Category: Appropriations

After several long days of debate, the House is expected to vote on passing the first four-bill spending package for FY2020 later today.  The chamber concluded its debate on the last amendments made in order for the bill late last night/early this morning and will vote on them and on final passage later today.  The measure,  H.R. 2740, combines the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, State-Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water bills for FY2020.

Currently, the House is scheduled to follow up its work on H.R. 2740 with floor action on H.R. 3055, a vehicle that combines five separate spending bills:  Commerce-Justice-Science; Agriculture; Interior; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and Transportation-House and Urban Development.

The House is scheduled to continue its appropriations work on the floor this week.

When it reconvenes on Tuesday, the House is expected to resume its debate on the first package of spending bills for FY2020, one that is made up of the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, Energy and Water, and State-Foreign Operations bills.

After completing work on this set of bills, the chamber is scheduled to take up a five-bill vehicle, consisting of the following measures:  Commerce-Justice-Science; Agriculture; Interior and Environment; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development.

The Senate has yet to move on any of its bills, hoping to reach a deal on top-line spending limits first.  If no deal is reached soon, the Senate Appropriations Committee may also move on its own, hoping to reach a compromise with the House and the Administration later in the legislative process.

The last two FY2020 spending bills– the Homeland Security and Financial Services measures– were cleared by the House Appropriations Committee yesterday.  The homeland security legislation was adopted 29 – 20 while the financial services bill was approved 30 – 21.  With all 12 bills having gone through the committee process, the House is now slated to bring its first spending package to the floor later this week.

Starting today, the House is scheduled to debate a $985-billion package that combines four individual bills, including the two largest, Defense and Labor-HHS-Education.  The legislation also includes the Energy and Water and the State-Foreign Operations bills.

The House is proceeding without an agreement between Congress and the Administration on the overall amount of funding that is available for FY2020.  Later today, Senate Republican appropriators and White House representatives are scheduled to meet to discuss the topline funding issue.