House of Representatives
The House Appropriations Committee met this week and marked up its FY17 Agriculture and Energy and Water spending bills in full committee, and its FY17 Legislative Branch spending bill in subcommittee. The committee also approved its 302(b) allocations for these three spending bills.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said this week that conservatives in his caucus might support some of the FY17 appropriations bills that adhere to the $1.07T topline spending limit set by last year’s budget agreement. Members of the caucus are opposed to bringing the spending bills to the floor before May 15, but could support certain bills that fund defense, military construction, or veterans affairs after the budget resolution deadline. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are holding up adoption of a FY17 budget resolution because it reflects the higher $1.07T discretionary spending limit. They are insisting that the topline be lowered to $1.04T or that Congress passes and the President signs into law at least $30B in spending cuts.
Agriculture
The House Appropriations full committee approved a $21.3B FY17 Agriculture spending bill this week. The bill is $451M below the enacted FY16 level and $281M below the President’s FY17 budget request.
The full committee adopted the following amendments to the FY17 Agriculture Appropriations bill:
- Aderholt – The amendment makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Cole – The amendment adds bill language to modernize the February 2007 predicate date for tobacco products. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 31-19.
- Farr – The amendment adds language to the bill to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption within the United States. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 25-23.
- Palazzo – The amendment adds bill language delaying a new rule by USDA that changes requirements for approved SNAP retailers. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Harris– The amendment adds bill language halting new FDA sodium guidance until the completion of an Institute of Medicine review. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.
- Valadao– The amendment adds bill language that prevents the CFTC Swap Dealer de minimis level from automatically being lowered by 60 percent. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-19.
- Lee – The amendment adds bill language to use $1 million in USDA funding within the bill for loans and grants under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 28-22.
- Harris –The amendment adds bill language to stop the implementation of a Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration regulation that would place restrictions on poultry, beef and pork marketing arrangements. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 26-24.
- Rogers– The amendment adds bill language to clarify that certain existing, unobligated funding within the Departments of State and Health and Human Services shall be available to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Zika crisis, both domestically and internationally. The amendment was adopted on a vote of 30-20.
Bill Text:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bills-114hr-fc-ap-fy2017-ap00-agriculture.pdf
Report Language:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-agriculture.pdf
Agriculture Adopted Amendments:
Energy and Water
The House Appropriations full committee approved its $37.4B FY17 Energy and Water spending bill this week. Only a manager’s amendment making technical and noncontroversial changes to the report was adopted by the full committee before the bill was reported out. The bill is $259M above FY16 enacted levels and $168M above what the President requested for FY17.
The bill provides a total of $12.9B for DOE’s nuclear weapons security programs – a $327M increase above the FY16 enacted level. The Army Corps of Engineers is funded at $6.1B, an increase of $100M above FY16, and environmental management activities are funded at $6.15B – $66M below FY16. Funding for energy programs within DOE is $11.08B – an increase of $56M above FY16, and the bill includes $5.4B for science research – an increase of $50M above FY16. The bill also contains $1.1B ($131M below FY16) for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation. Finally the bill continues congressional efforts to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear repository, providing $150M for the Nuclear Waste Disposal program and $20M for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue the adjudication of DOE’s Yucca Mountain License application. The legislation also denies the Administration’s funding proposals for non-Yucca nuclear waste activities.
Other policy items included in the bill prohibit any changes to federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and to the definition of “fill material” and “discharge of fill material” for the purposes of the Clean Water Act, and restricts the application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including farm ponds and irrigation ditches. Democrats objected to this last provision, but their effort to remove the rider was defeated on a 32 to 18 vote. The bill also includes language allowing the possession of firearms on Corps of Engineers lands and prohibits new nuclear nonproliferation projects in Russia.
Bill Text:
http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/BILLS-114HR-FC-AP-FY2017-AP00-EnergyWater.pdf
Report Language:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hrpt-114-hr-fy2017-energywater.pdf
Energy and Water Adopted Amendments:
http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/hmtg-114-ap00-20160419-sd005.pdf
Legislative Branch
The House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee met this week and approved their $3.48B draft FY17 spending bill by voice vote.
The bill provides annual funding for the offices of Members of the House of Representatives, the support agencies of Congress, security and police forces, services for visitors, and Capitol operations and maintenance.
The total included for the House and joint operations, excluding Senate-only items, is $73M above the FY16 enacted level and $152 million below the President’s FY17 budget request. The Capitol Police received an increase of $16.3M above the FY16 enacted level, the Architect of the Capitol received an increase of $31M, the Library of Congress received an increase of $29M, and GAO received an increase of $2.1M.
