FY17 Appropriations Update – June 10, 2016

FY17 Appropriations

House

Floor

The House passed its $3.5B FY17 Legislative Branch appropriations bill on the floor this week by a vote of 233 to 175 after contentious partisan debates over immigration and other divisive issues. Eager to complete its FY17 spending bills, the House changed its rules to restrict amendments rather than considering the bills under open rules. This structured amendment rule allowed the House Rules Committee to not allow an amendment offered by Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against gay and transgender employees (the same amendment that killed the FY17 Energy and Water bill on the House floor last month). The rule was approved on a mostly party-line vote of 237 to 182. One Democrat (Rush) voted for the rule and three Republicans (Brooks, Jones, and Massie) voted against it. The FY17 Defense Appropriations bill could be on the House floor next week. The House Rules Committee will meet on Tuesday at 3 PM to consider the bill.

Financial Services

The House Appropriations Committee approved its $21.7B FY17 Financial Services spending bill in full committee by a vote of 30 to 17. 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:

  1. Crenshaw – The manager’s amendment makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Kaptur –The amendment restores mail delivery standards to the July 1, 2012 level. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
  7. 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.
  8. 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

Homeland Security

The House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its $41.1B spending bill this week and will mark it up in full committee next Tuesday. The bill provides an increase of $100M over the FY16 enacted level and $432M above the President’s budget request. In addition, the bill provides $7.3B for disaster relief and emergency response activities through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). More specifically, the bill provides $11.2B for Customs and Border Protection, $5.9B for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $7.6B for the Transportation Security Administration, $1.8B for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, $10.3B for the Coast Guard, $1.9B for the Secret Service, and $119.1M for E-Verify. The bill also includes provisions prohibiting the use of funds to transfer or release detainees from Guantanamo Bay, denies the administration’s request to increase TSA passenger fees, and withholds 20% of funds from all DHS HQ staffing accounts until budget justification information is provided.

House FY17 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill Text:

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

Senate

Floor

This week Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) filed a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the FY17 Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill. The Senate will proceed to consideration of the bill after a final vote on their FY17 National Defense Authorization Act. If cloture is invoked, it will be considered as having been invoked at 10 PM on Monday, June 13.

Labor HHS Education

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up their $161.9B FY17 Labor HHS Education spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The bill would cut spending by $270M from FY16 enacted levels and $2B below the President’s FY17 budget request. The Committee voted 29 to 1 to approve the measure. The Department of Health and Human Services would receive $ 76.9B, a $1.4B increase above FY16, while within HHS, the National Institutes of Health would receive $34B, an increase of $2B above FY16. The Department of Labor would receive $12B, $134M below FY16, and the Department of Education budget would drop by $220M to $67.8B. The spending bill does not attempt to block the Labor Department’s recently finalized overtime rule.

Senate FY17 Labor HHS Education Appropriations Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s3040/BILLS-114s3040pcs.pdf

Senate FY17 Labor HHS Education Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt274/CRPT-114srpt274.pdf

Senate Majority Summary FY17 Labor HHS Appropriations Bill:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/fy2017-labor-hhs-and-education-appropriations-bill-cleared-for-senate-consideration

Senate Minority Summary FY17 Labor HHS Appropriations Bill:

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

Zika Virus Funding Conference

The Senate voted to go to conference this week on a spending bill that includes funding for the Zika virus as well as FY17 funding for the Transportation HUD (THUD) spending bill. Ten Senate Republicans and nine Senate Democrats were appointed as conferees. For Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sens. Susan Collins, Mark Kirk, Lisa Murkowski, John Hoeven, John Boozman, Shelley Moore Capito, Thad Cochran, Roy Blunt and Lindsey Graham will be on the committee. For Democrats, Minority Leader Harry Reid and Sens. Jon Tester, Patty Murray, Tom Udall, Brian Schatz, Tammy Baldwin, Chris Murphy, Barbara Mikulski and Patrick Leahy will be on the committee. The House named its conferees last month, but didn’t include the THUD bill when it voted to go to conference. Conference discussions will begin next week. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said that he doesn’t expect a conference report to be produced before Friday. The Senate approved $1.1B for the Zika virus, while the House passed $622M with offsets.

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: Week of June 13

Defense Subcommittee: May 11

Full Committee: May 17

Floor: Week of June 13

Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Floor:??

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 12

Financial Services Subcommittee: May 25

Full Committee: June 9

Subcommittee: June 15

Full Committee: June 16

Homeland Security Subcommittee: June 9

Full Committee: June 14

Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Interior Subcommittee: May 25

Full Committee: June 15

Subcommittee: June 14

Full Committee: June 16

Labor HHS Education   Subcommittee: June 7

Full Committee: June 9

Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20

Full Committee: May 17

Floor: June 10

Full Committee: May 19
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Floor: May 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 19

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: May 19

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

  FY16 302(b) FY17 House 302(b) FY17 Senate 302(b)
Agriculture $21.75B $21.3B $21.2B
Commerce Justice Science $55.7B $56B $56.3B
Defense* $572.7B $575.7B $572.7B
Energy & Water $37.2B $37.4B $37.5B
Financial Services $23.2B $21.7B $22.4B
Homeland Security* $41.12B $41.1B $41.2B
Interior $32.16B $32.095B $32B
Labor HHS Education $162.1B   $161.9B
Legislative Branch $4.37B $3.48B

(excludes Senate only items)

$4.4B
Military Construction/VA* $79.9B $81.6B $83B
State Foreign Ops* $52.68B   $52.1B
Transportation HUD $57.6B $58.2B $56.5B

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

 

FY17 Appropriations Update – June 3, 2016

FY17 Appropriations

House

The House will take up its FY17 Legislative Branch spending bill on the floor next week, but will employ a structured rule for the measure in order to have more control over the amendment process. Speaker Ryan signaled before the Memorial Day recess that the floor procedures for future spending bills would be less open due to contentious amendments slowing down or, in the case of the FY17 Energy and Water spending bill, stopping the process. The Legislative Branch appropriations bill is already causing some consternation among Democrats by the inclusion of report language that directs the Library of Congress to use the term “illegal alien” instead of “unauthorized immigrants” or “non citizens.”

Senate

The Senate has managed to pass three of the 12 annual appropriations bills, and has five more ready to go to the floor. Next week, they are poised to consider the FY17 Defense spending bill after completing action on the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act. In committee, they will mark up the FY17 Labor HHS Education bill in subcommittee on Tuesday and full committee on Thursday.

