The Majority staff of the House Budget Committee released a working paper this week aimed at spurring political momentum for an overhaul of the annual federal budget process. The working paper, “Congressional Budgeting: The Need for Fiscal Goals,” urges lawmakers to adopt goals that would guide fiscal decisions on taxing and spending. The primary fiscal growth options include: limiting debt to 60% of gross domestic product (GDP), limiting the rate of increase in overall Federal spending to less than the economy’s growth, and defining the time period over which the goals will be measured and enforced. The secondary fiscal target options proposed by the majority staff in the working paper include: limiting the annual deficit to 3% of GDP, setting additional spending caps with tougher enforcement mechanisms, making authorizing committee spending allocations more effective, and ratifying a constitutional amendment guaranteeing enforcement of primary fiscal targets.

Congressional Budgeting: The Need for Fiscal Goals:

http://budget.house.gov/uploadedfiles/fiscal_goals.pdf

The Department of Defense Chief Information Officer (CIO) released a new outline of its IT modernization priorities in a report it released this week, “Way Forward to Tomorrow’s Strategic Landscape.” DOD said the report is the first edition and is a “living document” whose goals include better coordination with industry and stronger oversight of the $36B DOD spends on IT each year. The eight strategic areas of focus for the DOD IT environment in the report are:

1. Executing capability initiatives toward the Joint Information Environment vision
2. Improving partnerships with mission partners and industry
3. Ensuring successful mission execution in the face of a persistent cyber threat
4. Providing a cloud computing environment
5. Optimizing DoD’s data center infrastructure
6. Exploiting the power of trusted information sharing
7. Providing a resilient communications and network infrastructure
8. Improving transparency of DoD IT investments

Way Forward to Tomorrow’s Strategic Landscape:

http://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/JIE/DoD%20IT%20Environment%20Way%20Forward%20-%20DISTRO%20(Aug%202016).pdf

FY16 Budget Mid-Session Review

The Office of Management and Budget OMB released its mid-session review today, which projects the 2016 deficit to be $600B. This is $16B lower than OMB’s February projection. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the projected deficit remains at 3%, same as the February projection.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2017/assets/17msr.pdf

FY17 Appropriations

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have marked up and reported out of committee all of their FY17 appropriations bills, but with the Congress now in recess for the next 7 ½ weeks and the House and Senate scheduled to only be in session 17 and 19 (respectively) days before the end of the fiscal year talk has now turned to a continuing resolution (CR).

The House Republican Conference was scheduled to hold a planning meeting on Thursday to address issues for the fall term including the length of a CR, but the meeting was cancelled. Conservative House Republicans are pushing for a stopgap spending measure that would fund the government through March 2017 allowing a new Congress and President to complete the budget process. They are concerned that Republican leaders would use the lame-duck session to cut deals on major legislation. In previous presidential election years (2008 and 2012), Congress pushed funding bills into March. March is also when the current suspension of the debt limit is set to expire.

Senate appropriators, on the other hand, prefer a CR funding the government into December allowing them enough time to complete work on separate FY17 spending bills or an omnibus package. They are concerned that making federal agencies operate under a CR for six months keeps them stuck on “autopilot” and could lead to a year-long CR. A CR would likely extend current funding without allowing any money for new programs.

House

Floor

The House passed its fifth FY17 spending bill this week. The $32.095B FY17 Interior appropriations bill passed by a vote of 231 to 196 (3 Democrats voted for the measure and 15 Republicans voted against it). This is the first time since 2009 that this annual spending bill has been passed by the House. The President has threatened to veto the bill over the funding level as well as policy riders that the administration believes would undermine environmental protection.

House FY17 Interior Appropriations Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr5538/BILLS-114hr5538rh.pdf

House FY17 Interior Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt632/CRPT-114hrpt632.pdf

OMB Statement of Administration Policy on House FY17 Interior Bill:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5538r_20160711.pdf

Labor HHS Education

The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $161.6B Labor HHS Education spending bill in full committee this week after debating the bill for two days. The bill is $569M below the FY16 enacted level, $2.8B below the President’s FY17 budget request, and approximately $300M less than the Senate FY17 version. The bill was approved by a vote of 31 to 19. It is the 12^th and final bill to be considered by the House appropriations committee this year.