The legislation also includes a provision to freeze the pay of Members of Congress, preventing any pay increases in FY17. A freeze on the salaries of Representatives has been in place since 2010.
Bill Text:
Senate
While the House isn’t likely to see any appropriations bills on the floor before May 15, the Senate started the appropriations process on the floor with its FY17 Energy and Water spending bill. This is the earliest ever start to appropriations work in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that he is prepared to devote up to 12 weeks of floor time for consideration of the 12 bills. After Energy and Water, Senate Leadership has hinted that Military Construction-Veterans Affairs or Commerce-Justice-Science might be considered next.
The process was kicked off with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Michael Enzi (R-WY) officially setting the discretionary spending limits for FY17 – $551B for defense and $518.5B for domestic programs. These are in line with the $1.07T budget agreement reached last year. Enzi’s action allowed the Senate to start floor consideration of the 12 annual spending bills. Enzi is also considering the possibility of overhauling the budget process this year. He is hopeful that he can produce a bipartisan plan next month that would create a process allowing two-year (biennial) budgets. Those opposing the effort are concerned about relinquishing Congress’ oversight role that gets played through the annual appropriations process. On the House side, House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) said that he thinks that a new budget process will have to wait for a new president.
Senate Appropriators also began talking this week about a bipartisan emergency spending measure that would provide funding to combat the Zika virus. The President had requested $1.9B in February. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-MS) expects that a supplemental funding measure will be offered to an appropriations bill on the Senate floor in the near future. How much funding will be provided is still in question as is to which bill it will be attached and whether or not any other funding requests (Flint, opioids, Middle East, etc.) will be attached.
Commerce-Justice-Science
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) spending bill in subcommittee and full committee this week. The $56.3B spending bill is $564M above the FY16 enacted level and $1.6B above the President’s FY17 budget request.
The bill contains $27.8B in discretionary funding for the Justice Department (an increase of $156M over FY16), $9.3B for the Commerce Department (an increase of $70.8M over FY16), $19.3B for NASA (an increase of $21M over FY16), $7.5B for the National Science Foundation (maintains FY16 level), $395M for the Legal Services Corporation (an increase of $10M over FY16), and $59.3M for the US Trade Representative (an increase of $4.9M over FY16).
Bill Text:
https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172947-pdf/
Report Language:
https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172951/
Energy and Water
The Senate began consideration of its $37.5B FY17 Energy and Water Appropriations bill on the Senate floor this week. Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander expects to complete work on the bill next Tuesday.
Several amendments will be up for a vote next week including these three – one offered by Sens. Harry Reid (D-NV) and Dean Heller (R-NV) that would provide an additional $50M toward projects to increase water in Lake Mead, another offered by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) that would cut $69M from the Army Corps of Engineers’ construction account, and the last offered by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) that would direct $95M to wind energy.
The Administration issued a Statement of Administration Policy providing their views on the Senate’s FY17 Energy and Water bill in which they objected to the funding levels for ARPA-E, energy R&D activities, and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. They threatened a veto over these funding levels as well as other issues. The Office of Management and Budget’s Statement of Administration Policy can be found at:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/legislative/sap/114/saphr2028s_20160420.pdf
Senate FY17 Energy and Water Bill Text:
https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s2804/BILLS-114s2804pcs.pdf
Senate FY17 Energy and Water Report Language:
https://www.congress.gov/114/crpt/srpt236/CRPT-114srpt236.pdf
Transportation Housing and Urban Development
The Senate Appropriations Committee marked up its FY17 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) spending bill this week in subcommittee and full committee. The $56.474B bill is $827M below the FY16 enacted level and $2.9B below the President’s FY17 budget request. The bill provides $16.9B for the Department of Transportation ($1.7B below FY16) and $39.2B for Housing and Urban Development ($891M above FY16).
Bill Text:
https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172949/
Report Language:
https://www.vantagepointstrat.com/govdoc20160421-172952/
| Subcommittee | House | Senate |
| Agriculture | Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 19 |
|
| Commerce-Justice-Science | Subcommittee: April 19
Full Committee: April 21 |
|
| Defense | ||
| Energy & Water | Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 19 |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 Floor: DATE |
| Financial Services | ||
| Homeland Security | ||
| Interior | ||
| Labor HHS Education | ||
| Legislative Branch | Subcommittee: April 20 | |
| Military Construction – Veterans Affairs | Subcommittee: March 23
Full Committee: April 13 |
Subcommittee: April 13
Full Committee: April 14 |
| State Foreign Operations | ||
| Transportation HUD | Subcommittee: April 19
Full Committee: April 21 |