The House Appropriations
Committee today unveiled the fiscal year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill, the
legislation that will provide discretionary funding for the vast majority of
the federal government for the current fiscal year.
The bill includes full
Appropriations legislation and funding for 11 of the 12 annual Appropriations
bills through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2015. The 12th bill,
which funds the Department of Homeland Security, is also included in the legislation,
but is funded under a temporary “Continuing Resolution” mechanism that expires
on February 27, 2015.
The package also contains
emergency Overseas Contingency Operations funding to combat the emerging
real-world threat brought by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL),
and a total of $5.4 billion in emergency funding to address the domestic and
international Ebola crisis.
“This bill will allow us to
fulfill our Constitutional duty to responsibly fund the federal government and
avoid a shutdown. The 11 Appropriations bills in this package reflect specific,
thoughtful, line-by-line decisions to target funds to critical programs, make
reductions to lower-priority areas, and wisely invest the taxpayers’
hard-earned money. And by continuing current funding levels for the Department
of Homeland Security, we allow the agency to maintain essential security
functions for the next few months,” House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers
said.
Funding for programs within
the 11 regular Appropriations bills were weighed individually and prioritized,
with dollars targeted to the most important and effective programs, while
lower-priority programs were cut. Also included in these 11 bills are important
policy provisions to improve accountability and transparency, to ensure good
government, and to put the brakes on harmful overregulation by federal
agencies.
“This package makes the most
of each and every dollar, roots out waste and abuse, reins in bureaucratic
overreach, and provides stable funding for important national programs –
including our national defense – for the remainder of the fiscal year. It
reflects conservative priorities, yet it is also a compromise bill that can and
should have wide bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. This is
exactly the kind of legislation and bipartisan cooperation that the American
people called for in the voting booths last month. Passage of this bill will
show our people that we can and will govern responsibly,” Rogers continued.
Bill
Highlights –
Funding
Level – The bill abides by all the terms set by the Bipartisan
Budget Act of 2013 (the “Ryan-Murray Agreement”), providing a total of $1.013
trillion for the operation of the federal government, and meeting the $521
billion defense and $492 billion non-defense budget caps.
The legislation contains
full funding for fiscal year 2015 for 11 of the 12 regular annual
Appropriations bills, with the exception of the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). The Homeland Security portion is funded under a temporary Continuing
Resolution (CR). This CR maintains DHS funding at the current fiscal year 2014
level, and expires on February 27, 2015.
National
Security – The Omnibus contains the fiscal year 2015 Defense
Appropriations bill, providing funding for our nation’s security, military
readiness, and resources for our troops at home and abroad. The bill will fund
important Department of Defense programs and projects, a pay raise for our
troops, and the advancement of our military operations to protect the nation
from current and future threats.
The bill also includes $64
billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding to provide needed
resources and training for our troops in the field, to combat the threat
presented by ISIL, to train and equip our Iraqi allies, and to reinforce
European countries facing Russian aggression.
Bolstering
Job Creation and Reining in Bureaucratic Overreach –
The legislation prioritizes funding for important programs that strengthen U.S.
innovation and competitiveness, and that help our businesses thrive, such as
small business loans, science research funding, resources to expedite domestic
energy development, and critical infrastructure investments.
The bill also includes many
provisions to rein in regulatory overreach that causes job loss and harm to our
economy. Some of these provisions include:
•A provision to prohibit the
Export-Import Bank and OPIC from blocking coal and other power-generation
projects – helping to increase exports of U.S. goods and services;
•A provision prohibiting
funds for the Army Corps of Engineers to change the definition of “fill
material,” which could have harmful effects on many U.S. industries;
•A restriction on the Grain
Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) from implementing
regulations harmful to the livestock and poultry industry;
•Language amending
Dodd-Frank swaps pushout requirements to protect farmers and other commodity
producers from having to put down excessive collateral to get a loan, expand
their businesses, and hedge their production;
•Provisions restricting the
application of the Clean Water Act in certain agricultural areas, including
farm ponds and irrigation ditches; and
•A provision prohibiting
funding for the Fish and Wildlife Service to issue further rules to place
sage-grouse on the Endangered Species List – an action that could have severe
economic consequences in Western states.
ObamaCare –
The bill provides no new funding for ObamaCare, and holds the line on funding
for the IRS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – the primary
agencies responsible for the implementation of ObamaCare.
Life
–
The Omnibus maintains all existing pro-life policy and funding provisions that
have been carried in Appropriations legislation in previous years, including
the Hyde Amendment, a ban on public funding for abortions in the District of
Columbia, and a ban on abortion funding for federal prisoners.
The bill also includes new
language allowing states increased access to abstinence education funding, new
language directing the HHS Secretary to increase the transparency of abortion
coverage within federal exchange health care plans, and new language directing
HHS to quickly respond to claims filed by health care providers on conscience
clause violations.
Other
Policy Provisions – Many other important policy provisions are
included in the Omnibus, such as:
•A ban on the
Administration’s onerous “light bulb” standard;
•Provisions to protect
Second Amendment rights, including a prohibition on funding for the EPA to
regulate lead content in ammunition or fishing tackle;
•Bans and limitations on
federal agency conferences and awards;
•Provisions to stop the
transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees into the U.S.; and
•A prohibition on funding for
the IRS to target organizations for regulatory scrutiny based on their
ideological beliefs or for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Savings
and Oversight of Tax Dollars – The bill includes program
cuts and oversight provisions to ensure the responsible use of taxpayer
dollars. Some of these items include:
•No funding for high-speed
rail;
•A $345.6 million cut and
extensive oversight requirements for the Internal Revenue Service;
•A $60 million cut and
extensive oversight requirements for the Environmental Protection Agency;
•Oversight and monitoring
requirements to weed out waste and abuse in nutrition programs;
•No funding for
contributions to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO);
•A pay freeze for the Vice
President and senior political appointees;
•No funding for the
Administration’s “Race to the Top” program; and
•No funding for the
International Monetary Fund.
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