LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY

House Passes First FY 2015 Appropriations Bills

Last week, the FY 2015 Legislative Branch (H.R. 4487/H.Rept. 113-417) and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (MilCon) (H.R. 4486/H.Rept. 113-416) appropriations bills passed the House by large margins.  These two measures are considered to be the least contentious of the appropriations bills; hence, the real test will begin this week with the subcommittee markup of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill and possible full committee markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) bill.  Additionally, Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) is expected to announce funding allocations (302(b)s) for the remaining FY 2015 spending bills at the next full committee hearing.

Following a District work period scheduled for the week of May 12, the House Appropriations Committee will resume its efforts to complete its spending bills by the July 4 recess, with the anticipated full committee markup of the CJS bill and the subcommittee markup of the Homeland Security spending bill.

Senate 302(b) Allocations Anticipated

While the Senate Appropriations Committee is not scheduled to begin marking up its FY 2015 spending bills until late May (MilCon and Agriculture will be first up for consideration), Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) is expected to announce the individual funding allocations (302(b)s) for the Senate bills this week.

This Week’s Hearings

Senate Budget Committee Hearings

  • Tuesday, May 6: Full committee hearing on the FY 2015 budget request for the Department of Education.
  • Thursday, May 8: Full committee hearing: “U.S. Economic and Fiscal Outlook.”

Senate Appropriations Committee Hearings

  • Wednesday, May 7: The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the FY 2015 budget requests for the Center for Disease Control, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
  • Wednesday, May 7: The Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee will hold a hearing: “Federal Information Technology Investments.”
  • Wednesday, May 7: The Homeland Security Subcommittee will hold a hearing: “Investing in Cybersecurity: Understanding Risks and Building Capabilities for the Future.”

House Appropriations Committee Hearings

  • Wednesday, May 7: The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee will mark up its FY 2015 appropriations bill.
  • Wednesday, May 7: The State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee will hold a hearing: “United States Assistance to Combat Transnational Crime.”