FY16 Budget Mid-Session Review
The Office of Management and Budget OMB released its mid-session review today, which projects the 2016 deficit to be $600B. This is $16B lower than OMB’s February projection. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the projected deficit remains at 3%, same as the February projection.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2017/assets/17msr.pdf
FY17 Appropriations
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have marked up and reported out of committee all of their FY17 appropriations bills, but with the Congress now in recess for the next 7 ½ weeks and the House and Senate scheduled to only be in session 17 and 19 (respectively) days before the end of the fiscal year talk has now turned to a continuing resolution (CR).
The House Republican Conference was scheduled to hold a planning meeting on Thursday to address issues for the fall term including the length of a CR, but the meeting was cancelled. Conservative House Republicans are pushing for a stopgap spending measure that would fund the government through March 2017 allowing a new Congress and President to complete the budget process. They are concerned that Republican leaders would use the lame-duck session to cut deals on major legislation. In previous presidential election years (2008 and 2012), Congress pushed funding bills into March. March is also when the current suspension of the debt limit is set to expire.
Senate appropriators, on the other hand, prefer a CR funding the government into December allowing them enough time to complete work on separate FY17 spending bills or an omnibus package. They are concerned that making federal agencies operate under a CR for six months keeps them stuck on “autopilot” and could lead to a year-long CR. A CR would likely extend current funding without allowing any money for new programs.
House
Floor
The House passed its fifth FY17 spending bill this week. The $32.095B FY17 Interior appropriations bill passed by a vote of 231 to 196 (3 Democrats voted for the measure and 15 Republicans voted against it). This is the first time since 2009 that this annual spending bill has been passed by the House. The President has threatened to veto the bill over the funding level as well as policy riders that the administration believes would undermine environmental protection.
House FY17 Interior Appropriations Bill Text:
https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr5538/BILLS-114hr5538rh.pdf
House FY17 Interior Appropriations Report Language:
https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt632/CRPT-114hrpt632.pdf
OMB Statement of Administration Policy on House FY17 Interior Bill:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5538r_20160711.pdf
Labor HHS Education
The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $161.6B Labor HHS Education spending bill in full committee this week after debating the bill for two days. The bill is $569M below the FY16 enacted level, $2.8B below the President’s FY17 budget request, and approximately $300M less than the Senate FY17 version. The bill was approved by a vote of 31 to 19. It is the 12th and final bill to be considered by the House appropriations committee this year.
The following amendments were adopted during full committee consideration of the bill:
- Cole – The amendment makes technical and non-controversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Kaptur – The amendment adds report language directing the CDC to coordinate with other agencies and States on the public health effects of algal-blooms. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Ryan – The amendment adds report language directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct a study on the impacts of free trade agreements on the U.S. labor market. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Harris – The amendment specifies that any federal funding provided in any act of law may only be used to provide In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments if such treatments do not result in the destruction of viable human embryos before embryo transfer. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 29-21.
- Lee – The amendment adds report language requesting a Department of Education study on the adverse impacts of school segregation. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
Committee members rebuffed Democratic amendments related to family planning, the Zika outbreak, and gun violence. The bill does create for the first time an emergency reserve fund to combat any outbreak of an infectious disease. The bill includes $300M for the fund, but Democrats argue that more funding is needed.
House FY17 Labor HHS Education Bill Text:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-laborhhsed.pdf
House FY17 Labor HHS Education Report Language:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-laborhhsed.pdf
House FY17 Labor HHS Education Summary:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394633
State Foreign Operations
The House Appropriations Committee marked up its $52B FY17 State Foreign Operations spending bill this week. The bill is $595M below the FY16 enacted level, $691M below the President’s FY17 budget request, and roughly $100M below the Senate’s FY17 funding level. Within the overall funding amount, Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding totals $14.9B, which is equal to the FY16 enacted level. The bill was reported out of full committee by voice vote and in addition to a manager’s amendment, the only other amendment adopted was one to modify the quorum requirement for the Export-Import Bank Board through September 30, 2019. This is needed for the Bank to approve certain transactions as three of the five Board positions are currently vacant.
House FY17 State Foreign Operations Bill Text:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-stateforop.pdf
House FY17 State Foreign Operations Report Language:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-stateforop.pdf
House FY17 State Foreign Operations Summary:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394623
Senate
Floor
The Senate voted for the second time this month on a cloture vote on the FY17 Defense Appropriations bill. The vote again failed by a vote of 55 to 42 (60 votes are required under Senate rules). Democrats are objecting to the bill saying that Republicans are not abiding by last year’s bipartisan budget deal, and that they are funding defense at the expense of other non-defense discretionary spending measures.
FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Zika Virus Funding Conference Agreement
Once again, Senate Democrats rejected an attempt by Senate Republicans to move forward on the conference agreement to the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs/Zika Virus appropriations bill. With more than 4,200 people in the U.S. and its territories already infected with the virus (including 649 pregnant women), federal health officials are concerned about the spread of the disease during the summer months.
Republican House and Senate Appropriators sent a letter to President Obama yesterday urging the White House to take action on Zika funding. They wrote that the White House should “aggressively use funds already available to mount a strong defense against the virus” if Senate Democrats continue to block the consideration of Zika legislation. They also questioned why the administration hasn’t already used the $500M that is already available for the Zika virus.
Letter to President Obama:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394655
Subcommittee House Senate
| 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 27 |
| Defense | Subcommittee: May 11
Full Committee: May 17 Floor: Passed June 16 |
Subcommittee: May 24
Full Committee: May 26 Floor: Failed Cloture Vote 7/14 |
| Energy & Water | Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 19 Floor: Pulled after voted down 5/26 |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 Floor: Passed May 12 |
| Financial Services | Subcommittee: May 25
Full Committee: June 9 Floor: Passed July 7 |
Subcommittee: June 15
Full Committee: June 16 |
| Homeland Security | Subcommittee: June 9
Full Committee: June 22 |
Subcommittee: May 24
Full Committee: May 26 |
| Interior | Subcommittee: May 25
Full Committee: June 15 Floor: Passed July 14 |
Subcommittee: June 14
Full Committee: June 16 |
| Labor HHS Education | Subcommittee: July 7
Full Committee: July 14 |
Subcommittee: June 7
Full Committee: June 9 |
| Legislative Branch | Subcommittee: April 20
Full Committee: May 17 Floor: Passed June 10 |
Full Committee: May 19 |
| Military Construction – Veterans Affairs | Subcommittee: March 22
Full Committee: April 13 Floor: Passed May 19 Conference: Passed June 23 |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 Floor: Passed May 19 Conference: Failed Cloture Vote 7/14 |
| State Foreign Operations | Subcommittee: July 6
Full Committee: July 12 |
Subcommittee: June 28
Full Committee: June 29 |
| Transportation HUD | Subcommittee: May 18
Full Committee: May 24 |
Subcommittee: April 19
Full Committee: April 21 Floor: Passed 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 | $32.03B |
| Labor HHS Education | $162.1B | $161.6B | $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 | $52.0B | $52.1B |
| Transportation HUD | $57.6B | $58.2B | $56.5B |
*Includes Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding.