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.

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.

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

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.

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

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

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 21^st 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 

FY16 vs. FY17 302(b) Allocations

*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.

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.

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.

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

December 18, 2015

The House and Senate passed a short-term continuing resolution funding the government through Dec 22 giving Congress additional time to negotiate and pass a $1.15T FY16 omnibus appropriations bill (HR 2029) that included a $680B permanent tax extension package (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes) as well as cybersecurity legislation and an FY16 Intelligence Authorization.

The House approved HR 2820, an Act to reauthorize the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005; HR 4246, the National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act; S 1090, the Emergency Information Improvement Act of 2015; HR 2297, the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015; and HR 3750, the First Responders Passport Act of 2015.  

The Senate passed by unanimous consent or voice vote HR 2270, the Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story Act; S 571, the Pilot’s Bill of Rights; HR 2576, the TSCA Modernization Act; S 227, the Strengthening Education through Research Act; HR 515, International Megan’s Law; S 2261, the Rural ACO Provider Equity Act; HR 4246, the National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act; S 284, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act; HR 3594, a bill temporarily extending the Federal Perkins Loan Program; S 238, the Eric Williams Correctional Officer Protection Act; HR 3831, the Securing Fairness in Regulatory Timing Act; S 1616, the Saving Federal Dollars Through Better Use of Government Purchase and Travel Cards Act; S 2425, the Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act; HR 1321, a bill amending the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; S 2152, the Electrify Africa Act; HR 4188, the Coast Guard Authorization Act; S 1155, the GONE Act; S 1893, the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act; and S 2044, the Consumer Review Freedom Act.

The Senate confirmed the following nominations: Alissa Starzak to be General Counsel of the Department of the Army, John Conger to be a Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, Stephen Welby to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, Franklin Parker to be an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Gabriel Camarillo to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Patrick Murphy to be Under Secretary of the Army, Miriam Lew to be Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Transportation, Anthony Rosario Coscia and Derek Tai-Ching Kan to be Directors of the Amtrak Board of Directors, John Lettre to be Undersecretary for Intelligence at the Department of Defense, Thomas Melia to be an Assistant Administrator at USAID, Thomas Rothman to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts, Carlos Torres to be Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, Suzette Kimball to be Director of the United States Geological Survey, and Steven Haro to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

FY16 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Passed

With the current continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government set to expire at midnight on December 16, the House and Senate passed another short-term stop-gap spending bill funding the government through December 22. The President signed the bill into law and attention then turned to a long-term agreement.

Early Wednesday morning, House and Senate leadership reached an agreement that funded federal agencies through next September and permanently extended several tax breaks. The omnibus also contained a bicameral compromise bill on cybersecurity as well as compromise text of the Intelligence Authorization Act for FY16. The $1.15T FY16 omnibus appropriations bill passed the House Friday morning by a vote of 316 to 113 with 95 Republicans and 18 Democrats voting against the measure. The bill then passed the Senate by a vote of 65 to 33 with 26 Republicans, 6 Democrats, and 1 Independent voting against the measure. Presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) both missed the vote. The bill now goes to the President who has said he will sign it.

The final agreement did not include several of the controversial policy riders (e.g. blocking a new federal clean-water rule, delaying or rejecting Syrian refugees, rolling back Dodd-Frank regulations, overturning the Labor Departments rule regulating retirement advisors, denying funding for Planned Parenthood, etc.) that had been holding up individual spending bills earlier this year. But it did lift a four-decade-long ban on exporting crude oil. Democrats agreed to include the provision in the final agreement in exchange for extending some tax incentives for wind and solar energy. The bill also toughened visa rules for those entering the United States, requiring citizens of 38 states who are currently exempt from needing a visa, to obtain one if they recently traveled to Syria, Iraq, Iran, or Sudan. And it extends the World Trade Center Health Program through 2090 for first responders and survivors of the 9/11 attacks, while also funding the September 11^th Victim’s Compensation Fund for five additional years by increasing H1B entry visa fees and biometric entry-exit fees.

The FY16 omnibus spending bill does adhere to a bipartisan budget agreement passed by Congress in October that raised previously imposed spending caps. It appropriates $1.067T in base discretionary budget authority and $73.7B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). The Congressional Budget Office scored the final agreement and determined that the final omnibus spending package will add more than $57B to budget deficits over the next 10 years. The spike in debt is largely attributed to the suspensions of health care taxes and extensions of energy tax breaks included in the final agreement.

*Source: federalnewsradio.com

** This request was shifted to the Defense OCO account, though $160 million of it would eventually be shifted to the Coast Guard, which falls under DHS.

Tax Extenders

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act makes permanent changes to the tax code. The House voted on Thursday 318 to 109 (with 214 Republicans voting yes) to pass the tax cut package, the first of two steps in the House to pass the final omnibus package. The Senate passed it as part of the omnibus package on Friday.