The following amendments were adopted during full committee consideration of the bill:

• Cole – The amendment makes technical and non-controversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Kaptur – The amendment adds report language directing the CDC to coordinate with other agencies and States on the public health effects of algal-blooms. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Ryan – The amendment adds report language directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct a study on the impacts of free trade agreements on the U.S. labor market. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Harris – The amendment specifies that any federal funding provided in any act of law may only be used to provide In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments if such treatments do not result in the destruction of viable human embryos before embryo transfer. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 29-21.
• Lee – The amendment adds report language requesting a Department of Education study on the adverse impacts of school segregation. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Committee members rebuffed Democratic amendments related to family planning, the Zika outbreak, and gun violence. The bill does create for the first time an emergency reserve fund to combat any outbreak of an infectious disease. The bill includes $300M for the fund, but Democrats argue that more funding is needed.

House FY17 Labor HHS Education Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-laborhhsed.pdf

House FY17 Labor HHS Education Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-laborhhsed.pdf

House FY17 Labor HHS Education Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394633

State Foreign Operations

The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $52B FY17 State Foreign Operations spending bill this week. The bill is $595M below the FY16 enacted level, $691M below the President’s FY17 budget request, and roughly $100M below the Senate’s FY17 funding level. Within the overall funding amount, Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding totals $14.9B, which is equal to the FY16 enacted level. The bill was reported out of full committee by voice vote and in addition to a manager’s amendment, the only other amendment adopted was one to modify the quorum requirement for the Export-Import Bank Board through September 30, 2019. This is needed for the Bank to approve certain transactions as three of the five Board positions are currently vacant.

House FY17 State Foreign Operations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-stateforop.pdf

House FY17 State Foreign Operations Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-stateforop.pdf

House FY17 State Foreign Operations Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394623

Senate

Floor

The Senate voted for the second time this month on a cloture vote on the FY17 Defense Appropriations bill. The vote again failed by a vote of 55 to 42 (60 votes are required under Senate rules). Democrats are objecting to the bill saying that Republicans are not abiding by last year’s bipartisan budget deal, and that they are funding defense at the expense of other non-defense discretionary spending measures.

FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Zika Virus Funding Conference Agreement

Once again, Senate Democrats rejected an attempt by Senate Republicans to move forward on the conference agreement to the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs/Zika Virus appropriations bill. With more than 4,200 people in the U.S. and its territories already infected with the virus (including 649 pregnant women), federal health officials are concerned about the spread of the disease during the summer months.

Republican House and Senate Appropriators sent a letter to President Obama yesterday urging the White House to take action on Zika funding. They wrote that the White House should “aggressively use funds already available to mount a strong defense against the virus” if Senate Democrats continue to block the consideration of Zika legislation. They also questioned why the administration hasn’t already used the $500M that is already available for the Zika virus.

Letter to President Obama:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394655

Subcommittee                     House                                      Senate

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

Gun Control

The mass shooting in Orlando, Florida reignited the debate over gun control in the House and Senate. On the House side, Democrats took control of the House floor Wednesday morning and disrupted floor consideration of the FY17 Financial Services spending bill with a sit-in while demanding action on gun control legislation before the recess. Democrats wanted votes on bills that would ban people on the terrorism watch list from buying guns and would tighten background checks. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) refused to allow a floor vote and called for a motion to adjourn that passed on a party line vote of 234 to 173 with one Republican (Dold) voting against the motion.

On the Senate side, the Senate voted on four gun control amendments early in the week, and as expected, none garnered the 60 “yea” votes needed to proceed. The amendments were as follows:

Amendment 1: Offered by Sen. Grassley (R-IA)

Vote 53 – 47

The amendment proposed tightening up and pushing more resources to improve the availability of records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, but did not expand it. Currently background checks are only required by federally licensed firearm dealers. Sales online, at gun shows, or from friends/relatives are exempt from background checks.

Amendment 2: Offered by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT)

Vote 44 – 56

The amendment proposed expanding mandatory background checks to all gun sales (online, gun shows, and private sales).

Amendment 3: Offered by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Vote 53 – 47

The amendment would prevent sales of guns to suspected terrorists if a judge found probable cause that the person trying to buy the gun is involved in terrorist activities (in other words, requiring a court order for a gun sale to be blocked). The government would have to prove that a would-be gun purchaser on an FBI terrorist watch list does have ties to terrorism to block the sale of the gun.

Amendment 4: Offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Vote 47 – 53

The amendment would have empowered the Attorney General at the Department of Justice to block sales of guns to people who are on terrorist watch lists, then let them challenge the denial later.

