The White House issued a Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) recommending a veto of the House’s FY16 Defense appropriations bill today. The House is considering the FY16 Defense appropriations on the Floor currently. This is not the first veto threat for a House appropriations bill this year. The SAP cites the inappropriate use of the Overseas Contingency Operating fund as a primary driver in the decision. That concern was previously raised during the House NDAA consideration.
Author: Sarah Castro
Reviewed 9/22
Senate Approps Subcommittee Passes CJS
The Senate Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee passed the Senate’s FY16 CJS appropriations bill this morning. The $51.1 billion draft advanced by unanimous consent and would provide $7.3 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), $5.4 billion for National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), $18.3 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and $893 million for National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Unlike the House, the Senate bill did not include directorate level allocations of funds. Historically, Congress has allocated a broad amount to NSF overall, allowing the agency the discretion to allocate funding by directorate as it sees fit. The Senate bill would fund NSF at $7.34 billion, which is equal to the FY15 enacted level. This funding includes $5.93 billion for NSF’s research and research facilities to support today’s scientists, engineers and technicians, and $866 million for NSF’s education and training programs to build tomorrow’s innovation workforce.
NOAA is funded at $5.4 billion, which includes a $23 million increase above the FY2015 enacted level for the National Weather Service. The bill provides full funding for NOAA’s flagship weather satellites, which are critical for accurate weather warnings to protect lives and property. Funding for NOAA also targets new areas of investment for fisheries management, including the testing and implementation of new technologies to expand opportunities for American commercial and recreational fishermen. The bill provides $2.3 million to plan for a new Ocean Survey Vessel, but does not include the requested $147 million to fund construction of the vessel.
The bill funds NASA at $18.3 billion, a $279 million increase over FY2015, to support the human and robotic exploration of space, fund science missions that enhance the understanding of the Earth, the solar system, and the universe, and support fundamental aeronautics research. This includes $5.3 billion for Science, which is $50 million above the FY2015 enacted level and $6.4 million above the request. This funding encompasses missions from the Earth, to the Moon, throughout the Solar system, and the far reaches of the universe.
The bill provides $893 million for NIST, $29 million above the FY2015 enacted level. The funding will strengthen the U.S. cybersecurity posture through cutting-edge research and development, expand opportunities in the areas of advanced manufacturing, and continue promotion of the highest quality standards to maintain fairness in the marketplace.
Additional information on the bill can be found here. Federal Relations will continue to monitor and post more details when they are available.
House Approps to Mark Up FY16 Interior Bill
The House is expected to mark up the FY16 Interior Appropriations bill this Wednesday. This bill provides funding to the National Endowment of the Humanities and forestry programs among other items.
Defense Money Starts Moving
The Senate Defense Approps Subcommittee will mark up its spending bill tomorrow, and the full Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to take it up the measure on Thursday.
Simultaneously, the Senate will start the week with debate on dozens of amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will be on the floor all week — the Senate is expected to wrap up its work on cybersecurity legislation. The effort, might all be for naught if Senate Democrats decide to filibuster the bill and have a similar fight to what happened on the House side, when the House considered their version of the NDAA.
On the House side, the Defense Appropriations bill will be on the floor beginning Wednesday. The House passed its version of the authorization bill in mid-May.
Senate Judiciary Approves PATENT Act, House Begins to Move on Innovation Act
Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the PATENT Act by a vote of 16 to 4, with only Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), David Vitter (R-LA), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) voting against it.
During consideration of the bill, the Committee approved an amendment offered by John Cornyn (R-TX) that alters the definition of micro-entity status in a way that is potentially helpful to universities, technology transfer organizations, and research foundations. The panel also approved the manager’s amendment, which among other changes, clarifies that the burden is on the prevailing party to demonstrate that it is entitled to fee shifting, a provision which universities support.
The bill now waits for time by the Full Senate.
The House is now seeing motion on HR 9, the Innovation Act. The measure has been somewhat difficult to move due to substantial opposition by stakeholders, including higher education, which was not voiced last Congress when the measure passed overwhelmingly. The House is expected to potentially mark up the bill, with changes, late next week.