It wasn’t so much the fact that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday night that shocked Washington as its timing. Coming right in the midst of a nasty presidential campaign, amid bitter divisions on many issues — from the simple act of wearing a mask to Black Lives Matter — Ginsburg’s passing threw a new monkey wrench into Congressional efforts to clean up remaining business, including action on the Craft Beverage Modernization & Tax Reform Act.
Our Washington sources told us they expect Congress to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the government prior to the money running out Sept. 30. It’s possible, they said, the Craft Beverage tax bill could be part of that.
But it’s far more likely that any action will occur closer to the end of the year. Will the bill be passed before the current Congress adjourns? That’s likely to be a nail biter, we were told.
Footnote: “If these folks would sit down and have a cocktail, one or two, we could probably break down a lot of this animosity,” said Chris Swonger, president/ceo, Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., when we caught up with him.