Zika Virus Funding

Even during the recess Republican and Democratic leaders kept trading barbs over emergency funding to combat the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Speaker Ryan called out Democrats in an email saying that there is no funding shortage and there has never been one. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded with the number of confirmed Zika cases in the U.S. Over on the Senate side, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) promised to act on the Zika issue quickly, while Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that Democrats will force Republicans to vote again against full funding for the Zika virus.

To recap where we currently stand, the President requested $1.9B from Congress in February for fighting the Zika virus. The House passed a $622M Zika supplemental appropriations with offsets of $352.1M of unused money for fighting the Ebola outbreak and $270M in other unused funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. And the Senate passed a bill with $1.1B in Zika emergency funding. The House and Senate now need to conference the two measures. Before the recess, the House voted 233 to 180 for the rule allowing them to go to conference with the Senate. In addition to the overall funding level (the Senate appropriated $1.1B), one of the bigger issues conferees will have to address is whether or not the emergency funding requires a “pay for” or “offset.” The House justified its lower funding level saying that additional aid would come as part of the regular FY17 appropriations process. The Senate now needs to agree to go to conference.

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense Subcommittee: May 11

Full Committee: May 17

Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Floor:??

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 12

Financial Services Subcommittee: May 25  
Homeland Security   Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Interior Subcommittee: May 25  
Labor HHS Education   Subcommittee: June 7

Full Committee: June 9

Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20

Full Committee: May 17

Floor: Week of June 6

Full Committee: May 19
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Floor: May 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 19

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: May 19

FY17 Appropriations Update – May 27, 2016

FY17 Appropriations

Conference

Zika Virus Emergency Funding

The House Rules Committee took up the Senate’s FY17 Transportation-HUD, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Zika response package (HR 2577) swapping out the Senate language and adding three House-passed bills – the $622M Zika supplemental appropriations measure (HR 5243), the FY17 MilCon-VA spending bill (HR 4973), and Zika virus authorization legislation (HR 897). The House then voted 233 to 180 for the rule allowing them to go to conference with the Senate. In addition to the overall funding level (the Senate appropriated $1.1B), one of the bigger issues conferees will have to address is whether or not the emergency funding requires a “pay for” or “offset.” The House justified its lower funding level saying that additional aid would come as part of the regular FY17 appropriations process. The Senate now needs to agree to go to conference.

House

House Floor

Energy and Water

The House took up their $37.4B FY17 Energy and Water appropriations bill this week, but the measure failed by a vote of 112 to 305 (130 Republicans voted no, 6 Democrats voted yes) after an amendment aimed at barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees passed and was included in the final bill. The amendment would have the effect of codifying a 2014 Executive Order issued by President Obama. Conservatives saw the amendment as an assault on religious freedom and offered their own amendment to allow for religious exemptions. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) did not vote on the measure, but other House GOP leaders did vote for the bill. The President issued a veto threat on the bill over funding levels and policy riders included in the spending bill. House GOP leaders have vowed to keep the appropriations bills moving, but Speaker Ryan conceded that he might have to change the “open” amendment process to keep the bills moving. The FY17 Defense appropriations bill is slated to be the next bill considered on the House floor.

House FY17 Energy and Water Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr5055/BILLS-114hr5055rh.pdf

House FY17 Energy and Water Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt532/CRPT-114hrpt532.pdf

OMB FY17 Energy and Water Veto Threat:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5055r_20160523.pdf

House Committee

Commerce Justice Science

The full House Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Commerce Justice Science (CJS) spending bill this week and reported it out by voice vote. The FY17 CJS bill contains $56B in total discretionary spending, an increase of $279M over FY16 and $1.4B above the President’s budget request. The bill provides $29B for the Department of Justice ($347M above FY16), $19.5B for NASA ($223M above FY16), $9.1B for the Department of Commerce ($194M below FY16), and $15M for the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund and $90M for the International Trade Commission. In addition to a manager’s amendment, the committee adopted three other amendments – one adding language to reaffirm states rights to preserve their autonomy through the use of the legal system (adopted on a vote of 28-19), another to designate 5% of the Crime Victims Fund to be dedicated to Native Americans (adopted on a voice vote), and the final amendment prohibits funding in the bill from being used to implement a new EEOC regulation that requires businesses to report on certain demographic information of the employees (adopted on a voice vote).

FY17 House CJS Bill Text:

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

FY17 House CJS Report Language:

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

FY17 House CJS Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394535

Transportation HUD

The full House Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Transportation HUD (THUD) spending bill this week and reported it out of committee by a voice vote. The FY17 THUD bill contains a total of $58.2B in discretionary spending – an increase of $889M above FY16 and $4.9B billion below the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill includes $19.2B for the Department of Transportation ($540M above FY16, $4B below the President’s budget request), $38.7B for the Department of Housing and Urban Development ($384M above FY16, $953M below the President’s budget request), and $6.9B for Community Planning and Development Programs ($231M above FY16). The only amendment adopted was one making technical corrections.

FY17 House THUD Bill Text:

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

FY17 House THUD Report Language:

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

FY17 House THUD Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394537

Financial Services

The House Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY17 spending bill this week. The FY17 Financial Service bill provides $21.7B in funding, which is $1.5B below the FY16 enacted level and $2.7B below the President’s FY17 budget request. The committee funded the Internal Revenue Service at $10.9B (a cut of $236M from FY16 and $1.3B below the President’s request), the Small Business Administration at $883M, the General Services Administration at $9.2B ($951M below FY16), the Securities and Exchange Commission at $1.5B ($50M below FY16 and $226M below the President’s budget request), the Federal Communications Commission at $315M (a cut of $69M from FY16 and $43M below the President’s budget request), the Executive Office of the President at $692M, and the District of Columbia at $725M ($4.6M below FY16). The bill also includes a provision bringing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the annual congressional appropriations process instead of direct funding from the Federal Reserve and changes the leadership structure of the bureau. And it includes a provision to stop the IRS from further implementing ObamaCare.

FY17 House Financial Services Bill Text:

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

Interior and Environment

The House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY17 spending bill this week. The FY17 Interior bill provides $32.095B, which is $64M below FY16 and $1B below the President’s FY17 budget request.

