Funding Update: House Passes Spending Deal with Agency Funding, 3.1% Pay Raise

On December 17, 2019, the House approved two appropriations bills to keep the government open, fund agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2020 and provide federal employees with a pay raise.

The bipartisan legislation provides for an average 3.1 percent pay increase (a 2.6 percent across-the-board pay increase and 0.5 percent increase for locality pay rates), which is on par with members of the military. This is a welcome departure from the administration's initial call for a pay freeze and later a 2.6 percent across-the board increase.

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Update on Government Funding Agreement for FY 2020

With just over two weeks until the current Continuing Resolution expires on December 20, 2019, Congress and the White House continue to work on a final spending agreement for Fiscal Year 2020. Before the Thanksgiving holiday, congressional leaders announced an agreement on the spending limits for each of the 12 appropriations bills, which was needed to move forward on a final spending deal . . .

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EPA Budget Update

On October 31st, 2019, the Senate passed its first appropriations package, but a final agreement on government funding remains elusive. The current Continuing Resolution is set to expire on November 21st. NTEU is actively working with members of Congress and urging them to properly fund federal agencies, provide employees with a fair pay raise, protect their collective bargaining rights, and avoid another disastrous shutdown. 

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Government Funding Update

Both chambers will be in recess next week with legislators in their states and districts for the Thanksgiving holiday. When Congress returns the week of November 26th, there will be two weeks remaining before the current Continuing Resolution (CR)--for agencies that did not receive full-year Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding--expires midnight on December 7th between Friday and Saturday…..

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Status of EPA Budget

Last month, President Trump signed H.R. 6157, a bill providing Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 funding for several agencies covered by the Department of Defense and Labor-Health and Human Services appropriations bills as well as a Continuing Resolution (CR) for other agencies that have otherwise not received FY19 appropriations, thereby preventing a partial government shutdown until December 7, 2018. Agencies funded by the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Legislative Branch, and Energy and Water appropriations bill received their full-year funding under previously enacted legislation.

EPA is one of the agencies….

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Federal Budget Update

Congress has been working in recent months to pass FY19 appropriations bills in small groups, each called a “minibus,” after President Trump expressed displeasure in the spring at signing an omnibus appropriations bill, consisting of all 12 delayed FY18 bills, and stated that he would never do that again. As of today, both the Senate and House have passed the so-called minibus I, H.R. 5895, consisting of full year funding for the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding measures. The President is expected to sign the bill.

This week….

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Next Shutdown Deadline March 23

By now you've heard there was a budget deal signed by the President. The deal re-opened the shuttered federal government, but only through March 23.

It also sets the overall amount of money the federal government has, but not individual agency allocations. As Politico noted, it sets the overall size of the pie, but did not establish the size of the slices that each agency gets.

Between now and March 23, Congress needs to fight about the appropriation that each agency will receive. That exercise needs to be completed by March 23. If they don't succeed by the deadline, the government will either again close its doors, or they will need to pass another continuing resolution.

If you're concerned about EPA's budget or other issues, click here and email your Congressperson.

Budget Deal in the Works, CR Will Be Necessary

I'm sure you've already heard about the budget deal being worked out in the Senate today. We're on Capitol Hill this week at NTEU's legislative conference. What we've learned from our discussions with Senators, Congresspersons, and legislative staff is that it will likely take a couple weeks to work out the budget deal between the house and the Senate. That will require one or two new continuing resolutions (CRs).

Staff we spoke with expect the CR to be voted on today and to pass because neither party has an appetite for another shutdown. That will give both houses of Congress time to work out an "omnibus" budget deal.

Speaker Pelosi seems, however, unhappy that there's no DACA-fix included in the budget deal. Staff nonetheless expect that this objection will not stop a budget deal that's in the works.

The wildcard is, of course, President Trump. It is unknown whether the President will sign the omnibus into law. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

The Clock is Running on Next Shutdown Threat

Unless you were on another planet, you know by now that another short-term continuing resolution (CR) was passed to keep the government open. This CR expires at midnight on February 8, 2018, which means that if a budget deal is not reached in Congress by then and signed by the President, the government will again shut down.

EPA announced before the last shutdown that it had funds to operate for about a week. Assuming that's true, and knowing that we've used one of those days of funds while the rest of the government was shut down, it is likely that EPA will be able to operate through February 14 or 15 before needing to shutter the doors.

NTEU National was on the Hill fighting for us and obtained two large victories....

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Ho, Ho, Ho! Shutdown looming!

