FY15 Mid-Year Update
- 20 legislative days remain before the November elections
- Congress will break for the August recess / district work period July 31st.
- Some form of supplemental appropriation for assistance with costs associated with the ongoing border situation will likely be passed, but nowhere near the $3.7B requested.
- A Veterans bill should pass if conferees can find common ground on the particularly unfavorable scoring of the legislation by the Congressional Budget Office.
- Upon their return September 8th, Congress will readily agree to and pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government past the November 4th elections.
- Congress will then return after the November elections for a “lame duck” session.
- If the election yields a Senate shift to Republican control, it is likely that a CR will be extended until the new (114th) Congress reforms in January 2015, at which time an Omnibus appropriation will be passed.
- If the Senate does not shift control, it is likely that an Omnibus appropriation will be passed during the lame duck session.
- Legislation introduced and not passed during this 113th Congress will need to be reintroduced in when the 114th Congress forms in January 2015.
- Sequestration impacts remain unaddressed by Congress for FY16 and onward.
- DoD’s requests for a BRAC were soundly squelched by Congress in the authorization marks.
More details
With less than three legislative weeks remaining before the November elections, little will get done as there simply aren’t enough days in session.
Appropriations score card – Of the 12 individual appropriations bills, the House has passed six, and five have moved through committee. The Senate has moved 10 of the 12 through committee, but has yet to pass an appropriations measure on the floor. Until floor action occurs in both chambers, conferences will not be scheduled. Look for bills through committee to roll into an Omnibus during the lame duck session.
Supplemental – The President’s $3.7B Supplemental funding request to address border issues was met with skepticism. Little of the requested funds are targeted at actual border security issues. Appropriators in both chambers suggest funds in that amount are not needed immediately in order to address the current situation.
Overseas Contingency Operations – A very late OCO request of $59B was delivered to Congress in late June. This request continues downward (last year’s was $85B). With the Afghanistan drawdown continuing, this trend will continue. The OCO request will move with the defense appropriation bill.
Reprogramming request – DoD’s annual mid-year reprogramming request was delivered to Congress in July in the amount of $4.3B. This request will be reviewed and concurred with, in parts, by HASC, SASC, HAC-D and SAC-D. Any of the four committees may object to individual line item requests in the reprogramming. Look for those results to dribble out through September.
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