FY2017 Budget and Appropriations Status

Posted on April 11, 2016April 11, 2016

Congressional leaders have not yet determined topline budget numbers for FY2017 even though Congress is supposed to pass a budget by April 15^th under the Congressional Budget Act in order to begin the annual spending process. And it does not appear that House leadership has any plan ahead for passing a budget by Friday’s deadline. The House and Senate could still pass a budget after April 15^th if they can reach an agreement but neither of the two sides — conservatives who want lower spending levels versus lawmakers who want to adhere to last year’s bipartisan deal — are budging.

Nonetheless, House appropriators are still moving forward with individual FY2017 spending bills this week despite the dim chances of them ever reaching the floor. The House Appropriations Committee is using the spending levels outlined in last year’s budget deal for now so that its bills can advance. The full House Appropriations Committee will take up the bill funding the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects. Also on Wednesday, the Energy-Water and Agriculture subcommittees are scheduled to mark up their spending measures.

On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Appropriations Committee plans to mark up its own versions of the Military Construction-VA and Energy-Water bills in subcommittees on Wednesday and full committee on Thursday, when it also will reveal how much discretionary money each of its subcommittees will be allocated to spend. Senate leaders already have said they will assume an overall discretionary limit of $1.07 trillion. Unlike in the House, there has been no opposition to that limit in the Senate.

All of this is leading up to one giant mess come the start of the new fiscal year on October 1^st. It is all but certain that Congress will need to pass at least one continuing resolution (CR) to keep government funded in absence of new spending authority for FY2017.

FY2017 Appropriations Season in Full Swing

Posted on March 7, 2016

The House is out this week, but the Senate is in, voting today on a procedural motion to close debate on a measure that would provide grants for opioid abuse prevention and treatment programs. The Senate will also be hearing about the President’s FY2017 budget plans for a variety of agencies. Most hearings will be broadcast live via the web. Here are the highlights:

Tuesday, March 8:

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Forest Service budget, 10:00am ET
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Homeland Security Department budget, 10:00am ET
Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement budgets, 2:30pm ET

Wednesday, March 9:

Senate Appropriations Interior-Environment Subcommittee hearing on Indian Health Service budget, 10:00am ET
Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on Defense Health Program, 10:30am ET
Senate Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee hearing on Agriculture Department budget, 2:00pm ET
Senate Appropriations Energy-Water Subcommittee hearing on Energy Department budget, 2:30pm ET

Thursday, March 10:

Senate Appropriations Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee hearing on Education Department budget, 10:00am ET
Senate Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science Subcommittee hearing on NASA budget, 10:30am ET
Senate Appropriations Military Construction-VA Subcommittee hearing on Veterans Affairs Department budget, 11:00am ET
Senate Appropriations Transportation-HUD Subcommittee hearing on Housing and Urban Development Department budget, 2:30pm ET

Obama Proposes Pell Grant Expansion in FY 2017 Budget

Posted on January 19, 2016January 19, 2016

The Obama administration is proposing that Congress approve a $2 billion-a-year expansion of Pell Grants to finance year-round awards and a bonus for students who stay on track to graduation. The two new Pell proposals are intended to help students to accelerate progress towards their degrees, increasing their likelihood of on-time completion. The first program, “Pell for Accelerated Completion,” would let full-time students earn a third grant award in an academic year (rather than the current limit of two awards). The President and Congress eliminated year-round grants in a 2011 budget bill. The administration’s other proposal, an “On-Track Pell Bonus,” would add $300 to the maximum award for students who take at least 15 credits per semester in an academic year. The administration estimates the bonus would benefit 2.3 million individuals and help them graduate on time. The $2 billion cost for the Pell expansions in fiscal year 2017 will be included in Obama’s budget proposal to be released on February 9, 2016.

GAO Calls for Better Health Care Workforce Plan

Posted on January 14, 2016

The Secretary of Health and Human Services should develop a comprehensive and coordinated planning approach to guide the department’s health care workforce development programs, according to a report released this week by the Government Accountability Office. “Without a comprehensive and coordinated approach to program planning, HHS cannot fully identify the gaps between existing programs and national needs, identify actions needed to address these gaps, or determine whether additional legislative proposals are needed to ensure that its programs fully meet workforce needs,” GAO said. In the report, HHS said it plans to convene an interagency group to assess existing workforce programs and the potential need for changes or expanded legislative authority. Leaders of the Senate Committees on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Homeland Security, and Governmental Affairs asked GAO to study HHS’s activities to ensure that federal funding is aligned with the nation’s health care needs. The Affordable Care Act created the National Health Care Workforce Commission to annually recommend to Congress and the administration national health care workforce priorities, goals, and policies, but Congress has not allocated funding to the commission.

Happy New Year!

Posted on January 4, 2016

The 114th Congress is back in action this week for the second legislative session. The House reconvenes tomorrow and the Senate will return on Monday, January 11th. The 2016 Congressional calendar boasts roughly 110 legislative voting days with plenty of 4-day weekends and an early summer recess – beginning in July and running through Labor Day.

Congress will begin the New Year with a busy agenda. First, as a reminder, all legislation that was in play last year carries over to this second session of Congress. That means that there are plenty of existing bills to consider, with more on the way.

Second, it appears that Congress will attempt to take action on FY 2017 appropriations bills early this year. With funding for the current fiscal year finally behind them, albeit three months late, Republican leaders have pledged to restore the regular budget process by clearing the 12 annual appropriations bills to fund the government by October 1st, the start of the new fiscal year. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has indicated that he wants to begin considering spending bills on the House floor by mid-March, an unusually early schedule for bills that often don’t reach the floor until the summer or later. The task could be made easier this year because of a two-year bipartisan budget agreement passed in October that already established overall spending levels for defense and domestic programs for FY 2017. That means lawmakers can begin their work this year with the top-line spending limits already settled.

And finally, there are plenty of policy issues to watch for in 2016 – mostly carryover issues from last year. We expect to hear more about Syrian refugees and homeland security, criminal justice reform, taxes, and gun control. We also expect to see some movement on FDA reforms, similar to those already approved in the House approved 21^st Century Cures bill, as well as efforts to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.

Other than those pressing issues, Congress will be overshadowed by the Presidential campaign. The National Journal has a great article out today that poses 11 questions that will define Congress in 2016 – many of which revolve around Presidential politics.