FY17 House Interior and Environment Bill Text:

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

Senate

Senate Committee

Defense

Senate Appropriators marked up their FY17 Defense spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $574.6B measure was reported out of committee by a vote of 30 to 0. The bill adheres to the President’s topline spending levels and is consistent with the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, but uses $15.1B in savings (more than 450 specific budget cuts) to cover some of the military’s unfunded priorities. It funds base programs at $515.9B, and provides $58.6B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds.

Senate FY17 Defense Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-defense-approps-bill-text-5-26-16/

Senate FY17 Defense Report Language:

Part 1:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-defense-approps-report-part-1/

Part 2:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-defense-approps-report-part-2/

Part 3:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-defense-approps-report-part-3/

Senate FY17 Defense Majority Summary:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/senate-appropriations-committee-approves-fy2017-defense-funding-bill

Senate FY17 Defense Minority Summary:

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

Homeland Security

Senate Appropriators marked up their FY17 Homeland Security spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $48.07B measure includes $6.7B for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and $163M in Overseas Contingency Operations funding for the Coast Guard. The bill was reported out of committee by a vote of 30 to 0.

Senate FY17 Homeland Security Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-homeland-security-approps-bill-text-5-26-16/

Senate FY17 Homeland Security Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/senate-fy17-homeland-security-appropriations-report/

Senate FY17 Homeland Security Majority Summary:

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/senate-committee-passes-fy2017-homeland-security-appropriations-bill

Senate FY17 Homeland Security Minority Summary:

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

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense Subcommittee: May 11

Full Committee: May 17

Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Floor: Week of June 6?

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 12

Financial Services Subcommittee: May 25  
Homeland Security   Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Interior Subcommittee: May 25  
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20

Full Committee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Floor: May 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 19

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: May 19

 

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

 

  FY16 302(b) FY17 House 302(b) FY17 Senate 302(b)
Agriculture $21.75B $21.3B $21.2B
Commerce Justice Science $55.7B $56B $56.3B
Defense* $572.7B $575.7B $572.7B
Energy & Water $37.2B $37.4B $37.5B
Financial Services $23.2B $21.7B $22.4B
Homeland Security* $41.12B   $41.2B
Interior $32.16B $32.095B $32B
Labor HHS Education $162.1B   $161.9B
Legislative Branch $4.37B $3.48B

(excludes Senate only items)

$4.4B
Military Construction/VA* $79.9B $81.6B $83B
State Foreign Ops* $52.68B   $52.1B
Transportation HUD $57.6B $58.2B $56.5B

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

FY17 Budget and Appropriations – May 20, 2016

FY17 Budget and Appropriations

House

FY17 Budget Resolution

House Republicans are still unable to find a budget resolution to appease all of their members as the latest attempt to win the support of their party’s deficit hawks has fallen flat. The latest offer was to condition the $1.07T discretionary topline spending on passage of $30B in spending cuts to entitlement programs. Conservatives in the House are doubtful that the bill would survive in the Senate, and therefore, reluctant to support it in the House. And House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) is hesitant to force the resolution on his caucus.

House Floor

Military Construction-Veterans Affairs

For the first time since 1974 when the modern budget process was created, the House took up a regular appropriations bill without a budget resolution or a deeming resolution setting topline spending limits. The House passed the $81.6B FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill by a vote of 295 to 129 (4 Republicans voted against the bill and 57 Democrats voted in favor of the bill). While an amendment barring the Confederate flag being flown at cemeteries run by the Department of Veterans Affairs derailed the FY16 appropriations process in the House, it passed the House this year by a vote of 265 to 159 with the support of GOP leaders. Another controversial amendment looked like it would also pass, but was ultimately rejected by a vote of 212 to 213 after several Republicans flipped their votes from “yay” to “nay” when the vote was held open for several minutes past the allotted time. The amendment would have barred federal contractors from getting government work if they discriminate against the LGBT community. The Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating that they would recommend the President veto the bill over the inclusion of restrictions on the use of funds to transfer individuals held at Guantanamo Bay and close the facility.

House FY17 MilCon-VA Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr4974/BILLS-114hr4974rh.pdf

House FY17 MilCon-VA Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt497/CRPT-114hrpt497.pdf

OMB FY17 MilCon-VA Veto Threat:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr4974r_20160517_v2.pdf

Zika Response Act

The House also passed HR 5243, the Zika Response Appropriations Act by a vote of 241 to 183 (3 Democrats voted for the bill, 4 Republicans voted against it). The bill provides $622M to fight the spread of the Zika virus, less than the Administration’s requested $1.9B. And the funding is offset with $352.1M of unused money for fighting the Ebola outbreak and $270M in other unused funding for the Department of Health and Human Services. The Administration issued a statement threatening that the President would veto the measure calling the funding levels “woefully inadequate” and objecting to the bill’s use of previously-appropriated funding as an offset. The Administration argued that the funding should be treated as an emergency and should not be offset. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) said that the Administration’s $1.9B request was for several years and that additional funding could be part of the FY17 appropriations process.

Zika Funding Bill:

http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20160516/BILLS-114hr-HR5243-AF.pdf

OMB Zika Funding Veto Threat:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5243r_20160517.pdf

House Committee

Defense

The full House Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Defense spending bill this week. The bill provides $517.1B in discretionary funding – an increase of $3B over the FY16 enacted level and $587M below the President’s budget request. The bill also provides $58.6B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding – the level allowed under current law. In addition to a non-controversial manager’s amendment, the Committee adopted by voice vote an amendment by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) stating that “Congress has a constitutional duty to debate and determine whether or not to authorize the use of military force against ISIL.”

House FY17 Defense Appropriations Bill Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394520

House FY17 Defense Appropriations Bill Text:

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

House FY17 Defense Appropriations Report Language:

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

Legislative Branch

The full House Appropriations Committee also marked up its $3.48B FY17 Legislative Branch spending bill. In addition to a non-controversial manager’s amendment, the Committee adopted by voice vote an amendment by Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) that provided an additional $8.3M for the Members Representational Allowances account (1.5% increase), transferred from the Architect of the Capital Construction and Operations Fund.

