NDAA Debate
May 23 – The House kicked off floor debate Tuesday afternoon on the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Senate Armed Services Committee deliberated its version of the bill behind closed doors this morning.
Markup Week!
The week of May 21 will be the “Markup Week” for NDAA in the Senate. Subcommittee schedule link: https://bit.ly/2HLYU9T. Full committee link: https://bit.ly/2wajFqu.
House Armed Services Committee Markup
May 7 – The House Armed Services Committee markup of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill is scheduled for this Wednesday, May 9 at 10 AM (EDT) in room 2118 Rayburn. More info here: https://bit.ly/2rrnkdH
FY 2019 Budget Update
April 26 – House leaders of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) have unveiled a fiscal 2019 budget plan that proposes to remove the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) from the Department of Defense (DoD) budget–which comes as no surprise. RSC Chairman Mark Walker acknowledged yesterday that their proposal is unlikely to get a vote on the House floor this year, but said it may help fellow House conservatives at the polls this November.
From the RSC:
“Each year, the defense budget includes over half billion for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). While medical research is a laudable activity, many of the programs funded within the CDMRP are not for military-specific conditions and are duplicative of the type of research done at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the Taxpayers for Common Sense, these programs are clearly earmarks and therefore take money away from other necessary Defense Department functions.? The RSC Budget would transition the non-defense related medical research out of the defense budget. Inefficiencies and waste in the defense budget are not always byproducts of poor management, at least not from the Department of Defense (DOD). Ideologically driven congressional mandates and administration priorities result in unforced errors and self-inflicted wounds.”
In the upper chamber, the Senate is poised to forgo a fiscal 2019 budget resolution. The Senate budget chairman could opt to simply deem the overall fiscal 2019 spending limits established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA) to be the topline budget numbers, instead of adopting a more detailed budget resolution–as could the House Budget Committee chairman. In that case, lawmakers would avoid tripping over a budget resolution process that would certainly force politically sensitive votes on scores of amendments during “vote-a-rama.”
Congress Passes Fiscal 2018 Omnibus
The Senate passed the fiscal 2018 omnibus by a vote of 65-32 twelve hours after the House passed the bill with a 256-167 vote. President Trump has threatened to veto the bill over immigration issues. OMB Director Mulvaney says there will be no veto, and that . The White House has scheduled a press conference for 1pm today.
House Passes FY 2018 Omnibus
March 22 – BREAKING NEWS: The House has passed the fiscal 2018 #omnibus with a vote of 256-167. The bill will now head to the Senate where a vote is expected late Friday evening, barring any procedural setbacks. White House says President Trump will sign.
The omnibus bill increases the PRCRP to $80 million and the PRMRP to $300 million!
FY 2018 House Omnibus Has Been Released
March 21 – The House Rules Committee just unveiled the Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus spending bill. The House aims to hold a vote Thursday afternoon, and the Senate is expected to vote Friday evening, just hours before the deadline.
View the omnibus bill here.
Omnibus to be Released Today
March 19 – House leaders hope to release the FY 2018 omnibus at some point today. If that happens, the House will likely vote Wednesday, and the Senate would likely vote late Thursday or early Friday to beat the deadline.
House Omnibus Still on Hold
March 14 – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy hopes to hold a vote on the FY 2018 omnibus by the end of the week, though it’s unlikely if the bill is not unveiled today. Rep. John Boozman expects the omnibus could be released Sunday night or Monday.
Only 9 days remain before the next possible shutdown.
House Appropriations Subcommittee Deadlines Set
February 16 – The House Appropriations Committee released deadlines for lawmakers to submit their appropriations requests to subcommittees yesterday. See the list here: http://bit.ly/2C1Z6Pc. Generally, lawmakers ask that requests be submitted to their office 2-3 weeks before the deadlines.
POTUS FY 2019 Budget Released
February 12 – The White House yesterday released the President’s fiscal 2019 budget, but most policy wonks soon noticed that it’s nearly impossible to make sense of it.
The budget uses the entire $647 billion for defense-related accounts, including the additional spending authority that was increased in last week’s Bipartisan Budget Agreement. Resources can be found on the site under the “Congress” tab.
Six Week CR Signed into Law
February 9 – After a brief government shutdown at midnight, the House this morning cleared (and the President signed) a two-year budget deal and continuing resolution that re-opens the government. This does NOT include an FY18 omnibus appropriations package, that must still be compiled and approved in the coming weeks. But now the appropriators finally have budget figures with which to work, and hopefully they will wrap this up soon!
House Passes 5th CR of FY2018
February 6 – The House passed their CR with a vote of 245-182, approving full-year funding for the Department of Defense. The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to be altered and sent back to the House.
House Releases CR for Feb- March
February 6 – The House has released a continuing resolution (CR) that extends through March 23, and includes the chamber’s $659 billion full-year defense appropriations bill (HR 695). A vote could happen today.
Summary:
Full bill text:
New CR to Extend Through Late March
February 1 – House and Senate appropriators are reportedly discussing a proposal to extend the next continuing resolution (CR) through March 23. If Republican leaders can whip enough votes to pass such a bill, that new short-term funding deadline would land just shy of six months from the date when fiscal 2018 was supposed to begin, which was October 1 of last year. (More info in the Members Only tab).
Defense Bill Passes in the House, Again…
On Jan. 30, the House passed its fiscal 2018 defense spending bill for a third time on a mostly party line vote (250-166).
Congress Ends Shutdown with New Feb. 8 Deadline
The shutdown concluded last night with the President signing the bill after it passed the Senate (81-18) and then the House (266-150). The bill gives lawmakers just 12 working days (through Feb. 8) to reach agreements on the same divisive issues that lead to the stalemate and shutdown over last three days.
New CR Unveiled
January 17 – Congress has unveiled the new continuing resolution (CR) text here,and the summary here. The stopgap spending measure extends the deadline through February 16.
No deal yet on the budget caps.
Shutdown Showdown
January 16 – Congress is expected to take up short-term CR this week that would likely extend through Feb. 16- when Congress adjourns for a weeklong President’s Day recess- to allow appropriators more time to complete a Fiscal Year 2018 spending package (if/when leaders get a budget deal to raise the caps).
Spending Caps
January 8 – Congressional leaders are reportedly nearing a deal on spending caps for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, but are being held up by negotiations on DACA, border wall funding, and disaster relief, among other issues. 11 days remain before the next shutdown scare.
Defense Bill with CR
December 14 – The House Appropriations Committee Republicans released a bill (HJ Res 124) that would fund the Pentagon for the full fiscal year 2018 with a continuing resolution (CR) that would extend the remaining nondefense bills at current levels through January 19.
View the bill text here.