Later in the week, the Senate considered a bipartisan amendment offered by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) that would restrict gun purchases for those on the no-fly list, but allow those denied purchasing a gun the right to appeal in court with their legal fees paid if they win. The amendment was endorsed by Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and would have done the following:

1. Give the Attorney General (AG) the authority to deny firearms sales to individuals who appear on the No Fly List or the Selectee List (people who can fly but must receive additional screening before boarding a plane).
2. Provide a process for Americans and green card holders to appeal a denial in U.S. Court of Appeals and to recover their reasonable attorneys fees if they prevail.
3. Set forth a procedure for protecting classified information during the appeal.
4. Protect ongoing FBI counter-terrorism investigations by giving the AG the discretion to allow gun sales to go forward to individuals covered by this Act.
5. Include a “look-back” provision that ensures prompt notification to the FBI if a person who has been on the broader Terrorism Screening Database (TSDB) within the past five years purchases a firearm.

Cosponsors of the amendment included:

Republicans:

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH)

Sen Jeff Flake (R-AZ)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Democrats/Independents:

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)

Sen. Angus King (I-ME)

Collins’ amendment received 52 votes in favor in a test vote (52 voted against a motion to table). It is unclear right now if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will put the amendment to a real vote. The Senate also voted on an amendment offered by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) that was intended to be more palatable to Republicans. The amendment was tabled by a vote of 67 to 31. It would have authorized the Attorney General to delay or deny the transfer of firearms and explosives and issuance of Federal firearms and explosives licenses and permits to known or suspected terrorists.

FY17 Appropriations

Both the House and Senate are beginning to acknowledge that a stopgap funding mechanism for some or all of the FY17 spending measures will be necessary in order to avoid a government shutdown beginning Oct. 1. House Democrats are advocating for a stopgap that doesn’t extend beyond December, while some Republicans are looking to extend it into next year.

House

Floor

Before the Democratic sit-in disrupted the House floor action on the FY17 Financial Services spending bill, House Republicans began asking members to commit their support for appropriations bills if their amendments were adopted. They defended their new approach as an effort to ensure that Democrats aren’t offering amendments to sabotage the annual spending bills. Democrats argued that they cannot be expected to support a bill’s final passage just because they get an amendment accepted. The House was slated to consider as many as 70 amendments to the FY17 Financial Services spending bill before the disruption. Consideration may resume when the House returns July 5.

House FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr5485/BILLS-114hr5485rh.pdf

House FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt624/CRPT-114hrpt624.pdf

Amendments Offered:

https://rules.house.gov/bill/114/hr-5485

White House Statement of Administration Policy:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5485r_20160621.pdf

Homeland Security

The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $41.1B Homeland Security Appropriations bill this week and reported it out by voice vote. The bill provides an increase of $100M above the FY16 enacted level and $432M above the President’s FY17 budget request. In addition, the bill includes $7.3 billion – the same as the President’s request – for disaster relief and emergency response activities through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).The committee had postponed the full committee markup for a week after the Orlando shooting giving them time to propose changes in light of the incident.

The following amendments to the bill were approved by the full committee today:

• Carter – The amendment made technical and other noncontroversial changes and additions to the report. The Manager’s amendment also includes an additional $49 million for the FEMA “Countering Violent Extremism/Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attacks” state and local grant program, and requires the Secretary to submit a report on the assessment used by DHS to determine grant allocations to high-risk urban areas.  The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Aderholt – The amendment restates current law prohibiting federal funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to provide for abortions, except in certain life-threatening cases, rape, and incest. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 29-15.
• Harris – The amendment allows returning non-agriculture temporary workers (H2B workers) who have previously been a part of the program in the prior three years to not be counted towards the FY17 H2B cap. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Culberson– The amendment requires ICE to detain Priority 1 and Priority 2 illegal aliens. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
• Amodei – The amendment adds bill language to expand the Public Private Partnership program – allowing up to five ports of entry to pay the salaries of up to five Customs and Border Protection officers. Current law only allows for overtime to be paid. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

During the markup, House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) offered an amendment banning gun sales to people on the terror watch list. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 16 to 31.

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-hsecurity.pdf

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-hsecurity.pdf

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394583

State Foreign Operations

The House State Foreign Operations Appropriations Committee postponed marking up its $52B FY17 spending bill on Thursday after the Democrats’ sit-in on the House floor.

House FY17 State Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-sc-ap-fy2017-stateforop-subcommitteedraft.pdf

House FY17 State Foreign Operations Appropriations Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394623

Senate

Floor

The Senate began consideration of its $56.3B FY17 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week but did not complete action. In addition to the gun control amendments mentioned above, the Senate voted on a controversial amendment offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) that would give the Federal Bureau of Investigation the authority to access a person’s internet browsing history, email account data, and other communications without a warrant in an attempt to identify “lone wolf attackers” like the Orlando shooter who killed 49 people. The Senate may resume consideration of the measure next week.

