Congress departs Capitol Hill for August recess
Both the House and Senate wrapped up their legislative business on July 27 and started their respective summer recess periods, which will end after Labor Day. When lawmakers return in September, they will have much to do – including funding the federal government past September 30.
Senate appropriators pass all 12 FY24 funding bills out of committee, House delays floor votes
Just before recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee met and approved the FY24 Defense; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Homeland Security appropriations bills out of the full committee. This was the first time in years that Senate appropriators have passed all 12 funding bills ahead of the August recess and in such bipartisan fashion.
Highlights of the Senate Appropriations bills include:
- Pell Grant Program:Â increases maximum award by $250 for a total of $7,646
- National Institutes of Health: $47.8 billion — a $943 million increase over FY23
- Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health:Â $1.5 billion
- Department of Energy Office of Science: $8.43 billion — a $330 million increase over FY23
- National Science Foundation: $9.5 billion — a $370 million decrease from FY23
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: $370.5 million — a $3 million decrease from FY23 (the House bill completely eliminates the agency)
The Senate spending levels are in stark contrast to the House appropriations numbers. Fiscally conservative Republicans in the House are pushing for much lower overall funding levels with deeper programmatic cuts and eliminations.
There are only 18 legislative days remaining until a new fiscal year to work through the drastic funding differences between the two chambers.
Senate passes bipartisan NDAAÂ
On July 27, the Senate finalized work on its amended National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY24. The must-pass bill, which sets the Pentagon’s policy agenda and authorizes how the Department of Defense can use federal funding, passed with a 72 to 25 vote. The bill includes a 5.2% pay increase for military personnel, $9.1 billion for various measures aimed at competitiveness with China, and $300 million in aid for Ukraine.
The House earlier passed its version of the NDAA on a party-line vote with drastic differences from the Senate bill. Because of this, a long and challenging conference process can be expected.