Appropriations Bills Await Senators After Abbreviated August Recess

All will be quiet in the halls of Congress this week, with senators taking a one week break from legislative work and the House vacationing until September. But that will soon change, as a “minibus” funding package comprising about two-thirds of the total discretionary budget will be one of the first things the Senate works on after its return August 15th.

The next minibus will likely combine the Senate’s $675 billion Dept. of Defense appropriations bill with its $179 billion package for the Depts. of Health, Education, and Labor. Both bills passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on bipartisan votes of 30-1, and their passage by the full Senate would make it nine of the 12 appropriations bills the chamber has passed.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights:

• Defense spending would increase by $21 billion from the prior year and servicemembers would receive a 2.6 percent pay raise ― their biggest raise in nine years.
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget would grow by $2 billion, and for the first time the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease would be fully funded.
• Maximum Pell grant awards would be increased by $100 and funding would support the Year Round Pell grant.
• No new funding would be provided for Obamacare’s implementation, while its risk corridor program ― which compensates health insurance plans that lose money ― would have to be operated in a manner that doesn’t pass costs on to taxpayers.

Tell your senators how you want them to vote on upcoming appropriations bills and share your thoughts below!

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock / MikeyLPT)