With Congress about to go into recess at the end of next week until September and the Senate’s rejection of the cloture vote on their FY17 Defense spending bill, appropriators are once again talking about a year-end omnibus spending package as well as a continuing resolution (CR). There is already internal debate among lawmakers over how long a CR should last to keep the government running in the meantime. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said that he would like to return to the appropriations process when they reconvene in September. Over on the House side, Conservatives in the Freedom Caucus are seeking a vote on a six-month CR next week, but House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said this week that they can still work on appropriations bills and that he doesn’t “think that’s the right time to do a CR.” Other senior appropriators like Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) agreed with McCarthy and are pushing for a CR that would end by December allowing Congress to pass an omnibus in the lame-duck session.
House
Floor
The House passed its $21.7B FY17 Financial Services Appropriations bill this week by a vote of 239 to 185 (four Democrats voted for the measure and 7 Republicans voted against it). The President has threatened to veto the bill over spending cuts and policy riders. During consideration of the bill, the House adopted an amendment by a vote of 217 to 203 that would bar funding to change registration requirements for the Selective Service System. The amendment, in effect, prevents women from being able to register for a potential military draft, which was a provision included in the Senate’s FY17 National Defense Authorization Act.
House FY17 Financial Services Bill Text:
https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/hr5485/BILLS-114hr5485rh.pdf
House FY17 Financial Services Report Language:
https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/hrpt624/CRPT-114hrpt624.pdf
Statement of Administration Policy:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr5485r_20160621.pdf
Next week the House will take up its $32.095B FY17 Interior appropriations bill on the House floor. The House Rules Committee will meet on Monday to determine which amendments will be considered.
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
Amendments Offered to House FY17 Interior Appropriations Bill:
https://rules.house.gov/bill/114/hr-5538
Labor HHS Education
The House Labor HHS Education Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $161.6B spending bill in subcommittee this week. 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 voice vote and will be marked up in full committee next Wednesday. It is the 12th and final bill to be considered by the House appropriations committee this year.
House FY17 Labor HHS Bill Text:
House FY17 Labor HHS Summary:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394633
State Foreign Operations
The House State Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee marked up its $52B FY17 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 subcommittee unanimously despite the inclusion of policy riders related to abortion and climate change. The bill will be marked up in full committee next Tuesday.
House FY17 State Foreign Operations Bill Text:
House FY17 State Foreign Operations Summary:
http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394623
Senate
Floor
Democrats in the Senate blocked consideration of the FY17 Defense Appropriations bill in a cloture vote on the motion to proceed. The vote failed 50 to 44 with two Democrats (Donnelly and Manchin) voting for cloture. Sixty votes were needed to proceed. The bill had passed out of committee unanimously (30-0) on May 26. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Senate would resume consideration of the motion to proceed to the spending bill next week.
FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Zika Virus Funding Conference Agreement
With only one week left before the summer recess, Congress has not completed action on the FY17 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilConVA) conference spending bill that includes emergency funding for the Zika virus. While the administration had requested $1.9B for Zika, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated this week that they would accept the $1.1B that the Senate had approved on a bipartisan basis last month. However, the administration still objects to the inclusion of restrictions on funding for Planned Parenthood and the funding offsets as well as the fact that the bill doesn’t represent a bipartisan compromise. Democrats also object to provisions in the MilConVA portion of the bill including the removal of environmental safeguards on pesticide spraying, reduced funding for veterans, and the removal of a provision prohibiting the flying of the Confederate flag at veterans cemeteries. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has promised another vote on the measure before the end of next week.
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: Week of July 11 |
| Energy & Water | Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 19 Floor: Pulled after voted down |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 Floor: Passed May 12 |
| Financial Services | Subcommittee: May 25
Full Committee: June 9 Floor: Pulled after Democrat sit-in for gun control |
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: Week of July 11 |
Subcommittee: June 14
Full Committee: June 16 |
| Labor HHS Education | Subcommittee: July 7
Full Committee: July 13 |
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: June 23 |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 Floor: Passed May 19 Conference: Week of June 27 |
| 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.