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Category: Budget

Appropriations Process Breaks Down Over the Confederate Flag

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Congressional Republicans and Democrats are already are blaming each other for causing the next government shutdown, which won’t even happen for another 80 days (October 1st). That may seem like plenty of time for lawmakers to work through their differences and approve appropriations bills to keep the federal government running, but the news from Capitol Hill today is not to expect any more appropriations bills to make it through the House chamber until Republicans and Democrats work out issues on the Confederate flag. That’s right. The Confederate flag.

Things aren’t much better in the Senate where Democrats have threatened to block all spending bills until Republicans agree to a deal to lift the spending caps and end the threat of sequestration (across-the-board cuts).

So far the House has approved six of their twelve annual spending bills, with the remaining six bills approved by committee and awaiting floor action. They were likely on track to approve all twelve bills before the end of September before the Confederate flag flap. The Senate has not been moving quite as quickly, and is now at a dead stop. They not approved any of their twelve bills, and have moved only five through committee. Proposed bills and report language can be accessed here.

White House Memo on Science Priorities for FY2017

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The White House’s Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Shaun Donovan, and OSTP Director, John Holdren, sent their annual joint FY2017 priorities memo to the science agency heads.

The memo urges agency leaders to take the priorities into consideration as they begin to prepare their FY2017 budget proposals for OMB.  Per the memo, “Agency proposals aligned with multi-agency R&D priorities and demonstrating interagency coordination are more likely to be prioritized in FY2017 Budget deliberations.”

Read the memorandum here.

 

 

House Pulls FY16 Interior Bill

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The House has pulled their FY16 Interior Appropriations bill amid controversy of a Confederate flag amendment. The House has previously considered and passed three amendments restricting funding for federal lands displaying the Confederate flag. Due to Republican concerns these restrictions might impose, an additional amendment was proposed to allow funding on federally owned park land displaying the Confederate flag. The crux of the issue: Civil War battle fields, the bulk of which are now federal park land and have memorials and cemeteries headstones with the flag on them. The bill did not have the votes to pass the House without the new amendment that allowed display of the Confederate flag on federal lands in some instances. Further, it was unclear that the bill had the votes to pass if the amendment was not included.

The bill was first considered but not finished before the July 4th Recess. It is unclear how the bill will or can move forward.

OMB Writes Letter of Concern about Senate FY16 CJS

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The White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan has issued another letter on the FY16 appropriations proposal currently working their way though Congress. Today, Director Donovan’s letter was addressed to the Senate and expressed concern over the Senate’s FY16 CJS spending bill.  The letter outlines concerns about underfunding the important investments in a diverse set of agencies and programs (from science agencies like NSF and NOAA to law enforcement as well as the census)  and includes highly problematic ideological riders. Over all the letter echo previously seen concerns about Congress crafting these bills in accordance to sequestration funding limitations, while not working on a FY16 budget that would supplant the sequester.

Specically, the letter outlines concerns for maintaining our nation’s ability and capacity at science-focused agencies.

  • The bill cuts the President’s Budget by $245 million, or 64 percent, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next generation ofpolar-orbiting weather satellites which puts the continuity of the polar weather observations at substantial risk.
  • The bill underfunds the National Science Foundation, providing $380 million, or 5 percent, less than the President’s Budget for an agency that carries a major share of the Federal Government’s responsibility to support basic research in science and engineering-research that produces the seed com on which future innovation depends, but by its nature is too uncertain in ultimate application to attract private-sector funding. Compared to the President’s Budget, the bill would lead to about 700 fewer research grants, affecting about 9,100 researchers, technicians, and students.

Read the OMB letter here. 

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY16 Labor-H

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Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed it’s FY16 Labor-H bill by a vote of 16-14. The Senate draft would cut spending from the 2015 enacted level by almost $4 billion to $153 billion and is $14.5 billion below President Barack Obama’s request. The bill would eliminate funding for the Independent Payment Advisory Board, created by the 2010 health law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152) to recommend Medicare spending cuts under certain circumstances.

Both the House and Senate FY16 Labor-H proposals are now cleared to be considered by their respective bodies. There is no timeline on when the Senate would begin consideration of its draft.