House FY17 Legislative Branch Bill Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394506

House FY17 Legislative Branch Bill Text:

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

House FY17 Legislative Branch Report Language:

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

Commerce Justice Science

The House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY17 spending bill this week. The FY17 CJS bill contains $56B in total discretionary spending, an increase of $279M over FY16 and $1.4B above the President’s budget request. The bill provides $29B for the Department of Justice ($347M above FY16), $19.5B for NASA ($223M above FY16), $9.1B for the Department of Commerce ($194M below FY16), and $15M for the Trade Enforcement Trust Fund and $90M for the International Trade Commission. The bill also includes several policy provisions:

  • Continuation of a prohibition on the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S.;
  • Continuation of various existing provisions related to firearms, and making four of these provisions permanent;
  • A prohibition on NASA and the Office of Science and Technology Policy engaging in bilateral activities with China unless authorized or certified via procedures established in the bill;
  • A prohibition on funds for exports to the Cuban military officers or their families;
  • A requirement for agencies to provide inspectors general with timely information.
  • A continuation of language prohibiting funds to relinquish the responsibility of Department of Commerce with respect to Internet Domain Name System functions; and
  • A continuation of existing policies related to the sanctity of life.

The bill will be marked up in full committee next Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Bill Text:

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

Transportation HUD

The House Transportation HUD (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY17 spending bill this week. The FY17 THUD bill contains a total of $58.2B in discretionary spending – an increase of $889M above FY16 and $4.9B billion below the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill includes $19.2B for the Department of Transportation ($540M above FY16, $4B below the President’s budget request), $38.7B for the Department of Housing and Urban Development ($384M above FY16, $953M below the President’s budget request), and $6.9B for Community Planning and Development Programs ($231M above FY16). The legislation also includes a number of legislative reforms:

  • Clarifies and extends the prohibition on the 2013 changes to the 34-hour truck-driver restart rule.
  • Facilitates interstate commerce by affirming a uniform hours of service trucking requirement.
  • Requires DOT to improve safety data.
  • Restricts HUD from implementing floodplain policies.

The bill will be marked up in full committee next Tuesday at 10:30 am.

Bill Text:

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

Senate

Senate Floor

This week the Senate passed HR 2577 a combined measure that includes the FY17 Transportation HUD and FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bills. The bill was passed by a vote of 89 to 8 with all of the “nay” votes coming from Republicans (Corker, Crapo, Flake, Lankford, Lee, Paul, Risch, and Sessions). The bill also included a $1.1B Zika virus amendment offered by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Patty Murray (D-WA) that was passed by a vote of 68 to 30 (all “nay” votes were Republicans). The Senate Zika funding is treated as emergency funding that doesn’t require any offsetting cuts to other programs. While the emergency funding is attached to the THUD/MilCon-VA spending bill, the Senate may decide to conference the provision with the House-passed measure that is a standalone bill.

The Administration threatened to veto the measure due to the inclusion of “problematic ideological provisions” and that the bill did not support the President’s vision for a 21st Century Clean Transportation Plan.

OMB FY17 THUD/MilCon-VA Veto Threat:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr2577s_20160516.pdf

Senate Committee

Agriculture

Senate Appropriators unanimously approved their $21.25 FY17 Agriculture spending bill this week. The bill is $250M below the FY16 enacted level and $21.7B below the President’s FY17 budget request.

Senate FY17 Agriculture Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2956/BILLS-114s2956pcs.pdf

Senate FY17 Agriculture Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt259/CRPT-114srpt259.pdf

Legislative Branch

Senate Appropriators approved their FY17 Legislative Branch spending bill by a vote of 30 to 0 this week. The $3.021B measure increases spending on information technology security, which attributed to much of the $1M increase over FY16 levels. The Senate measure would provide $387M for the Capitol Police, $12M above FY16 but $22.6M below the President’s budget request.

The Architect of the Capitol would be funded at $419.3M, $8.7M below the FY16 level and $75.5M below the President’s budget request. The bill would provide $608.9M to the Library of Congress, $8.9M above the FY16 level and $58.3M below the President’s budget request. And GAO is funded at $542.4M, $11.4M above FY16 and $25.4M below the FY17 budget request.

Senate FY17 Legislative Branch Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2806/BILLS-114s2806pcs.pdf

Senate FY17 Legislative Branch Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt258/CRPT-114srpt258.pdf 

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense Subcommittee: May 11

Full Committee: May 17

Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Floor: Week of May 23

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 12

Financial Services Subcommittee: May 25  
Homeland Security   Subcommittee: May 24

Full Committee: May 26

Interior Subcommittee: May 25  
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20

Full Committee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Floor: May 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 19

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD Subcommittee: May 18

Full Committee: May 24

Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: May 19

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

 

  FY16 302(b) FY17 House 302(b) FY17 Senate 302(b)
Agriculture $21.75B $21.3B $21.2B
Commerce Justice Science $55.7B $56B $56.3B
Defense* $572.7B $575.7B $572.7B
Energy & Water $37.2B $37.4B $37.5B
Financial Services $23.2B   $22.4B
Homeland Security* $41.12B   $41.2B
Interior $32.16B   $32B
Labor HHS Education $162.1B   $161.9B
Legislative Branch $4.37B $3.48B

(excludes Senate only items)

$4.4B
Military Construction/VA* $79.9B $81.6B $83B
State Foreign Ops* $52.68B   $52.1B
Transportation HUD $57.6B $58.2B $56.5B

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

 

FY17 Budget and Appropriations Update – May 13, 2016

FY17 Budget and Appropriations

House

FY17 Budget Resolution

House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) met with GOP rank-and-file this week in a closed-door conference to discuss a path forward for an FY17 budget resolution. Price proposed pairing in a single bill the $1.07B budget resolution with $30B in new cuts in entitlement programs. Some Republicans expressed cautious optimism after the meeting, but its not clear if enough conservatives will back the bill without a guarantee that the Senate will ever consider it. If House leaders can get enough votes for the plan, the budget resolution would go to the floor next week ahead of any appropriations bills.

House Floor

The House could begin considering FY17 appropriations bills on the House floor next week after the May 15 deadline for a budget or deeming resolution. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) plans on bringing the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) spending bill to the floor next week as well as a separate Zika supplemental appropriations bill. Rogers will unveil the Zika aid package on Monday. It is likely to appropriate less than the bipartisan Senate agreement of $1.1B in FY16 funding. House Democrats believe the Zika issue is an emergency that doesn’t require offsets, but Conservatives in the House may require that it be paid for. Democrats may also oppose the measure if they consider the amount Roger’s proposes inadequate. While it will be introduced as a standalone bill it could hitch a ride on the FY17 MilCon-VA bill, which would provide procedural protections.

