The House Appropriations Committee continued marking up its FY2019 appropriations bills this week and reported out of committee two of its 12 spending bills – the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch bills. The House also marked up the Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Energy & Water spending bills in subcommittee. The Agriculture and Energy & Water bills will be marked up in full committee next week. And the Transportation HUD subcommittee will mark up its FY19 spending bill in subcommittee next week.
On the Senate side, Senate Labor HHS Education Appropriations subcommittee chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) said that he and the other subcommittee chairman received their 302(b) allocations this week. Blunt believes that his subcommittee’s bill will be marked up in full committee in late June, which will be one of the later markups.
House Agriculture Appropriations Bill
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its $23.27B spending bill this week. The bill is $14M above the FY18 enacted level, but when including both discretionary and mandatory funding it is $922M below FY18.
The bill includes $3.079B for rural development programs such as critical infrastructure, rural broadband, and rural housing loans and rental assistance. The FDA receives $3.1B in discretionary funding ($308M above FY18), while total funding for the FDA, which includes revenue from user fees, is $5.57B. The bill also appropriates $70M to accelerate medical product development as authorized in the 21stCentury Cures Act. The bill funds Agriculture Research at $3.101B ($72M above FY18), Animal and Plant Health at $998.4M ($16.5M above FY18), Conservation Programs at $1.05B, Farm Programs at $1.713B ($8.5M above FY18), Food Safety and Inspection Service at $1.05B ($7.5M below FY18), Commodity Futures Trading Commission at $255M ($6M above FY18), International Programs at $1.92B, Women Infants and Children at $6B ($175M below FY18), Child Nutrition Programs at $23.2B ($1.1B below FY18), and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at $73.2B ($794M below FY18).
House FY19 Agriculture Appropriations Bill Text
House FY19 Agriculture Appropriations Bill Summary
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395290
House Commerce Justice Science Appropriations Bill
The House Commerce Justice Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its $62.5B spending bill this week. The bill is $2.9B above the FY18 enacted level.
The bill includes $447M for grant programs to help stem opioid abuse, fully funds the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, provides $50M in grants to reduce gang and gun violence, $100M for the STOP School Violence Act, $100M for youth mentoring programs, and $20M for police active shooter training. The bill funds the Department of Justice at $30.7B ($793M above FY18), NASA at $21.5B ($810M above FY18), the Department of Commerce at $12.1B ($1B above FY18), and the National Science Foundation at $8.2B ($408M above FY18).
The bill also includes several policy riders. It continues a prohibition on the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S. and continues various existing provisions related to firearms, including the prohibition on the implementation of the UN Arms Trade Treaty. The bill prohibits unauthorized reporting and registration requirements on consumers purchasing multiple rifles or shotguns. It prohibits NASA, OSTP and the National Space Council from engaging in bilateral activities with China unless authorized or certified via procedures established in the bill. The bill prevents settlement money from going to activist groups by prohibiting DOJ from entering into civil settlement agreements in which a defendant is required to make a donation to a third party. And it includes a policy provision to counter cyberespionage by requiring agencies to conduct supply chain reviews before procuring sensitive information technology systems. Finally, it continues existing pro-life policies.
House FY19 Commerce Justice Science Appropriations Bill Text
House FY19 Commerce Justice Science Appropriations Bill Summary
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395291
House FY19 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill
The House Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee met this week and marked up its FY19 spending bill. The $44.7B bill is $1.5B above the FY18 enacted level and $8.17B above the President’s FY19 budget request. In addition to providing funding for various Department of Education programs, the bill provides $15.3B for national nuclear weapons activities and $7.28B for the Army Corps of Engineers.
The bill makes targeted investments to protect our nation’s energy infrastructure against cyber and other attacks. Within this funding, $117M ($41M above FY18) is directed to research and development activities to strengthen the security of the U.S. electric grid. The bill continues congressional efforts to support the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, providing a total of $267.7M, an increase of $100M above the budget request. Included in the legislation is $6.9B for environmental management activities, $257M below the FY18 level and $268M above the President’s budget request. Funding for energy programs within DOE is $13.4B (an increase of $504M above FY18). Energy efficiency and renewable energy programs are cut by $243M compared to FY18. And finally, the bill includes $6.6B for science research (an increase of $340M above FY18) and $1.56B for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation to help manage, develop, and protect the water resources of Western states ($75 million above FY18).
In addition to funding, the bill includes some policy riders. It repeals the Waters of the United States rule; restricts the application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including farm ponds and irrigation ditches; prohibits new nuclear nonproliferation projects in Russia without certain notifications from the Secretary of Energy; allows the possession of firearms on Corps of Engineers lands; and includes language regarding operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System hydroelectric dams.
House FY19 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill Text
House FY19 Energy & Water Appropriations Bill Summary
https://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395283
House FY19 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill
The House Appropriations Committee met this week and reported the $3.8B FY19 Legislative Branch bill out of full committee by a vote of 47-0 after approving a manager’s amendment.
House FY19 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill Text
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20180508/108282/BILLS-115HR-FC-AP-FY2019-AP00-LegBranch.pdf
House FY19 Legislative Branch Appropriations Report Language
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20180508/108282/HRPT-115-HR-FY2019-LegBranch.PDF
OMB Letter to House Appropriations Chair and Ranking Member re: FY19 Legislative Branch Bill
House FY19 Military Construction – Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill
The House Appropriations Committee met this week and reported the $96.9B FY19 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill out of full committee by a vote of 47-0 after approving a manager’s amendment.
House FY19 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill Text
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20180508/108282/BILLS-115HR-FC-AP-FY2019-AP00-MILCON.pdf
House FY19 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Appropriations Report Language
https://docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20180508/108282/HRPT-115-HR-FY2019-MilCon.pdf
OMB Letter to House Appropriations Chair and Ranking Member re: FY19 MilCon-VA Branch Bill
| Subcommittee | House Action | Senate Action |
| Agriculture | Subcommittee: May 9
Full Committee: May 16 |
|
| Commerce Justice Science | Subcommittee: May 9 | |
| Defense | ||
| Energy & Water | Subcommittee: May 7
Full Committee: May 16 |
|
| Financial Services | ||
| Homeland Security | ||
| Interior Environment | ||
| Labor HHS Education | ||
| Legislative Branch | Subcommittee: April 26
Full Committee: May 8 |
|
| Military Construction VA | Subcommittee: April 26
Full Committee: May 8 |
|
| State Foreign Operations | ||
| Transportation HUD | Subcommittee: May 16 |