FY17 Defense Appropriations Bill Passes House
The House passed a conference report for the FY17 Defense appropriations bill by a vote of 371 to 48 this week, with 141 Democrats voting for the measure and five Republicans voting against it. However, it faces an uncertain vote in the Senate. The Senate is scheduled to be in session only 23 more days and the House 20 more days before the current FY17 continuing resolution (CR) expires on April 28. Additionally, the Senate will be focused on confirming Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court before the April recess. The two potential outcomes at this point are an omnibus funding package for the remaining 11 FY17 spending bills plus any supplemental funding requested by the Administration for the military or border wall, or another stopgap measure extending current funding levels through the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. If they go with the latter alternative, federal agencies would be unable to start new programs or shift funding priorities from FY16.
FY17 Defense Appropriations Bill Text:
https://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/03.02.17_defense_-_fy_2017_appropriations_bill.pdf
FY17 Defense Appropriations Explanatory Statement:
President to Submit FY18 Budget Request to Congress Next Week
President Trump is expected to submit his “skinny” FY2018 budget request to Congress next Thursday, March 16. However, work on an FY18 budget resolution by Congress will be on hold until after Congress passes legislation repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). The repeal bill is using the FY17 budget reconciliation process, which needs to be completed before Congress can begin the FY18 budget. The FY18 budget resolution is expected to include reconciliation instructions for overhauling the tax code.
President Trump is expected to request an additional $54B in defense spending in his FY18 budget request, offset by similar cuts in non-defense discretionary spending. This increase would exceed the $549B defense cap set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and would violate a Senate budget rule. While the rule could be waived, it would require 60 votes in the Senate. This is unlikely to occur, as Senate Democrats would object to any defense spending increase without an equivalent increase in non-defense spending.