Senate FY17 Commerce, Justice, Science Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2837/BILLS-114s2837pcs.pdf

Senate FY17 Commerce, Justice, Science Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt239/CRPT-114srpt239.pdf

FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Zika Virus Funding Conference Agreement

Republican House and Senate conferees on the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Zika Virus emergency spending bill reached agreement on a conference report this week. The House voted on the conference measure early Thursday morning and passed it by a vote of 239 to 171 with two Republicans (Amash and Buck) voting against the bill and six Democrats (Ashford, Cuellar, McNerney, Peters, Peterson, and Sinema) voting for it. The legislation now heads to the Senate where Senate Democrats are saying there won’t be the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture. Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said that she would not support the conference report because of the limitations the bill places on birth control services as well as the inclusion of a pesticides policy rider. A cloture vote is scheduled for Tuesday, June 28. Even if the Senate passes the conference report, White House aides said that the President would veto the measure over objections to its offsets, restrictions on contraceptive services, and rolling back of certain clean-water protections.

The Conference Report includes $1.1B for domestic and international efforts to fight the Zika virus and prevent it from spreading. The $750M in offsets come from $107M in unspent Ebola funds, $100M in in unspent HHS funds, and $543M in funds that were slated for health exchanges in U.S. territories that were never set up.

Conference Bill text:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20160620/CRPT-114HRPT-HR2577.pdf

Joint Explanatory Statement:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20160620/114-CRHR2577-JES.pdf

House Zika Virus Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/06.22.16_zika_conference_report_-_summary.pdf

House MilCon-VA Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/06.22.16_-_FY_2017_Military_Construction_VA_Conference_Report_-_Summary.pdf

Senate Majority Summary:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/conference-agreement-reached-on-military-construction-and-veterans-affairs-zika-supplemental-appropriations

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

FY17 Appropriations

House

Floor

The House passed its $575.8B FY17 Department of Defense appropriations bill on Thursday by a vote of 282 to 138. Forty-eight Democrats voted for the measure while six Republicans (Amash, Duncan, Jones, Labrador, Massie, and Mulvaney) voted against it. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating that they would recommend that the President veto the measure in its current form over the redirection of Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds as well as several policy provisions (BRAC, Guantanamo Bay Detainee restrictions, etc). The bill, as passed by the House, only provides enough OCO funding for war operations through April 30, 2017, which would require the new President to submit a request for supplemental appropriations soon after being sworn in to office. An amendment offered by Rep. Rick Mulvaney (R-SC) restricting OCO funding to actual war needs was rejected by a vote of 306 to 112.

White House Statement of Administration Policy:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5293r_20160614.pdf

Homeland Security

The House Appropriations Committee was scheduled to mark up its $41.1B Homeland Security Appropriations bill this week, but postponed the markup after the shooting in Orlando. Committee members cited the potential need to consider additional resources the Department of Homeland Security might need to combat violent extremism in the wake of this tragedy. The new markup has been scheduled for 10:30 am on Wednesday, June 22.

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-hsecurity.pdf

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-hsecurity.pdf

Financial Services

The House Appropriations Committee marked up and reported out its $21.7B FY17 Financial Services spending bill by a vote of 30 to 17. The markup included votes on a dozen contentious amendments regarding securities regulation, insurance negotiations, and more. The bill provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Judiciary, the Small Business Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other related agencies.

The full committee adopted the following amendments to the bill:

Rep. Crenshaw – The manager’s amendment makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Fleischmann – The amendment revises the definition of a high cost mortgage and mortgage originator as those terms apply to manufactured housing. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 31-17.

Rep. Wasserman Schultz – The amendment provides an additional $1.3 million for the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s “Virginia Graeme Baker” Pool and Spa Safety Act grant program, offset by a cut to the General Services Administration’s Operating Expenses account. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Culberson – The amendment prohibits funding for the IRS to audit a church unless the audit is approved by the IRS Commissioner, reported to the tax committees, and takes effect 90 days after such notice.  The amendment was adopted on a vote of 31-17.

Rep. Palazzo/Rep. Cuellar – The amendment prohibits funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to finalize or implement a rule that would restrict payday lending until the CFPB completes a report, with public comment, on the impact of the rule on populations with limited access to credit, and until it identifies existing credit products available to replace the current sources of short-term, small-dollar credit. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-18.

