After months of delay as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, House of Representatives lawmakers are working on fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills. The House Appropriations Committee began releasing its 12 spending bills July 6.
The committee approved allocations totaling $1.298 trillion July 9. “Higher allocations for all 12 subcommittees in fiscal year 2021 will allow us to make historic investments in the [Veterans Affairs], support working families, rebuild our nation’s infrastructure, improve access to safe, affordable housing, and expand opportunities for the people,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY-17) in a released statement.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) has expressed his desire for all appropriations bills to be passed by the end of the month, a process which usually takes months. Things are unlikely to proceed so smoothly, however, with partisan tie-ups in the Senate.
Appropriations for ag
The House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee approved the Agriculture-Rural Development-Food and Drug Administration (FDA) bill earlier in the week without any amendments. Full committee markup of the bill began after WLJ press time Thursday, July 9.
The bill provides $23.98 billion for total discretionary funding, an increase of $487 million above FY 2020 funding. In total, the bill allows for $153 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding, more than $330 million above FY 2020.
The legislation funds agencies and programs within USDA, the Farm Credit Administration, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the FDA.
“The coronavirus pandemic has made it abundantly clear that we must do more to address America’s food security crisis and to strengthen struggling rural communities that are now reeling from the pandemic and the ensuing recession,” Lowey said.
The bill includes funding for the following programs:
• $4.2 billion for rural development programs;
• Discretionary and mandatory funding for food and nutrition programs;
• $5.99 billion for the FDA;
• $2 billion in international food assistance programs;
• $1.087 billion for food safety and inspection programs;
• $190 million for marketing programs;
• $1.835 billion for farm programs;
• $1.07 billion for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service;
• $1 billion for conservation programs;
• $3.3 billion for agricultural research; and
• $304 million for the CFTC.
The bill also includes language to block USDA from granting line-speed waivers at meat processing facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, and language requiring the secretary of agriculture to submit documents serving as the basis to cancel the Forest Service application for the Rainy River Watershed Withdrawal in Minnesota.
The bill also blocks the Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents final rule and the Standard Utility Allowance proposed rule. The legislation also allows the secretary to waive matching fund requirements for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative.
Interior, EPA appropriations
The House Appropriations Committee released its reports accompanying the FY 2021 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill July 9. Committee markup of the bill began Friday, July 10, after WLJ press time.
The Interior-Environment bill includes $36.76 billion in regular appropriations, an increase of $771 million over FY 2020 funding. The bill also includes $15 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations for investments in critical infrastructure, and $2.35 billion of funding provided under the fire suppression cap adjustment.
The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other related agencies.
“With this bill, we reject the Trump administration’s pandering to the fossil fuel industry and disregard for the environment and public lands,” said Lowey. “Instead, we increase funding to preserve our landscapes, protect endangered species, and help prevent the worst impacts of climate change.”
In FY 2021, Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) allocations will shift from discretionary to mandatory appropriations.
The bill includes $13.83 billion in discretionary appropriations for DOI, an increase of $304 million above FY 2020 funding.
Of DOI funding, the bill includes:
• $1.3 billion for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM);
• $72 million for sage-grouse conservation (of BLM funding);
• $1.6 billion for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
• $3.2 billion for National Park Service;
• $3.5 billion for Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Office of the Special Trustee; and
• $393 million for Departmental Offices.
The bill provides $9.38 billion for EPA, an increase of $318 million above FY 2020.
Of EPA funding, the bill includes:
• $3.58 billion for EPA’s core science and environmental program work;
• $4.36 billion for state and Tribal assistance grants;
• $1.22 billion for Superfund;
• $15 million for Environmental Justice activities; and
• $45 million for the EPA Office of Inspector General.
Other funding in the bill includes:
• $5.73 billion for Wildland Fire Management;
• $3.13 billion for the Forest Service;
• $6.5 billion for the Indian Health Service;
• $170 million for the National Endowment for the Arts;
• $170 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities;
• $1.06 billion for the Smithsonian Institution;
• $14.8 million for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars;
• $40.4 million for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
• $62 million for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; and
• $15 billion in emergency infrastructure investments for the Bureau of Indian Education, EPA, and Indian Health Service.
A floor schedule has yet to be released for the 12 bills, but it is likely they will move in minibuses or an omnibus. — Anna Miller, WLJ editor
