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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Set-Aside Alert news analysis:Trump signs $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund agencies through FY17President Trump signed a $1.1 bill to fund the U.S. government through the end of fiscal 2017 on Sept. 30. Congress approved the bipartisan legislation and sent it to the president hours before expiration of the previous funding bill. As a result, a government shutdown was avoided. The omnibus bill, which runs for more than 1,600 pages, avoided the package of $18 billion in cuts to civilian programs proposed by Trump. (See 4/14/17 issue.) It does include a portion of the president’s other priorities, including $12.5 billion in additional military spending, which is about half of what the president requested. It also has $1.5 billion in emergency border security funding. That money is slated to go for drones, sensors and repairs to existing border fencing, but not for a wall. While Democrats worked to avoid major decreases in civilian programs, the Education Department would see a $1.2 billion reduction in comparison to the enacted fiscal 2016 level. On the other hand, the National Institutes of Health is one of the biggest winners in the bill. The medical research agency will get a funding boost of an additional $2 billion, which is a 6% increase. The bill also avoided major reductions to the Environmental Protection Agency, which got only a 1% decrease and no significant cuts to personnel. Other programs that had been targeted for major cuts, including green energy programs, Planned Parenthood, public broadcasting, and arts and humanities endowments, also survived without the major reductions or eliminations that Trump had sought. However, the president is expected to seek a $54 billion increase for defense in fiscal 2018, with the same amount to be removed from civilian agencies. Here is a rundown of some of the agencies and programs that gained, lost, or remained flat in the five-month spending bill. DEFENSE - GAINED $12.5B According to the Washington Post, the DOD budget includes funds for 13 Navy ships, including three guided missile destroyers and three Littoral Combat Ships. There also is $8.2 billion for 74 F-35 aircraft; $2.6 billion for 15 KC-46 air tankers; $1.8 billion for 11 P-8A Poseidon aircraft; $1.3 billion for 17 C/HC/KC/MC-130J aircraft; $1.2 billion for 62 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters; $1.1 billion for 14 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft; $774 million for 52 remanufactured AH-64 Apache helicopters; $702 million for 145 Patriot MSE missiles; $275 million for 20 MQ-1 Gray Eagle unmanned aerial vehicles; $262 million for seven new Apaches; $187 million for 28 Lakota light utility helicopters; and $72 million to spend on 10 more helicopters. NIH - GAINED $2B Overall, NIH gets $2 billion more, bringing its budget to $34 billion. Congress approved an additional $476 million for the National Cancer Institute and $400 million more for Alzheimer’s Disease research. There also is $120 million more for precision medicine, and funding to fight superbugs and to map the human brain. DOJ DETENTION - GAINED $1.5B The money is slated for short-term detention space for undocumented immigrants and other federal prisoners. OPIOID FIGHT - GAINED $103M Congress set aside $103 million specifically for efforts to reduce opioid addictions. There also is a $130.5 million increase for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. NASA - GAINED $367M With a budget of nearly $20 billion, NASA received a boost of $368 million. It is intended to go for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and the Space Launch System and the Europa and Mars missions. TSA - GAINED $331M The Transportation Security Administration would get $331 million more to improve airports screenings. It would go toward hiring additional personnel and also canine teams. AMTRAK - GAINED $105M Amtrak will get a $105 million boost in funding, bringing the total to $1.5 billion. NATIONAL PARKS - GAINED $81M The National Park Service is to receive a small increase of $81 million for park maintenance and projects related to the agency’s centennial celebration. FBI, DEA and ATF - GAINED While the Justice Department will see an overall cut of $143 million, there are increases for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in the range of tens of millions of dollars each, according to the Washington Post. There is also $22.5 million more for police armored vests. LOC - GAINED $32M The Library of Congress was approved for a $32 million increase to help pay for upgrades to data, computer support and the copyright office. DC - GAINED $25M The District of Columbia, which is overseen and partially funded by Congress, received a $26 million increase, bringing its federal contribution to $756 million. US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY -GAINED $23M Nearly half the funding is dedicated to early earthquake warning systems, and the remainder is for groundwater monitoring and mapping, as well as other environmental services. SMITHSONIAN - GAINED $223M NEA & NEH - GAINED $4M While the president had proposed to eliminate the National Endowment of the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Democrats blocked those terminations. Each agency got an additional $2 million. IRS - NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE EDUCATION DEPT - LOST $1.2B USDA - LOST $623M EPA - LOST $81M The EPA’s budget was trimmed by 1%, and the agency is expected to keep staffing at its current historically low level. Information in this article was sourced from the bill text and also from articles by the Washington Post, New York Times, Associated Press, Bloomberg, and others.
More information:
Bill text: https://rules.house.gov/bill/115/hr-244
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