From our government budget and politics contact. Looks like a game of chicken is unfolding. Democrats and Republicans are both saying that a government shutdown will hurt the other guys more than their side. As a result, it's looking more likely that January 19 will roll around without a budget or continuing resolution (CR). Hopefully cooler heads will prevail. Read on for more detail from our budget contact....

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Shutdown Averted: Congress Passes Spending Bill

The Grinch has been stopped at the border. January 19 is the next showdown.

The Grinch has been stopped at the border. January 19 is the next showdown.

Thursday night Congress averted a government shutdown, but only temporarily. According to Roll Call, "the Senate voted 66-32 to clear a continuing resolution that would fund the government through Jan. 19, provide funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and community health centers through March 31, appropriate $2.1 billion for a private care access program for veterans and temporarily extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until Jan. 19."  

This comes on the heels of the House's vote earlier. The bill now heads to the President's desk. The President is expected to sign the bill.

We'll be back at this brinkmanship come mid-January. Stay tuned.......

Budget CR/Update: December Shutdown Unlikely; Next Showdown in January

From a friend of NTEU Chapter 280.....

After House Republicans decided late last night against proceeding with their defense-only cromnibus, it looks like NDD and DOD both will be extended at current levels through January 19th. I have been told there are a few goodies for defense in this deal, but it is not a full-year defense appropriation.

It is not yet clear what - if any - deal has been struck to adjust the BCA caps in this CR to avoid a sequester in mid-January. At that time, current level funding will exceed the BCA-specified FY 2018 discretionary caps for both NDD and DOD. It is this BCA mid-January sequester deadline that led Congressional leaders to choose Jan 19th as the expiration date for the pending CR.

This deadline will force Congress to develop and pass some form of an amendment to the BCA. This amendment could adjust discretionary spending caps for all the remaining years of the BCA, not just FY 2018. For this reason, it is urgent that we keep up our demand for NDD parity.

It was concern about disaster aid that brought down the House Republican defense-only cromnibus bill. Some of the key R votes needed to pass the $81 billion aid + cromnibus package balked at adding so much to the deficit. Leaders have since decided to move the disaster aid package separately as stand-alone legislation.

There is language that provides price support for a certain type of cotton in the House disaster bill. Some Senators want price supports for dairy products as well, so the aid package is still being negotiated.

The NSA surveillance reauthorization, or any extension of it, is set to move separately also.

While this last minute defense funding retreat by House Republicans probably avoids a pre-Christmas government shutdown, it sets the stage for another confrontation between defense and NDD in January. Dems may have more leverage at that point because the surveillance and disaster aid elements will have been dealt with. At least that’s the plan. However, those items may be delayed by a month also, in which case the complex mix of issues complicating agency funding will continue.

The major issue remaining in the pending CR is whether the Alexander-Murray (AM) bill can be added successfully to what is now a more routine funding extension House Republican opposition to AM without specific prohibitions on abortion is poised to sink McConnell’s deal with Collins. Even Collins does not want this disagreement to force a shutdown.

Continuing Resolution Expires December 8. Then What?

On December 8th, the current Continuing Resolution (CR) funding the federal government for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 expires and the temporary debt limit suspension in place will be lifted.  To date, none of the FY 2018 appropriations bills have been enacted and there remains no agreement on the so-called spending caps (sequestration).

On December 8th, funding for federal agencies expires and the temporary debt limit suspension will be lifted.  Congress must vote before then to pass a CR, an omnibus appropriations bill, or some combination thereof to keep the government open.....

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Fitness Center Update

We've been negotiating with management and they've been negotiating with Federal Occupational Health, the contractor that runs the headquarters' fitness centers, to see if there are ways to keep the fitness centers open despite the Administrator's refusal to spend money on employee health.

We are hopeful that, working with management, we'll be able to keep open both the Potomac Yard and Federal Triangle fitness centers and that they transition to EPA not funding them will be seamless to employees.

The next update to this topic will come in a members-only email, so if you're interested in keeping abreast of the topic, join Chapter 280 now.

House Committee Passes EPA Budget Bill

Today the U.S. House of Representatives Interior & Environment Committee passed a funding bill for EPA, the Department of the Interior, and related agencies. The bill provides EPA a bit more than $7.5 billion, a 6.6% cut. Coupled with the 1% cut for fiscal year 2017, EPA would be down 7.6% if the bill passes and is signed into law.

There some question about whether the EPA funding bill will pass Congress. Legislators are still discussing an "omnibus" spending bill, that would lump all the non-defense agencies together. No telling what would come out of that process.

We'll keep you posted!