House and Senate Pass Approps and then Done Until September

Posted on July 15, 2016

After three days of amendments, the House passed yesterday the FY2017 Interior Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5538) by a vote of 231 to 196. The $32.1 billion spending bill passed the House for the first time since 2009.

The measure that takes aim at the Obama’s environment and climate change agenda would cut by $64 million the budget for the EPA, the Interior Department and other similar agencies. Funding under the bill is also $1 billion below the Administration’s request. The White House had already promised to veto the measure.

Earlier in the week, the Senate voted to clear the final version of legislation to combat prescription opioid and heroin abuse, sending the conference report to President Barack Obama, who is likely to sign it. The measure passed by a vote of 92-2. The vote followed a similarly lopsided 90-2 vote earlier Wednesday to end debate on the measure.

The measure would authorize new grant programs at the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services. However, it does not include appropriations for the programs. Democrats fear funding will be short-changed when the annual spending bills are finalized later this year.

With the passage of both bills, the House and Senate, respectively, recessed until after Labor Day. Next week is the Republican National Convention and the following week the Democrats hold their convention.

White House Issues Veto Threat on House FY 17 Interior Approps Bill

Posted on July 12, 2016July 15, 2016

Today, the White House issued (another) veto threat via a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) about the House’s FY 2017 Interior appropriations bill. The White House said the bill underfunds core Department of the Interior (DOI) programs as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) operating budget, which supports nationwide protection of human health, and vital air, water and land resources. The funding levels in the bill would significantly hamper investments that reduce future costs to taxpayers by facilitating increased energy development, ensuring adequate levels of cybersecurity, and maintaining operations, facilities and infrastructure in national parks, refuges, forests, public lands, and Indian Country.

The House plans on considering the measure on the Floor this week.

Read the SAP here.

Last Week!!!

Posted on July 11, 2016July 12, 2016

With only five days left before a seven-week summer recess, Congress will at least try to keep up appearances. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to complete work on the final two of the 12 annual spending bills needed to fund the government for FY 2017. Meanwhile, the full House is set to vote on its FY 2017 Interior-Environment spending bill, which would be the fifth bill to pass the House this year.

By the time Congress reconvenes in September, there simply will not be enough time left to complete work on all of the regular spending bills before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. To avoid a politically deadly government shutdown one month before the elections, some kind of stopgap spending measure, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), will need to be approved. House Conservatives have expressed concerns about a short-term CR.

On the Senate side of the Hill, the upper body’s rejection of a procedural vote on the FY 2017 Defense spending bill last Thursday may signify the final nail in the coffin for the regular FY 2017 appropriations process, as Democrats rebel and talk increasingly turns to staving off a government shutdown with a stopgap measure. Regardless, he Defense spending bill is up, but the chamber could also pivot to take action on the FAA bill or the final version of a bill to fight opioid addiction. The House approved the opioid conference report on Friday.

House Approves Opioid Conference Report

Posted on July 8, 2016

In a remarkable change of pace, the House and Senate came to a conference agreement on S.524, Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act this Wednesday. The agreement contains numerous provisions to combat increasing rates of opioid drug abuse, including through modifications to prescribing and pain management practices, by creating or modifying programs to expand access to treatment, particularly access to opioid overdose reversal drugs or medication-assisted treatment that eases withdrawal symptoms, and by establishing or strengthening specific programs for vulnerable groups such as drug-addicted infants. It also requires the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) to take several actions to better manage and track the use of opioids by veterans.

In both chambers and in the conference committee process, Democrats sought to add hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations to ensure that individuals suffering from opioid addiction would have access to treatment; however, those efforts were blocked. Because of the lack of funding, the Administration has expressed opposition to the agreement — but has not issued a formal veto threat.

Today, the House almost unanimously approved legislation, by a vote of 407-5, to combat opioid overdoses after Democrats dropped their opposition to the bill at the last minute. The vote all but assures that the bill will sail through the Senate and head to President Obama’s desk next week. The legislation, a top priority for GOP leaders, is expected to be one of Congress’s biggest achievements this year.

What We’re Reading This Week, July 4 – 8

Posted on July 8, 2016July 8, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

Most Likely to be Number 2 Banana – Trump is closing in on a vice presidential pick, with the vetting process in full swing. Trump will make the announcement sometime between now and the end of the Republican National Convention on July 21. Read the about the most likely picks in The Hill.

Prisons > College – Since 1990, state and local spending on prisons and jails has risen more than three times faster than spending on schools, and in some states the spending disparities are far greater. Read more in The Washington Post.

Pull the Plug – A showdown over Planned Parenthood has moved to the center of the battle over funding to battle the Zika virus. Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Zika funding bill put forward by Republicans, objecting to a range of measures, including most prominently limits on funding for Planned Parenthood. The bill allows Zika funding for community health centers and other providers but not Planned Parenthood. Read more in The Hill.

Adequate? – Researchers are concerned that the U.S. government is not properly funding scientific research. Read more in The Atlantic.

Different Triggers – The fatal shootings this week of the African-American men Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have stirred a public outcry and debate about the role race plays in the decision by police officers to use deadly force. Such debate is nothing new. Scholarly discourse and research on the tumultuous connections between race and policing dates back decades. Read more in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

After Jupiter – This week, NASA is celebrating Juno‘s arrival at Jupiter, but in less than two years, Juno will be gone — it’s slated to plunge into the gas giant and burn up. The Cassini spacecraft, now orbiting Saturn, will meet the same fate next year. What’s next for NASA? Not much. Read more at NPR.

Crazyness! – Every political convention is full of ups and downs, and the conventions at the end of the month show hold the promise of a national convention with the prospect that something unexpected might actually happen. Read more in Politico.

Mind Games – How restaurants get you to order more expensive things or things with the largest margin. Read more at New York Magazine.

Being Pro-Cop & Pro-Black Lives Matter. Thank you Trevor Noah. See the video via Esquire.