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Category: Defense

“Minibus” Includes Defense Spending

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As noted earlier, the text of the conference agreement on the Labor-HHS-Education/ Defense “minibus” is available here and the explanatory statement is available here.

With respect to defense research programs, the conference agreement would fund them in the following manner:

Basic Research (“6.1” programs)

  • Army:  $506.9 million
  • Navy:  $679.9 million
  • Air Force:  $561.4 million
  • Defense-wide:  $781.4 million
  • Total Basic Research:  $2.53 billion

Applied Research (“6.2” programs)

  • Army:  $1.58 billion
  • Navy:  $1.02 billion
  • Air Force:  $1.48 billion
  • Defense-wide:  $1.99 billion
  • Total Applied Research:  $6.07 billion

A summary of the defense portion of the bill prepared by the conferees is available here.

Agreement Reached on Labor-Health-Education and Defense Package

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House and Senate conferees yesterday officially agreed to a massive spending package for FY2019 that combines the two biggest annual appropriations bills, the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense measures.  The explanatory statement for the conference report is available here.  The text of the conference report is also available on-line here.

The Senate could take up the $855-billion package, which represents approximately 65 percent of all discretionary spending for FY2019, next week with the House following suit the following week.  The current plan is to add a short-term continuing resolution to this bill that would fund other agencies and programs whose spending bills haven’t been passed by the October 1 deadline through December 7.

Here are some of the details with respect to the Labor-HHS-Education component of the bill:

Biomedical and health

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH):  $39.1 billion, an increase of $2 billion over current level
  • Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):  $7.16 billion, an increase of $146.8 million
  • Nursing programs:  level-funded at $249.5 million

Student aid and higher education

  • Pell Grant:  maximum grant of $6,195 ($100 increase)
  • Title VI international programs:  level-funded at $72.6 million
  • Federal Work-Study:  level-funded at $1.13 billion
  • SEOG:  level-funded at $840 million
  • TRIO:  $1.06 billion, an increase of $50 million
  • GEAR UP:  $360 million, an increase of $10 million

A summary of the Labor-HHS-Education part of the agreement is available here.

Office of Federal Relations will provide additional details, including those about the defense part of the bill, throughout the day.

First Spending Bills to be Cleared by Friday?

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The conference report for the package that contains the first three appropriations bills of FY2019– Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs– was quickly adopted by the Senate yesterday by a vote of 92 to 5.  An agreement between the House and Senate negotiators was reached on it earlier this week.

The House is scheduled to take up the measure later today and is expected to clear it by Friday, clearing it for the President’s signature.  As noted above, these three bills, if signed into law, would represent the first spending bills approved for FY2019, which starts on Oct 1.

On a related note, House and Senate conferees are scheduled to formally meet today on two other sets of spending bills.  The first combines the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education and Defense bills and second pulls together the Interior, Agriculture, Transportation-Housing, and Financial Services bills.

New Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Chosen

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Yesterday, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) was officially approved as the new chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee by the Senate Republicans.  Inhofe had been acting as chairman while Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was battling cancer in Arizona.  With McCain’s passing, Inhofe has now officially assumed the position of chairman.

The person tapped to fill McCain’s seat, at least through the end of this year, Jon Kyl, has been assigned to the Armed Services Committee.  Kyl previously served in the Senate for three terms before retiring.

Two Biggest Spending Bills Likely to See Senate Movement

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After the Senate returns from its abbreviated August recess this Wednesday, it is expected to start debate on the two biggest spending bills, the Defense and Labor-HHS Appropriations Bills. The Senate will most likely combine the two measures into a single package, which, if passed, would include a total of approximately $857 billion in total spending for defense, health, education, and labor programs.

The House, which remains in recess through Labor Day, has made no announcements regarding its plans for the two bills.