Rep. Kaptur – The amendment restores mail delivery standards to the July 1, 2012 level. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Rigell – The amendment prohibits funds for an executive order (EO 13673) that requires federal contractors to comply with burdensome labor standard reporting requirements that could hurt their contracting ability, without due process. The amendment also requires an analysis and impact statement on the new standards before they are allowed to continue.  The amendment was adopted on a vote of 29-19.

Rep. Harris – The amendment prohibits funding for abortions through OPM-negotiated “multi-state qualified health plans” offered under Obamacare. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-17.

House FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-fservices.pdf

House FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-fservices.pdf

House FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394563

Interior and Environment

The House Appropriations Committee approved its $32.1B Interior and Environment Appropriations bill by a vote of 31 to 18. The legislation includes funding for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and various independent and related agencies. The bill provides $32.095B, $64M below the FY16 enacted level and $1B below the President’s budget request. Included is $480M to fully fund “Payments in Lieu of Taxes” (PILT) – which provides funds to local communities with federal land to help offset losses in property taxes – and $3.9B for the Department of the Interior and U.S. Forest Service to prevent and combat wildfires. Democrats on the committee used the markup to push for emergency funding to combat the Zika virus, address the water contamination issue in Flint, MI, and to strip the bill of 33 environmental policy riders.

House FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-interior.pdf

House FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Report Language:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-interior.pdf

House FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394564

Senate

Floor

The Senate considered its $56.3B FY17 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week, but was stopped by a Democratic filibuster on Wednesday that lasted nearly 15 hours. Democrats pushed for floor votes on gun control measures, and claimed partial victory by securing two floor votes – one from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) ensuring that all individuals who should be prohibited from buying a firearm are listed in the National Instant Criminal Background System and require a background check for every firearm sale (closing the gun show loophole), and another amendment offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) authorizing the Attorney General to deny requests to transfer a firearm to known or suspected terrorists. The Senate will also vote on an amendment from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to improve the availability of records to the National Instant Criminal Background System and another amendment from Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) for Securing our Homeland from radical Islamists by Enhancing Law Enforcement Detection (SHIELD), which would require a court order for a gun sale to be blocked. The Senate will vote on these amendments on Monday evening. With no bipartisan agreement in place, neither side is expected to get the 60 votes required under Senate rules to advance the measures. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) is working on an amendment that would restrict gun purchases for those on the no-fly list but allow those denied purchasing a gun the right to appeal in court with their legal fees paid if they win. Collins would also include a “five-year look-back” that would notify the FBI if anyone who was previously on the no-fly list purchased a gun.

Financial Services

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its $22.4B FY17 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The bill funds the Department of Treasury, Small Business Administration, the federal judiciary, the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a variety of independent federal agencies. The $22.4B measure is $1B below the FY16 enacted level. The bill largely avoided “poison pill” policy riders, which was reflected in the 30 to 0 vote to report the bill out of committee. During full committee consideration, the committee adopted an amendment lifting the ban on travel to Cuba. The committee also approved amendments allowing U.S. banks to extend credit to Cuban buyers of U.S. agriculture goods and allowing aircraft to refuel in the U.S. on flights to and from Cuba.

Senate FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-financial-services-approps-bill-text/

Senate FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-financial-services-approps-report-language/

Senate Majority Summary FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Bill:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/appropriations-committee-approves-fy2017-financial-services-and-general-government-appropriations-bill

Senate Minority Summary FY17 Financial Services Appropriations Bill:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/fy17-fsgg-full-committee-markup-bill-summary

Interior and Environment

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its $32.03B FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The bill funds the Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Surface Mining, Indian Health Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, the Smithsonian, and a number of other agencies. The Senate bill is $125M below the FY16 enacted level and $1.1B below the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill was approved by a vote of 16 to 14. Democrats objected to the inclusion of several “poison pill” policy riders in the bill that would undo Obama administration environmental regulations.

Senate FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-interior-approps-bill-text/

Senate FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-interior-approps-report-language/

Senate Majority Summary FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/committee-approves-fy2017-interior-environment-appropriations-bill

Senate Minority Summary FY17 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/minority/fy17-interior-and-environment-full-committee-bill-summary

Zika Virus Funding Conference

With just one week left before the House adjourns for the July 4^th recess, conferees on the Zika virus funding bill appear to be closer to striking a final deal. They met publicly on Wednesday, but the 15-minute session didn’t demonstrate a lot of progress on the two main issues. They still need to work out agreements on how much emergency funding is needed, and whether or not the funding should be offset with cuts to other programs. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that the House could vote on the final conference agreement next week if a final package is agreed to by the conferees. With reports of three babies in the U.S. having been born with Zika virus related birth defects, the pressure is on Congress to negotiate a final emergency spending agreement.

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.