Legislative Activity

House Appropriations Action

Last week, the House approved its $595 billion FY 2014 Defense appropriations bill (H.R. 2397) by a vote of 315-105. An amendment from Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) to eliminate funding for the National Security Administration’s (NSA) telephone record collection program, which Republican leadership resisted bringing to the floor, was narrowly defeated by 205-217. In addition, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2014 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill, and the Subcommittee on the Interior and Environment passed its bill last week. The House Appropriations Committee has yet to act on its Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill; the bill was scheduled to be marked up in the subcommittee last week, but was postponed due to floor action on the Defense bill.

Senate Appropriations Action

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed its 2014 State and Foreign Operations bill last week and held a subcommittee markup of the 2014 Financial Services bill. In addition, the Senate began to debate the FY 2014 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development appropriations bill (S.1243), although floor action was derailed by votes on the student loan bill. The Senate is scheduled to continue work on the appropriations bill today, Monday, July 29, and hopes to finish by the end of the week.

Although both Appropriations Committees have worked diligently to mark up and pass their FY 2014 appropriations bills, it is expected that a continuing resolution or omnibus bill will be passed in September, due to the unresolved disagreement about overall spending levels. In this event, Republicans are likely to require that the continuing resolution adheres to the Budget Control Act of 2011’s spending limit of $967  billion, while Democrats are expected to seek a broader deal that replaces the sequester.

This Week’s Hearings:

  • Tuesday, July 30: Defense – Senate subcommittee markup
  • Thursday, August 1: Defense – Senate committee markup