Legislative Activity

House and Senate Budget Conference

The House and Senate budget conference committee will hold a public conference meeting on Monday, as they attempt to negotiate a joint agreement on a fiscal 2016 budget resolution that can pass both houses of Congress. Most of the Committee’s upcoming negotiations will take place in private, and Democrats will have little influence in the conference process. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he is “very hopeful” the Conference Committee will negotiate a resolution quickly, and “give as much flexibility as possible when it comes to reconciliation.”

The Conference Committee must resolve differences in Defense spending as well as which committees will be responsible to find savings during the reconciliation process. Both the House and Senate budget resolutions included around $38 billion in additional funding for the Department of Defense in the Overseas Contingency Operations account, but the funds in the Senate resolution are subject to a point-of-order, so the increased funding would have to clear a 60-vote threshold. Defense hawks want the point-of-order removed, which was inserted to garner fiscal hawks’ support for the budget resolution.

There are also differences in reconciliation instructions, and while the Senate budget resolution included instructions to only two committees, those that oversee Obamacare, the House resolution included instructions to many more. Both committees are positioned to use the reconciliation process to repeal Obamacare, although some Members want to use reconciliation for tax reform or entitlement reforms. However, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) opposes using reconciliation for tax reform, hoping to secure a bipartisan tax reform agreement in the Finance Committee.

Appropriations 302(b) Allocations and Spending Limits

The Appropriations Committee is expected to approve proposed 302(b) allocations at a markup hearing on Wednesday. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) said the Committee will stay within the $1.017 trillion spending cap required by sequestration, but he noted the levels are “extremely low” and passing appropriations bills at those levels will be difficult. Chairman Rogers said there will be increasing support for a budget deal with the President that would provide relief from the spending limits, though he admitted he does not know when, how, or even if a budget deal will happen.

The draft fiscal 2016 spending allocations indicate that Chairman Rogers is hoping to successfully negotiate appropriations bills with Democrats, by proposing relatively small reductions. For instance, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS-Education) appropriations would be reduced by only about $2.9 billion, a much smaller reduction than previous proposals from Chairman Rogers. However, Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) spoke out against the proposed cut, calling it an “irresponsible allocation” that will “mean less money for education, scientific research, public health, and job training.” The Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee has not marked up an appropriations bill in several years, but Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) said he intends to bring the bill to a full committee markup, and the smaller reduction should make that goal more probable.

Chairman Rogers has said he wants to move all 12 appropriations bills through Congress by October 1, the start of fiscal year 2016. However, President Obama has stated he will not sign appropriations bills that follow the sequestration limits, advocating for a budget deal to raise both defense and domestic discretionary spending above the limits; congressional Democrats and defense hawks also want to increase spending.

House Appropriations Committee to Mark Up Appropriations Bills

The House Appropriations Committee will hold a markup hearing on the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill this week. These two appropriations bills will be among the easiest to move out of the Committee and onto the floor of the House. The bills will be debated on the floor under regular order, allowing Members to offer a large number of amendments. Majority Leader McCarthy has warned House Representatives they may be holding votes late into the evenings on the appropriations bills.

This Week’s Hearings:

• Wednesday, April 22: The Senate Appropriations Committee Energy and Water Development Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “The United States without Nuclear Power.”

• Wednesday, April 22: The House Appropriations Committee Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a Public and Outside Witness hearing.

• Wednesday, April 22: The House Appropriations Committee will hold a markup hearing on the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, and the Fiscal 2016 Appropriations 302(b) allocations to the subcommittees.

Senate Appropriations Committee FY 2016 Budget Hearings

• Tuesday, April 21: The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for the Department of Veteran Affairs.

• Wednesday, April 22: The Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for the Department of Transportation.

• Wednesday, April 22: The Defense Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for Defense Innovation and Research.

• Wednesday, April 22: The Homeland Security Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

• Thursday, April 23: The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for Military Construction and Family Housing.

• Thursday, April 23: The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for the Department of Health and Human Services.

House Appropriations Committee FY 2016 Budget Hearings

• Thursday, April 23: The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for Programs Supporting Native Americans.

• Thursday, April 23: The Homeland Security Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for United States Customs and Border Protection.

• Thursday, April 23: The Homeland Security Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Budget Request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency

This post was written with contributions from Timothy Drake.