As October 1, the start of FY2019, approaches, House and Senate negotiators have agreed to a compromise on the first package of spending bills. The first “minibus” includes the FY2019 Energy and Water Development, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch Appropriations Bills.
The text of the compromise bill is available here. The text of the conference report, which contains additional details, is provided here.
Included in the $147.5-billion package is $6.59 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, which is an increase of $325 million above the current level. The agreement would also provide $366 million for the DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, an increase of $13 million, or 3.7 percent. The DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account would see an increase of $57 million for a total of approximately $2.4 billion.
While the timing could slip a bit, the Senate could take up the measure as soon as Thursday, with the House following suit on Friday.
Discussions are currently underway on two other minibuses, one of which is a combined package of the defense and health and education bills.