Defense

The House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its FY17 spending bill this week. The bill provides $517.1B in discretionary funding – an increase of $3B over the FY16 enacted level and $587M below the President’s budget request. The bill also provides $58.6B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding – the level allowed under current law. The subcommittee followed the lead of the House Armed Services Committee, which targeted OCO funding to provide additional funds for the base budget. Of the $58.6B in OCO funding, $43B is included to support OCO operations through April 30, 2017. The additional $15.7B is redirected to fund unmet needs within the base budget. The bill will be marked up in full committee on Tuesday.

FY17 Defense Appropriations Bill Text:

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

FY17 Defense Appropriations Draft Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/House-FY17-Defense-Appropriations-Report-5-13-16.pdf

Bill Summary:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394520

Senate

The Senate passed its $37.5B FY17 Energy and Water appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week by a vote of 90 to 8 after dispensing with an Iran heavy water amendment offered by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). The amendment was subject to a 60-vote threshold and failed by a vote of 57 to 42. Cotton then withdrew the amendment allowing the Senate to proceed with a cloture vote and final vote on passage. This is the earliest the Senate has passed an appropriations bill in 40 years. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Senate will continue to consider the FY17 spending bills up until they break in July for the Republican and Democrat Presidential nominating conventions. Up next on the docket is a combined measure that includes the FY17 Transportation HUD and FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs spending bills. The text of the two Senate bills will be offered as amendments to HR 2577, an FY15 Transportation HUD spending bill that passed the House last year but did not go anywhere in the Senate. The Senate has a limited number of those House shell bills left over from last year, which are used to avoid procedural hurdles dealing with the origination of spending bills in the Senate. That scarcity of vehicles has prompted McConnell to combine the transportation and veterans measures into a so-called “minibus” while he waits for the House to begin floor work on appropriations.

Floor action on the bill will also include consideration of amendments providing emergency funding for the Zika virus. While the emergency funding is germane to the bill, the Senate had to employ a complicated procedure to link the House’s FY17 MilCon-VA bill to HR 2577 so that Zika amendments are fair game under Senate procedure. Three Zika amendments are pending in the Senate – one from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), one from Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and a bipartisan agreement offered by Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Patty Murray (D-WA). The first amendment to achieve 60 affirmative votes to limit debate will become the Senate’s floor business for up to the next 30 hours, and will be poised to be added to the Transportation HUD and MilCon VA minibus. Nelson’s amendment seeks $1.9B in emergency funding, while Cornyn’s amendment seeks $1.1B offset by cutting money from the President’s healthcare overhaul. The Blunt-Murray bipartisan amendment would provide $1.1B in emergency funding and is the amendment that is expected to prevail.

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: May 17

Full Committee: May 19

Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee: May 18 Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense Subcommittee: May 11

Full Committee: May 17

 
Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 12

Financial Services    
Homeland Security    
Interior    
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20

Full Committee: May 17

 
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Floor: Week of May 16

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: Week of May 16

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD Subcommittee: May 18 Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Floor: Week of May 16

FY2017 Budget and Appropriations Update – April 29, 2016

House

The House Appropriations Committee did not mark up any bills this week, nor was any action taken on the House floor on the three bills already passed out of committee (Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs). Since the House has not passed an FY17 budget resolution, they can’t move their appropriations bills to the floor until May 15. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) said that he hopes the first appropriations bill that will be brought to the floor after May 15 is the Military Construction-VA bill, but no final decisions have been made on that matter.

FY17 Agriculture Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt531/CRPT-114hrpt531.pdf

FY17 Energy and Water Appropriations Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt532/CRPT-114hrpt532.pdf

FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt497/CRPT-114hrpt497.pdf

The House Republican Conference held a meeting this morning to discuss their budget resolution. Republicans are still searching for a compromise on spending levels. Conservative members of the party want to accept only $1.04T in discretionary spending levels this year to comply with what was agreed to in the Budget Control Act of 2011 rather than the $1.07T in discretionary spending set by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.

Senate

The Senate resumed consideration of their FY17 Energy and Water appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week, but was unable to complete action on the measure. The Senate voted twice on cloture on the bill and both times failed to muster the 60 votes needed. The first vote failed 50 to 46 and the second vote failed 52 to 43. The Senate will vote again on cloture when they reconvene on Monday, May 9.

Senate Democrats are objecting to an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) that they have called a “poison pill.” The Democrats won’t vote for cloture without assurance that Cotton’s amendment will not be offered. The amendment would prohibit the use of FY17 funds to purchase heavy water from Iran. Heavy water can be used in reactor research and the development of nuclear weapons. As part of last year’s deal with Iran, Tehran must reduce its heavy water inventory to a preset limit by July by either selling, diluting, or destroying it. The US agreed on Friday to buy 32 metric tons for $8.6M but doesn’t have plans to buy any more after that. And Iran is in negotiations with Russia to sell off more. Cotton’s amendment would only apply after Oct 1 when the new fiscal year starts, so it would not apply to the agreement the US made last week with Tehran. Cotton wants to hold the administration to their promise that this is only a one-time deal.

Given the uncertainty of the appropriations process at this point in time, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) withdrew the cloture motion for the FY17 Transportation HUD spending bill.

Zika Virus

Negotiations over bringing an emergency supplemental package to combat the Zika virus to the Senate floor also reached an impasse this week with each side blaming the other. Democrats are blaming Republicans for not responding to the President’s request for $1.9B to combat the virus, while Republicans are blaming the White House for failing to detail how and when the money would be spent. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sought unanimous consent to bring up the Zika package (S 2843) for a vote knowing that it lacked support and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) objected. On the House side, House Democrats introduced their own $1.9B bill on Monday while House Republican leaders have said that they want any Zika money to be offset with cuts to other programs.

