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Trump to Announce Sweeping Reorg of Federal Gov’t

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Today Politco is reporting that “The Trump administration is preparing to release a sweeping plan for reorganizing the federal government that includes a major consolidation of welfare programs — and a renaming of the Health and Human Services Department.

The report, set to be released in the coming weeks by the White House OMB, seeks to move safety-net programs, including food stamps, into HHS, two sources with knowledge of the plan told POLITICO. The plan would also propose changing the name of the sprawling department, while separately seeking cuts at USAID and the State Department.”

Read more from Politico and check back here for more information as it’s available.

This Week in Congress, May 21-25

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Here is a selection of committee meetings taking place on the hill this week.

U.S. House of Representatives

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS
Full Committee Markup
Interior and Environment Appropriations
May 22, 10 a.m., 2118 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE EDUCATION & THE WORKFORCE
Full Committee Hearing
Education Department Policies/Priorities
May 22, 10 a.m., 2175 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE RULES
Full Committee Business Meeting
National Defense Authorization Act
May 22, 3 p.m., H-313, U.S. Capitol

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Subcommittee Joint Hearing
Freedom of Speech on College Campuses (Part Two)
May 22, 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT & GOVERNMENT REFORM
Subcommittee Joint Hearing
Freedom of Speech on College Campuses (Part Two)
May 22, 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn Bldg.

HOUSE ENERGY & COMMERCE
Subcommittee Hearing
Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Program
May 23, 1 p.m., 2322 Rayburn Bldg.

U.S. Senate

SENATE ARMED SERVICES
Subcommittee Markup
Defense Authorization Act
May 22, 9:30 a.m., 232-A Russell Bldg.

SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR & PENSIONS
Full Committee Hearing
Healthcare Workforce Issues
May 22, 10 a.m., 430 Dirksen Bldg.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS
Subcommittee Markup
Energy and Water Development Appropriations
May 22, 2:30 p.m., 138 Dirksen Bldg.

SENATE ARMED SERVICES
Full Committee Markup
Defense Authorization Act
May 24, 9:30 a.m., 222 Russell Bldg.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS
Full Committee Markup
Agriculture Appropriations/Energy-Water Appropriations
May 24, 10:30 a.m., 106 Dirksen Bldg.

SENATE FINANCE
Full Committee Hearing
Rural Health Care
May 24, 9 a.m., 215 Dirksen Bldg.

House Appropriations Committee Passes FY 2019 Energy & Water

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The House Appropriations Committee approved its $44.7 billion FY 2019 Energy &Water spending bill, 29-20, after Republican lawmakers beat back efforts by Democrats to eliminate policy riders. Generally, bill would provide $6.6 billion for the DOE Office of Science, a 5% increase above FY 2018. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) would receive $325 million, an 8% cut below FY 2018, and Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would receive $2.1 billion, a 9 percent cut from the FY 2018 enacted levels.

The Administration proposed a nearly 66-percent cut in renewable energy and energy efficiency research along with the elimination of ARPA-E.

The bill now heads to the House floor where it is poised for consideration in the coming weeks as one of the first few appropriations bills in the FY 2019 spending cycle.

The committee report can be found here.

Senate Appropriations Sets Ambitious Schedule

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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) released a calendar that puts the spending panel on track to finish all the fiscal 2019 bills by June 29. Both Shelby and Leahy  are aiming to bring each bill to the floor — for the first time in years — by promising amendment votes to allow for a robust floor debate.

The schedule is as follows:

Week of May 21-25: Energy-Water and Agriculture-FDA

Week of June 4-8: Transportation-HUD and Military Construction-VA

Week of June 11-15: Interior-Environment, Commerce-Justice-Science and Legislative Branch

Week of June 18-22: State-Foreign Operations, Homeland Security and Financial Services.

Week of June 25-29: Defense and Labor-HHS-Education

The House Appropriations Committee has already begun consideration and mark up of the House version of these measures.

House Energy & Water Bill Released

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The House Appropriations Committee has released the FY 2019 Energy & Water appropriations bill. The bill can be found here and highlights can be found here. We expect the bill report to be released a day or two before markup in committee next week. Stay tuned for more analysis on this measure.