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Category: FY 2018 Federal Agenda

More Omnibus Details Available

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On the Defense front, the omnibus package would fund DoD basic research (“6.1”) programs at a total of $2.34 billion, an increase of $114.6 million above the Administration request.  Applied research (“6.2”) programs would be funded at $5.68 billion, or $708.2 million above the request.

Basic research funding breaks down in the following manner in the bill:

  • Army:  $470.0 million ($40 million above the request)
  • Navy:  $621.9 million ($26 million above the request)
  • Air Force:  $520.3 million ($15 million above the request)
  • Defense-wide:  $731.0 million ($33.6 million above the request)

Funding for applied research is divided up in the following manner:

  • Army:  $1.37 billion ($480.2 million above the request)
  • Navy:  $994.1 million ($108.0 million above the request)
  • Air Force:  $1.43 billion ($150.6 million above the request)
  • Defense-wide:  $1.88 billion ($30.6 million below the request)

 

Additional Details of Omnibus Package Available

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More details of the FY2018 Omnibus spending package unveiled last are now available.

Within the budget for the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Nursing Workforce Development programs would be funded at $249.5 million, an increase of $20 million above the final FY2017 enacted levels.  The Public Health and Preventive Medicine program would be level funded at $17.0 million under this bill.

With respect to programs funded by the Department of Education, Title VI/ International Education programs would collectively be level funded at $72.2 million.  The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program would see a cut of $5 million to $23.0 million.

The bill provides $350 million to allow borrowers not currently eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to join it.  It also would use a portion of the surplus from the Pell Grant program to over the increased mandatory expense associated with the increase in the maximum award.

The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction account at the National Science Foundation would be funded at the Administration-requested level of $182.8 million, with $57.8 million dedicated to the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, also as requested by the Administration.

Within the NASA budget, Earth Science programs would essentially be level funded at $1.9 billion.  The popular Space Grant program would be level funded at the FY2017 level of $40.0 million.

The Commerce-Justice-State portion of the package funds, among other agencies and programs, NOAA and its various programs.  Sea Grant, which was proposed for elimination by the Administration, would see a slight increase to $76.5 million while the Integrated Ocean Observing System program would be funded at $35.0 million, also a slight increase above the FY2017 level.  As part of the Climate Research account within the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) line, Climate Research Labs and Cooperative Institutes are slated for level funding of $60 million.

Of interest in the Interior portion of the massive legislative package, the bill would level fund the Cooperative Research Units at the U.S. Geological Survey at $17.4 million while mandating that the Survey maintain a total of eight Climate Science Centers around the country in FY2018 and keeping them level funded at $25.3 million.

Office of Federal Relations will provide further details.

Omnibus Bill Still Yet to be Unveiled

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While there were hopes earlier in the day yesterday that the text of the omnibus spending for the rest of FY2018 would get released last night, ultimately, the contents of the bill were not shared yesterday.  As noted yesterday, the hurdles in the discussions have been a number of policy riders.

Office of Federal Relations will continue to track the situation.

CR Set to Expire Friday Night/Saturday Morning

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The short-term measure that is currently funding the majority of the government functions is set to expire Friday night/Saturday morning, when Congress is scheduled to begin a two-week spring recess. Congress is currently working on a massive omnibus spending package that would fund the government through the rest of FY2018.  To provide additional budget room for the crafting of such a deal, a larger two-year budget agreement that was reached last month provides an extra $63 billion for non-defense and $80 billion for defense discretionary programs for the remainder of FY2018, which ends on September 30.

While agreements between the two parties have been reached on the vast majority of the decisions around funding levels for different programs and agencies, the sticking points have been a number of policy issues, including whether they would be addressed in the package.  These include issues such as a fix for DACA, annual fights over abortion, and funding for a border wall sought by the Administration.

Office of Federal Relations will provide further updates.

President’s FY2019 Budget Proposal to be Released on Monday

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The Trump Administration is scheduled to release its FY2019 budget request next Monday. While details are not yet available, it is expected that this year’s requests will largely follow the patterns of those from last year, meaning that additional cuts will likely be proposed.  The president’s budget request is only the start of the appropriations process, as Congress has the final say in how agencies and programs are funded.

Congress is still in the process of trying to finish this year’s funding process.

Office of Federal Relations will provide updates.