but lawmakers still face several deadlines before the Sept. 30 cutoff for fiscal 2017.

With the Republicans’ lastgasp effort to undo the 2010 health care law fizzling, Congress may now try to pass short-term extensions to avoid running aground on the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Federal Aviation Administration and community health centers, authorizations for which expire at the end of the month.

Legislation to renew funding for either CHIP or community health centers has yet to advance out of the committees of jurisdiction in either chamber, raising the stakes that a short-term fix will be needed.

The House could act to pass such a fix for both programs this week, aides said. The chamber has scheduled a vote on a stripped-down, six-month extension for the FAA on the suspension calendar, which is typically reserved for noncontroversial measures.

But it is uncertain whether the Senate would be able to advance similar measures, given the hyperpartisan environment that has currently engulfed the chamber over the GOP’s latest repeal effort.

A bill to renew funding for the FAA has been approved by both the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Under CHIP, the federal government pays a percentage of the costs that states accrue. That match rate was bumped up by 23 percent in fiscal 2016 and has been a major point of debate between the two parties.