Senate Approves Second Appropriations " Minibus "

The Senate has passed a second appropriations package for fiscal year (FY) 2019, including the funding bills for Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Financial Services and General Government; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. This marked the first time since FY 2010 that the Senate debated and approved an Interior and Environment spending bill without considering it as a part of a year-end omnibus spending package. Lawmakers adopted 58 amendments before approving the “minibus” package, including one for expanding federal actions to address lead in drinking water and another for fighting algal blooms. An amendment to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund was not adopted, despite receiving some bipartisan support. The spending package will now go to conference with the House, which passed its version of the “minibus” earlier in July. The Senate bill would provide the Department of Interior, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), and other agencies $35.9 billion, about $600 million more than the House bill. EPA would receive flat funding of $8.1 billion under the Senate bill, while the House bill would slash its budget by 100 million. The U.S. Geological Survey will receive flat funding under the Senate bill and a slightly increased budget under the House bill. Both bills have largely ignored the deep cuts p...
Source: Public Policy Reports - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: news