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

 
Commerce-Justice-Science   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense    
Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: May 9

Financial Services    
Homeland Security    
Interior    
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20  
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

FY17 Budget and Appropriations Update – April 22, 2016

House of Representatives

The House Appropriations Committee met this week and marked up its FY17 Agriculture and Energy and Water spending bills in full committee, and its FY17 Legislative Branch spending bill in subcommittee. The committee also approved its 302(b) allocations for these three spending bills.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said this week that conservatives in his caucus might support some of the FY17 appropriations bills that adhere to the $1.07T topline spending limit set by last year’s budget agreement. Members of the caucus are opposed to bringing the spending bills to the floor before May 15, but could support certain bills that fund defense, military construction, or veterans affairs after the budget resolution deadline. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are holding up adoption of a FY17 budget resolution because it reflects the higher $1.07T discretionary spending limit. They are insisting that the topline be lowered to $1.04T or that Congress passes and the President signs into law at least $30B in spending cuts.

Agriculture

The House Appropriations full committee approved a $21.3B FY17 Agriculture spending bill this week. The bill is $451M below the enacted FY16 level and $281M below the President’s FY17 budget request.

The full committee adopted the following amendments to the FY17 Agriculture Appropriations bill:

  • Aderholt – The amendment makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
  • Cole – The amendment adds bill language to modernize the February 2007 predicate date for tobacco products. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 31-19.
  • Farr – The amendment adds language to the bill to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption within the United States. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 25-23.
  • Palazzo – The amendment adds bill language delaying a new rule by USDA that changes requirements for approved SNAP retailers. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
  • Harris– The amendment adds bill language halting new FDA sodium guidance until the completion of an Institute of Medicine review. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
  • Valadao– The amendment adds bill language that prevents the CFTC Swap Dealer de minimis level from automatically being lowered by 60 percent. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-19.
  • Lee – The amendment adds bill language to use $1 million in USDA funding within the bill for loans and grants under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 28-22.
  • Harris –The amendment adds bill language to stop the implementation of a Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration regulation that would place restrictions on poultry, beef and pork marketing arrangements. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 26-24.
  • Rogers– The amendment adds bill language to clarify that certain existing, unobligated funding within the Departments of State and Health and Human Services shall be available to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika crisis, both domestically and internationally. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-20.

Bill Text:

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

Report Language:

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

Agriculture Adopted Amendments:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hmtg-114-ap00-20160419-sd004.pdfhttp://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hmtg-114-ap00-20160419-sd004.pdf

Energy and Water

The House Appropriations full committee approved its $37.4B FY17 Energy and Water spending bill this week. Only a manager’s amendment making technical and noncontroversial changes to the report was adopted by the full committee before the bill was reported out. The bill is $259M above FY16 enacted levels and $168M above what the President requested for FY17.

The bill provides a total of $12.9B for DOE’s nuclear weapons security programs – a $327M increase above the FY16 enacted level. The Army Corps of Engineers is funded at $6.1B, an increase of $100M above FY16, and environmental management activities are funded at $6.15B – $66M below FY16. Funding for energy programs within DOE is $11.08B – an increase of $56M above FY16, and the bill includes $5.4B for science research – an increase of $50M above FY16. The bill also contains $1.1B ($131M below FY16) for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation. Finally the bill continues congressional efforts to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository, providing $150M for the Nuclear Waste Disposal program and $20M for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the adjudication of DOE’s Yucca Mountain License application. The legislation also denies the Administration’s funding proposals for non-Yucca nuclear waste activities.

Other policy items included in the bill prohibit any changes to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and to the definition of “fill material” and “discharge of fill material” for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, and restricts the application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including farm ponds and irrigation ditches. Democrats objected to this last provision, but their effort to remove the rider was defeated on a 32 to 18 vote. The bill also includes language allowing the possession of firearms on Corps of Engineers lands and prohibits new nuclear nonproliferation projects in Russia.

Bill Text:

http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/BILLS-114HR-FC-AP-FY2017-AP00-EnergyWater.pdf

Report Language:

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

Energy and Water Adopted Amendments:

http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hmtg-114-ap00-20160419-sd005.pdf

Legislative Branch

The House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee met this week and approved their $3.48B draft FY17 spending bill by voice vote.

The bill provides annual funding for the offices of Members of the House of Representatives, the support agencies of Congress, security and police forces, services for visitors, and Capitol operations and maintenance.

The total included for the House and joint operations, excluding Senate-only items, is $73M above the FY16 enacted level and $152 million below the President’s FY17 budget request. The Capitol Police received an increase of $16.3M above the FY16 enacted level, the Architect of the Capitol received an increase of $31M, the Library of Congress received an increase of $29M, and GAO received an increase of $2.1M.

The legislation also includes a provision to freeze the pay of Members of Congress, preventing any pay increases in FY17. A freeze on the salaries of Representatives has been in place since 2010.

Bill Text:

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

Senate

While the House isn’t likely to see any appropriations bills on the floor before May 15, the Senate started the appropriations process on the floor with its FY17 Energy and Water spending bill. This is the earliest ever start to appropriations work in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he is prepared to devote up to 12 weeks of floor time for consideration of the 12 bills. After Energy and Water, Senate Leadership has hinted that Military Construction-Veterans Affairs or Commerce-Justice-Science might be considered next.

The process was kicked off with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) officially setting the discretionary spending limits for FY17 – $551B for defense and $518.5B for domestic programs. These are in line with the $1.07T budget agreement reached last year. Enzi’s action allowed the Senate to start floor consideration of the 12 annual spending bills. Enzi is also considering the possibility of overhauling the budget process this year. He is hopeful that he can produce a bipartisan plan next month that would create a process allowing two-year (biennial) budgets. Those opposing the effort are concerned about relinquishing Congress’ oversight role that gets played through the annual appropriations process. On the House side, House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) said that he thinks that a new budget process will have to wait for a new president.

Senate Appropriators also began talking this week about a bipartisan emergency spending measure that would provide funding to combat the Zika virus. The President had requested $1.9B in February. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) expects that a supplemental funding measure will be offered to an appropriations bill on the Senate floor in the near future. How much funding will be provided is still in question as is to which bill it will be attached and whether or not any other funding requests (Flint, opioids, Middle East, etc.) will be attached.

Commerce-Justice-Science

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $56.3B spending bill is $564M above the FY16 enacted level and $1.6B above the President’s FY17 budget request.

The bill contains $27.8B in discretionary funding for the Justice Department (an increase of $156M over FY16), $9.3B for the Commerce Department (an increase of $70.8M over FY16), $19.3B for NASA (an increase of $21M over FY16), $7.5B for the National Science Foundation (maintains FY16 level), $395M for the Legal Services Corporation (an increase of $10M over FY16), and $59.3M for the US Trade Representative (an increase of $4.9M over FY16).

Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172947-pdf/

Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172951/

Energy and Water

The Senate began consideration of its $37.5B FY17 Energy and Water Appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander expects to complete work on the bill next Tuesday.

Several amendments will be up for a vote next week including these three – one offered by Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Dean Heller (R-NV) that would provide an additional $50M toward projects to increase water in Lake Mead, another offered by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) that would cut $69M from the Army Corps of Engineers’ construction account, and the last offered by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that would direct $95M to wind energy.

The Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy providing their views on the Senate’s FY17 Energy and Water bill in which they objected to the funding levels for ARPA-E, energy R&D activities, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. They threatened a veto over these funding levels as well as other issues. The Office of Management and Budget’s Statement of Administration Policy can be found at:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr2028s_20160420.pdf

Senate FY17 Energy and Water Bill Text:

https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2804/BILLS-114s2804pcs.pdf

Senate FY17 Energy and Water Report Language:

https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt236/CRPT-114srpt236.pdf

Transportation Housing and Urban Development

The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) spending bill this week in subcommittee and full committee. The $56.474B bill is $827M below the FY16 enacted level and $2.9B below the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill provides $16.9B for the Department of Transportation ($1.7B below FY16) and $39.2B for Housing and Urban Development ($891M above FY16).

Bill Text:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172949/

Report Language:

https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172952/

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

 
Commerce-Justice-Science   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense    
Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Floor: DATE

Financial Services    
Homeland Security    
Interior    
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20  
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

 

FY17 Budget and Appropriations Update – April 15, 2016

FY17 Budget and Appropriations

House

House Republicans missed the statutory deadline today to adopt an FY17 budget resolution. However, the Appropriations Committee is moving forward with their bills marking up the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill in full committee and the FY17 Energy and Water and Agriculture spending bills in subcommittee this week.

While House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) said last month that spending bills would not be considered on the House floor without a budget in place, he left the door open to that possibility at a press conference this week. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) would like to bring bills to the floor before May 15 because of the shortened year. And he wants to complete committee action on all 12 bills by late June and enact them before the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.

Rogers did get some pushback from Democrats on the committee for moving forward on bills without providing allocations, or 302(b)s for all of the subcommittees. The committee voted 30 to 20 to adopt an “interim” allocation for the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill, but left allocations for the other 11 bills in the dark. Ranking Member Nita Lowey (D-NY) expressed concern about proceeding with bills without knowing how much money would be left over for the remaining spending bills.

Military Construction-Veterans Affairs

The House Appropriations full committee marked up the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilConVA) bill this week and passed it out of committee by voice vote. The committee allocates $81.47B in discretionary budget authority for the bill, along with $172M in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding. The bill includes additional funding to address management problems and health care shortages, and to increase the speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of its services to veterans.

Three amendments were adopted during full committee consideration of the bill. The first was a manager’s amendment from Rep. Dent (R-PA). The second was an amendment offered by Rep. Rooney (R-FL) prohibiting funding for the next phase of construction of a Joint Intelligence Analysis Complex Consolidation in Croughton, England unless it is authorized in the FY17 NDAA. And the last amendment was from Chairman Rogers (R-KY) adding bill language to clarify that certain existing unobligated funding within the Departments of State and Health and Human Services shall be available to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika crisis, both domestically and internationally. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-20.

The bill text can be found at:

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

Draft report language can be found at:

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

And a summary of the bill can be found at:

http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394474

Agriculture

The House Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee approved a $21.3B FY17 spending bill by voice vote this week. The bill will be considered in full committee next Tuesday. The panel made no changes to the bill, which is $451M below the enacted FY16 level and $281M below the President’s FY17 budget request.

The subcommittee’s draft bill text can be found at:

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

Energy and Water

The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee approved its $37.4B FY17 spending bill on Wednesday by voice vote. The bill is $259M above FY16 enacted levels and $168M above what the President requested for FY!7.

The subcommittee’s draft bill text can be found at:

http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/BILLS-114HR-SC-AP-FY2017-EnergyWater-SubcommitteeDraft.pdf

House Rules Committee Hearing on Proposed Rule XXI Changes

Meanwhile, the House Rules Committee members also met this week to consider changes to House Rule XXI that would allow entitlement programs to be cut as part of the appropriations process, instead of through separate legislation. Rule XXI prohibits spending bills from including changes to existing law or sending money to unauthorized programs. The proposed changes could provide the guarantee that conservatives are seeking to ensure that spending cuts would be enacted in exchange for their acceptance of a higher overall discretionary budget limit. This hearing was the first in a series of hearings regarding House process that Republicans are undertaking as part of a comprehensive review that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) promised upon becoming Speaker. Critics of the proposed changes charge that Republicans are trying to change the House rules in order to enact priorities that are too politically unpopular to pass through regular order.

Senate

On the Senate side, Appropriators got an earlier than usual start on their FY17 spending bills. On a 29 to 1 vote, the committee adopted its 302(b) spending allocations, which allows the 12 subcommittees to begin writing their individual spending bills. The numbers reflect the $1.07T discretionary spending level agreed to in last year’s budget agreement. The one “no” vote came from Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). The subcommittee allocations are as follows:

Agriculture: $21.2B

Commerce-Justice-Science: $56.3B

Defense: $515.9B (OCO: $56.8B)

Energy and Water: $37.5B

Financial Services: $22.4B

Homeland Security: $41.2B

Interior-Environment: $32B

Labor-HHS-Education: $161.9B

Legislative Branch: $4.4B

Military Construction-Veterans Affairs: $83B

State-Foreign Operations: $37.2B (OCO: $14.9B)

Transportation-HUD: $56.5B

There are some winners and losers based on these allocations. The MilCon-VA bill received the biggest funding boost over FY16 levels with a $3B increase, while the Transportation-HUD bill was cut by about $1B as was Financial Services. DOD is about $2B higher this year, while State Foreign Operations was cut by more than $800M and Agriculture lost about $500M.