The package includes permanent extensions of business breaks like the research and experimentation credit, deductions for sales, and the $500,000 cap for small business expensing. It also includes extensions of credits geared for low-income workers, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the American Opportunity tax credit for education expenses.

The bill also delays two taxes in the Affordable Care Act that were designed to help pay for expanded insurance coverage – the “Cadillac” tax which imposes an excise tax of 40% on high-cost employer plans (those who value exceeds $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for a family) and a tax on medical devices.

A summary of the PATH Act can be found at:

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SECTION-BY-SECTION-SUMMARY-OF-THE-PROPOSED-PATH-ACT.pdf

Cybersecurity

Omnibus Includes Bicameral Compromise on Cybersecurity

The omnibus also contained a bicameral compromise bill on cybersecurity. The compromise provides that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the sole portal for companies to voluntarily share cybersecurity information with the federal government and expressly prohibits the military and NSA from potentially becoming a portal. It provides liability protections to private companies that voluntarily share cyber threat indicators defensive measures with DHS, or with each other, and requires them to review and remove and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) unrelated to cyber threats before sharing the information with the federal government. It enhances DHS’ ability to more effectively secure federal networks and authorizes DHS to execute intrusion detection and prevention capabilities when an imminent cyber threat to an agency information system is identified. This legislation also includes provisions to improve Federal network and information system security, provide assessments on the Federal cybersecurity workforce, and provide reporting and strategies on cybersecurity industry-related and criminal-related matters. Finally, it requires DHS to be co-author of all the privacy procedures to ensure that the robust privacy protections already in place at DHS’ cyber operations center, the NCCIC, will be “baked” into all privacy procedures for information sharing.

GAO on Agency’s Promotion of NIST Cybersecurity Framework

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report this week critical of DHS’ efforts to promote the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. NIST originally published the framework of voluntary cybersecurity standards in 2014, and DHS has encouraged industry to use it. However, DHS has not been measuring the results of its advocacy. GAO criticizes DHS saying that without metrics, Homeland Security officials don’t know what is working and what isn’t working. In addition to developing metrics, GAO recommends that DHS and GSA set a time frame to determine whether implementation guidance is needed for the government facilities sector. DHS and GSA concurred with the recommendations.

GAO Report:

http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/674300.pdf

Interest Rates

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen decided to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percent this week to 0.5 percent. The move was widely expected and Wall Street took it in stride. It marks the first time the central bank has raised the rate in almost 10 years, signaling confidence that the economy has finally recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. The rate was cut to near zero at the height of the crisis to spur an economic recovery. The Federal Reserve emphasized it will likely lift the rate “gradually” thereafter.

House Speaker Ryan 2016 Preview Video

In what looks more like a movie trailer, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-WI) continued his digital outreach this week releasing his 2016 preview video. Speaker Ryan sent his video to his GOP colleagues to preview his plan for running the House in 2016.

The one-minute video can be viewed at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIOR5dPkM5Q&feature=youtu.be

Political Updates

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner revealed this week that the state’s primary will be February 9 (eight days after the Iowa caucuses). Gardner unveiled a poster commemorating the 100^th anniversary of the first primary that included sample ballots with the Feb. 9 date.

Dr. Ellen Hughes-Cromwick was appointed to serve as the Department of Commerce’s new Chief Economist. Dr. Hughes-Cromwick is on leave from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, following an 18-year career with the Ford Motor Company where she served as the chief global economist. She also served as a senior economist at Mellon Bank, an assistant professor at Trinity College, and a staff economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.

Ashkan Soltani is leaving the Federal Trade Commission where he is the Chief Technologist and joining the White House as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer.

Veterans Affairs (VA) CIO Laverne Council announced on Thursday that Ron Thompson will join the VA Office of Information and Technology as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary starting Jan. 10. Thompson has been the Director of IT and Infrastructure at the Department of Health and Human Services. He replaces Stephen Warren who left VA in August. He will oversee VistA Evolution, the major upgrade of the VA’s electronic health record system.

President Obama nominated Alan Kreczko and James White to be Members of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board, Andrew Mayock to be Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget, and Edith Ramirez to be a Federal Trade Commissioner.

The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) announced this week that Larry Wilmore, host of “The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” will be the entertainer at the WHCA dinner on Saturday, April 30.

Next Week

The House and Senate have adjourned for the year. The House will reconvene on January 5, 2016 and the Senate will reconvene on January 11, 2016. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a statement today saying that the House will vote on budget reconciliation when they return in January. The bill will repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and replace it with a patient-centered health care system as well as prohibit federal funding for Planned Parenthood.