LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY

Action on FY 2014 Appropriations Bills.

Last week the House passed its first FY 2014 appropriations bills – Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (H.R. 2216) and Homeland Security (H.R. 2217). Even before the bills were brought to the floor, the White House threatened to veto both, citing its disagreement with the topline discretionary spending cap of $967 billion being used by the House and the lack of a budget agreement between the House and the Senate. As previously reported, the House FY 2014 Budget Resolution (H. Con. Res. 25) established a topline discretionary spending cap of $967 billion, incorporating another round of sequestration cuts; whereas the Senate Budget Resolution (S. Con. Res. 8) established a topline cap of $1.058 trillion, assuming sequestration would be resolved through a broader deficit reduction agreement. To-date, a conference to reconcile the Budget Resolutions has not been set.

Senate Financial Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

The death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) leaves a majority vacancy on the Senate Appropriations Committee and positions Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) as the presumed new chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction over agencies that regulate the banking industry and implement Dodd-Frank reform measures (P.L. 111-203). Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) previously expressed interest in chairing the subcommittee, but full committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) will likely follow precedent and appoint Senator Udall based on his seniority within the subcommittee (Minority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) has more seniority, but will likely choose to remain chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee). Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Kay Hagan (D-NC), Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY), and Al Franken (D-MN) are possible candidates to fill the vacancy on the full committee.

This Week’s Currently Scheduled Hearings:

  • Wednesday, June 12: The House Appropriations Committee will hold a full committee markup of the FY 2014 Defense Appropriations bill.