Energy and Water

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its FY17 Energy and Water spending bill out of subcommittee and full committee this week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) then filed cloture on the bill setting it up for consideration on the Senate floor early next week. The Senate will use a House-passed FY16 appropriations bill (HR 2028) as a legislative vehicle for the measure. The bill provides $37.5B for the Energy Department and the Army Corps of Engineers, which is $355M over current year funding levels and $261M above the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill includes $6B for the Army Corps of Engineers, $12.9B for nuclear security programs, and $1.14B for the Bureau of Reclamation. The bill was approved without amendment and is free of controversial riders, but could face some of these as amendments when it is considered on the floor.

Military Construction-Veterans Affairs

The Senate Appropriations Committee also passed its $83B FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilConVA) bill out of subcommittee and full committee. This is a $14.7B increase over current year funding.

Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said that she expects to markup the Transportation-HUD appropriations bills next week

Subcommittee House Senate
Agriculture Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

 
Commerce-Justice-Science   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

Defense    
Energy & Water Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 19

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

Financial Services    
Homeland Security    
Interior    
Labor HHS Education    
Legislative Branch Subcommittee: April 20  
Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Subcommittee: March 23

Full Committee: April 13

Subcommittee: April 13

Full Committee: April 14

State Foreign Operations    
Transportation HUD   Subcommittee: April 19

Full Committee: April 21

FY17 Budget and Appropriations Process Update

Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said this week that the she expected the appropriations subcommittees to officially receive their FY17 302(b) allocations on April 14. That is also when the first FY17 spending bill could be marked up in a Senate subcommittee. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) hinted that his appropriations bill could be up for consideration next week, and could be on the floor as soon as April 18. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Senate would move forward on the FY17 spending bills by adhering to the $1.07T discretionary spending limit agreed to in last year’s bipartisan budget deal. Subcommittee chairmen including Military Construction-Veterans Affairs chairman Mark Kirk (R-IL), have indicated that they have received “working targets” but have declined to disclose the dollar figures. And while the Senate’s preferred path forward is one in which the House passes the spending bills and then they act on them, they are considering using four FY16 House-passed measures to get around the provision in the Constitution requiring the House to go first. These four measures would allow the Senate to bring their FY17 spending bills to the floor before the House does.

On the House side, the House Rules Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing next Thursday to consider changes to the appropriations process that could help them find a compromise and persuade fiscal conservatives to support a higher level of discretionary spending. The changes to Rule XXI could include a measure allowing appropriators to cut mandatory spending as conservatives are looking for a way to guarantee mandatory spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to higher discretionary spending.

U.S. Defense Secretary Carter’s Speech at CSIS April 5, 2016

At the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) this afternoon, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke about key long-term strategic management questions DOD is currently addressing. Since the Goldwater-Nichols Act was enacted 30 years ago this fall, the world has changed. Secretary Carter said, “It’s time that we consider practical updates to this critical organizational framework, while still preserving its spirit and intent.”

Last fall Secretary Carter ordered a comprehensive, department-wide review of organizational issues spanning the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the combatant commanders, and the military departments. The task force identified potential redundancies, inefficiencies, or other areas of possible improvement and provided preliminary recommendations to the Secretary. The four areas identified are:

1. Transregional and Transfunctional Integration and Advice

Background: The challenges the U.S. faces today are not likely to confine themselves to neat regional or functional boundaries (e.g. the fight against ISIL involves CENTCOM, EUCOM, AFRICOM, SOCOM, STRATCOM, and CYBERCOM). Our decision chain cuts across the combatant commands only at the Secretary of Defense level so we’re not as agile as we could be.

Recommendations: Clarify the role and authority of the Chairman of Joint Chiefs and the Joint Staff to A) help synchronize resources globally for daily operations around the world, enhancing our flexibility and ability to move forces rapidly across the seams between combatant commands; B) provide objective military advice for ongoing operations, not just future planning; and C) advise the Secretary of Defense on military strategy and operational plans.

2. Combatant Command Updates and Streamlining Headquarters

Background: The combatant commands need to be adapted to new functions including how they manage themselves in cyberspace, while DOD needs to continue to aggressively streamline headquarters.

Recommendations: DOD should consider changes to cyber’s role in DoD’s Unified Command Plan. And instead of combining commands (e.g. AFRICOM and EUCOM) to reach the goal of reducing management HQ by 25%, DOD should focus on integrating functions like logistics, intelligence, and plans across the Joint Staff, the combatant commands, and subordinate commands. Additionally, DOD will look to simplify and improve command and control by filling billets currently staffed by four-star generals and admirals instead with three-stars in the future.

3. Acquisition Reform

Background: There is more that we can and must do to deliver better military capability while making better use of the taxpayers’ dollars. Better Buying Power began 6 years ago and we’re now on our third iteration. While we’re seeing compelling indications of positive improvements, there’s still a constant need for improvement – particularly as technology, industry, and DOD’s own missions continue to change.

Recommendations: Involving the service chiefs more in acquisition decision-making and accountability. Streamlining the acquisition system including evaluating and, where appropriate, reducing other members of the Defense Acquisition Board. Reducing burdensome acquisition documentation requirements in a meaningful way. And pushing approval authority lower down when a program is on the right track eliminating redundant reviews and shortening review timelines.

4. Changes to Joint Personnel Management

Background: Secretary Carter started the Force of the Future endeavor last year to ensure the high quality of the future all-volunteer force even as generations change and job markets change. DOD has taken several steps already – building on-ramps and off-ramps so technical talent can more easily flow between DoD and America’s great innovative communities; opening all combat positions to women who meet service standards to expand our access to 100 percent of America’s population for our all-volunteer force; and doing more to support military families to improve retention, like extending maternity and paternity leave, and giving families the possibility of some geographic flexibility in return for additional commitments.

Recommendations: Change the requirements for joint duty assignments to broaden the definition of positions for which an officer can receive joint duty credit, going beyond planning and command-and-control to include joint experience in other operational functions, such as intelligence, fires, transportation and maneuver, protection, and sustainment, including joint acquisition. And shorten the amount of time required to accumulate joint duty, from three years to two years, so top personnel have more flexibility to take on command assignments and other opportunities to broaden and deepen their careers.

DOD will execute some of these decisions under their own existing authority, but where legislation is needed, they will work with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees as they consider their FY17 National Defense Authorizations. Secretary Carter said that DOD will be detailing and discussing these questions with congressional committees in the coming weeks.

The full text of the Secretary’s speech can be found at: http://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech-View/Article/713736/remarks-on-goldwater-nichols-at-30-an-agenda-for-updating-center-for-strategic