FY2019 Appropriations Update

The Senate has passed nine of its 12 annual FY19 spending bills in four minibus appropriations packages while the House has passed just six of its bills in two minibus appropriations packages and one (Defense) bill. When members of Congress return next week they have 11 days to complete action on the FY19 spending bills before the end of the fiscal year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that conference approval of the Energy & Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs minibus package could come as soon as next week. The Veterans Affairs section of the conference report has been one of the biggest hurdles during the negotiations as funding for a private health care program for veterans would be moved from mandatory spending to discretionary spending (subject to spending caps). This issue may be resolved by adding emergency funding to the package.

McConnell would also like to see conference action on its Defense-Labor HHS Education, Interior-Financial Services, and Agriculture-Transportation/HUD minibus appropriations packages.

In all likelihood, a continuing resolution (CR) will be needed to keep the government open after September 30. And a shutdown is not out of the question as the President has threatened to do this if he does not get the funding he requested for his southwest border wall. In addition to demonstrating to his base his commitment to building a wall, a shutdown could be used as a distraction from the Paul Manafort trial, which is scheduled to begin September 24. If a CR is passed, it could fund the federal government through Thanksgiving or Christmas. And it could be the first of many CRs depending on the outcome of the midterm elections. If the Democrats take control of the House, Republicans may want to lock in current spending levels with a CR that lasts through FY19.

The CR could also become a magnet for other expiring authorization measures as floor time will be limited. The Senate will spend much of its floor time on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to serve as a justice on the Supreme Court. A farm bill conference report is also supposed to come up. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said that a multi-year FAA reauthorization (or stopgap authorization) could be added to the CR since its authorization expires on September 30.

FY2019 Appropriations Bills Status