Senate Must OK $1.3T to Keep Government Running Through September

US Capitol. PC: Wikipedia

The U.S. House of Representatives voted today, Thursday, March 25, 2018, in favor of a $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government through Sept. 30, 2018. The bill passed the House by a 256-157 vote.

Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa was among those who approved the bill, which includes significant increases for affordable housing and homelessness programs, public housing maintenance, community health centers, defense spending, infrastructure improvements and military construction.

The Senate must act by midnight Friday, March 26, 2018, to avoid a government shutdown.

“While I would prefer funding the government through the regular appropriations process, this is a good, bipartisan bill for Hawai‘i and our nation,” said Rep. Hanabusa. “We were able to reach a consensus on spending increases to critical programs that address homelessness, increase access to affordable housing, support working families, repair infrastructure and bolster our national defense. This spending package represents a bipartisan rebuke of the Trump Administration’s stated budget priorities. Many of the issues and proposals that Democrats pushed back on are not included in this bill. Hopefully, it is a signal that Congress is willing to work together in the best interest of the American people when the Trump administration refuses to do so.”

Click here to download a full summary of the bill.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS

· Renews all Housing Choice Vouchers for low income families

· Allocates nearly $1 billion in additional funding to repair and operate public housing. This will improve living conditions for residents and help preserve this essential infrastructure.

· Boosts funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships program (HOME) to the highest level in 7 years. HOME is a flexible source of funding used by states and communities to address their housing challenges

· Extends the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates the federal response across 19 agencies

· Expands the Low Income Housing Tax Credit by 12.5% and permanently authorizes income averaging, which could lead to more affordable homes for the lowest income people.

· $19.6 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (Section 8), which is $1.25 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $2.75 billion for the Public Housing Capital Fund, which is $808.5 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $1.36 billion for HOME Investment Partnerships, which is $412 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $678 million for Housing for the Elderly, which is $175.6 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $229 million for Housing for the Disabled, which is $83.4 million more than the FY2017 level.

· $3.365 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which is $305 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $375 million for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA), which is $19 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $2.513 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, which is $130 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

DEFENSE

· Includes the “Inouye Amendment” which keeps command and control of manning, equipping and training of U.S. Pacific Fleet forces with the Pacific Fleet.

· $133.4 billion for Military Personnel, which is $4.6 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level. This funding level would increase end strength by 8500 active and 1000 Guard/Reserve.

· $190.5 billion for Operations and Maintenance, which is $22.9 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $133.9 billion for Procurement, which is $ 25.4 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $88.3 billion for Research and Development, which is $16 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $10.4 billion for the Coast Guard, which is $1.6 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION: $10.091 billion, which is $2.3 billion more than the 2017 enacted level, is provided for Military Construction programs.

VETERANS AFFAIRS: The 2018 Omnibus includes $81.745 billion in discretionary funding, which is $7 billion more than the 2017 level

TRANSPORTATION

$2.525 billion in new funding for highway grants.
$800 million in new funding for transit formula grants.
$250 million for the Federal State Partnership for State of Good Repair grants program, which is $225 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.
$1.5 billion for National Infrastructure Investments (TIGER) grants program, which is $1 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

· $12.3 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including $7.4 billion for major disasters under the BCA cap adjustment. The total is $899.5 million more than the FY2017 enacted level, including:

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE: $3.3 billion, which is $310.5 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

$507 million for the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSGP), which is $40 million more than the FY2017 enacted level, including:

$630 million for the Urban Areas Security Initiative, which is $25 million more than the FY2017 enacted level, including:

$700 million for firefighter equipment and staffing grants, which is $10 million than the FY2017 enacted level.

$249.2 million for Predisaster Mitigation grants, which is $149.2 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

$262.5 million for Flood Mapping, which is $85 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

$120 million for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which is equal to the FY2017 enacted level.

PARKS, FISH & WILDLIFE

· $8.821 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is $763 million more than the 2017 enacted level.

· $1.693 billion for the Clean Water Fund, which is $300 million above the 2017 enacted level.

· $1.163 billion for the Safe Drinking Water Fund, $300 million above the 2017 enacted level.

· $1.595 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service, which is $75 million more than the 2017 enacted level, including:

$53 million increase to address the maintenance backlog principally at wildlife refuges and fish hatcheries.

$1.148 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, which is $63 million more than the 2017 enacted level.

$19 million increase for earthquake hazards including $12.9 million for early earthquake warning system.

$14.5 million increase for volcanos hazards

LAW ENFORCEMENT & PUBLIC SAFETY

· $2.4 billion overall for total State and Local Law Enforcement Activities, which is $375 million higher than the FY 2017 enacted level.

· $275 million overall for the COPS office, $54 million more than the FY2017 level. $149.5 million is for the core COPS Hiring Program, an increase of $12.5 million above FY 2017.

· $75 million for Comprehensive School Safety Initiative grants, $25 million above the FY 2017 enacted level.

· $447 million for grant programs to address the opioid crisis, an increase of $300 million above the FY 2017 level for activities such as: heroin enforcement task forces, drug courts, prescription drug monitoring, treatment, and, overdose reversal medication.

· $492 million for Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution grant programs, an increase of $10.5 million above the FY2017 level.

ENERGY & WATER

· $2.3 billion for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which is $231 million more than the FY2017 enacted level, $1.2 billion above the House bill, and $1.68 billion above the budget request.

· $6.26 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science, which is $868 million than the 2017 enacted level and $1.78 billion above the budget request.

· $248 million for activities to modernize the electric grid and defend the U.S. energy sector against cyber and other attacks, which is $18 million than the 2017 enacted level and $128 million above the budget request.

· The Title 17 Innovative Loan Guarantee Program is retained and the Department is directed to process loan applications.

· $6.8 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers, which is $789 million than the FY2017 enacted level and $1.8 billion above the budget request. o Of those funds, $1.4 billion is for Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund projects, which is $100 million more than the FY2017 enacted level and $60 million more than the target established by the Water Resources Reform and Development Act.

· $1.48 billion for water resources projects within the Department of Interior, which is $163 million more than the 2017 enacted level and $373 million above the budget request.

LABOR, HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION

· $1.6 billion in discretionary funding for Community Health Centers, which is $135 million more than the FY 2017 enacted level. Combined with $3.8 billion in mandatory funding, total funding for Community Health Centers is $5.4 billion, which is $335 million more than the FY 2017 enacted level.

· $5.2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which is $2.37 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $9.9 billion for Head Start, which is $610 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $897 million for Senior Nutrition programs, which is $59 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $3.6 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is $250 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $3.7 billion for programs to respond to the opioid crisis, including prevention, treatment, surveillance, research to develop non-opioid pain medication, behavioral health workforce training, and support for children and families, which is $2.7 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $8.0 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is $806 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.

· $5.2 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA), which is $1.4 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level.