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Category: Legislation

House Starts Pushing CR

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The House Freedom Caucus is pushing for a vote next week on a six-month stopgap funding measure that would last until March 2017 and effectively end the appropriations process for the year. The plan would postpone decisions on FY 2017 spending until a new president and Congress are elected.

At present, House Republican Leadership is considering the proposal, but is highly unlikely such a measure would be considered for a vote next week. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to leave July 15 for the national political conventions and a summer recess that is set to last until after Labor Day. When the chambers return, there is a high chance House Leadership would consider such a measure for a vote. 

House Committee Moves Forward with Labor-H

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The House Appropriations subcommittee marked up the FY 2017 Labor-H appropriations measure today. The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and other related agencies. No report language has been released, so details of the bill will likely remain unclear until full committee consideration next week.

Full committee markup of the bill is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13, at 10:00 a.m. EDT in 2359 Rayburn House Office Building.

The measure would increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to $33.3 billion, an increase of $1.25 billion above the FY16 level, but does not include the Senate bill’s funding to restore the year-round Pell Grant. The bill includes a provision to prohibit the Department of Labor from implementing its new overtime rule.

Highlights of accounts of note include:

NIH 

The $33.3 billion in NIH funding includes $165 million for the National Children’s Study, $511.5 million for Clinical and Translational Sciences Awards, and $333.3 million for Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) programs. Other details include:

  • $1.26 billion, a $350 million increase, for the Alzheimer’s disease research initiative;
  • $195 million, a $45 million increase, for the Brain Research through Application of Innovative Neuro-technologies (BRAIN) initiative; and
  • $300 million for the Precision Medicine Initiative.

The bill also maintains the salary cap on external NIH grants at Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale.

Higher Education

The Pell Grant maximum award would be increased to $5,935 through a combination of discretionary and mandatory funds, which is the same as the Administration’s request and the Senate bill. The bill also would prohibit the Department of Education from moving ahead on regulations on teacher preparation, defining “gainful employment” and “credit hour,” and how states license institutions of higher education.

The Senate committee-passed bill funds NIH at $34 billion, a $2 billion increase, and uses part of the Pell Grant program surplus to restore the year-round Pell Grant.

Federal Relations will continue to update as we learn more details.

Lawmakers Agree on FAA Extension to Sept. 30, 2017

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Today, the House and Senate aviation committee leaders from both parties agreed on a reauthorization of aviation programs through Sept. 30, 2017, at current funding levels. The current authorization (PL 114-141) expires July 15. The measure includes provisions designed to reduce the risk of drone accidents and establishes a process for the FAA to designate drone no-fly zones. Of note for frequent fliers, the bill boosts airport security and includes provisions aimed at reducing screeing lines.

They’re Back for Guns, Defense, and Maybe Some Money

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Both the House and Senate are back this week to resume work after the 4 of July work period. The upper and lower chambers have less that two full weeks for business (the House has nine legislative days to the Senate’s seven) before both recess for seven weeks (which will contain two massive nominating conventions and the traditional August Recess) returning after Labor Day.

The House is back today, Tuesday, to consider an anti-terrorism package that includes a measure aimed at barring suspected terrorists from buying guns. Speaker Ryan announced that the House will consider the measure last week, much to the chagrin of his caucus as well as the derision of House Democrats. Regardless, the House Republican’s number one priority — restoring order to appropriations process — has failed miserably.

Only one measure, the FY 2017 Mil-Con bill, has a chance of being passed through both chambers. Yet, due to maneuvers to connect supplemental Zika funding, the normally uncontroversial measure is under extreme pressure and unlikely to pass precisely due to the attachment of the Zika funding which has garnered veto threats. The White House is insisting on $1.9 billion, and threatening to veto any measure which fails to provide that amount —  neither the House nor Senate has provided the Administration with its full request . However, none of the other 11 annual spending bills have passed both the House and Senate in various versions so as to get to a conference committee.

Given these challenges, lawmakers are starting to consider the mode and means for a Continuing Resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown this Fall. Of course a CR, a fairly common funding measure in September, is not without challenges. There is controversy between lawmakers as to when to end the CR — after the election, until the Spring for the next president, or for the whole FY 2017 year.

The Senate returns Wednesday to consider a host of different issues including legislation to end sanctuary cities and increase minimum sentences for those who reenter the country after being removed. From there the Senate is expected to consider a bill to establish federal standards for genetically modified food labeling. Finally, a cloture vote on the Fy 2017 Defense appropriations bill has been queued up. While this bill has already endured a host of potential problems, its finally passage will be made more complicated by the Pentagon’s announcement Thursday to allow transgendered service members to openly serve.

 

Senate Keeps Moving

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Only the Senate is in session this week, as the House recessed early for the Fourth of July work period last week. The Senate plans to keep working on the FY 2017 CJS bill this week and should also turn to their FY 2017 Military-Construction-Veterans (Mil-Con appropriations bills. Also on tap this week, possibly the Supplemental Appropriations for Zika funding.

The final version of the Mil-Con spending bill, which the Senate plans to take up this week, is traditionally the first and least controversial of the 12 annual measures needed to fund the government. No one wants to vote against military veterans, after all, and the package usually steers clear of the contentious ideological provisions that can doom other bills.

Unfortunately, this no normal year. the bill appears headed for the trash heap. Supporters appear to lack the 60 votes required under Senate rules to advance it, mostly because it’s attached to a bitterly contested funding package to combat the Zika virus. Even if it clears the Senate, the White House has promised a veto.

The House and Senate’s scheduled mid-July departure for the party political conventions and an extended summer recess leaves maybe a dozen days for legislative business.