S. 2837 – Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017
NOTEWORTHY
Background: The fiscal year 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science, and related agencies appropriations bill was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on April 21 on a 30-0 vote. The vehicle for floor debate is H.R. 2578, the Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill for fiscal year 2016.
Floor Situation: The Senate is expected to debate the bill during the week of June 13.
Executive Summary: The bill would fund the departments of Commerce and Justice, as well as NASA, NSF, NOAA, and other agencies at $56.3 billion in regular discretionary budget authority. This is consistent with the 302(b) allocations derived from the Appropriations Committee’s total 302(a) allocation of $1.07 trillion.
Considerations on the Bill
The Appropriations Committee’s 302(a) allocation for all appropriations bills is $1.07 trillion, equal to the amount contained in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The bill’s total spending of $56.3 billion is $563 million greater than the fiscal year 2016 funding level and is $1.6 billion greater than the president’s budget request. However, the bill totals $183 million less than the president’s request when considering spending without rescissions and CBO scorekeeping adjustments.
Due to the administration’s practice in its budget request of cutting discretionary funding for various activities and then proposing new mandatory funding for these activities as a way to get around budget caps, comparisons with the president’s budget request should be made with caution. This is especially true in the president’s request for NASA. The Appropriations Committee notes in its report that “NASA irresponsibly chose to present a budget that conflated mandatory funding and discretionary funding to reach a misleading budget total that still falls $259,900,000 short of the fiscal year 2016 enacted level.” The President’s budget requested significant mandatory spending for NASA and the National Science Foundation. The Senate bill rejects these mandatory proposals.
The bill includes “changes in mandatory programs” that lower budget authority in fiscal year 2017 by $9.66 billion, but only lower outlays over the 2017-2026 period by $728 million. These changes are consistent with section 3103 of the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution.
Legislative text of the bill is available here, and text of the committee report is available here.
Notable Bill Provisions
Department of Commerce
The bill includes $9.3 billion for the Department of Commerce, which is $70.8 million greater than fiscal year 2016. Included in this total are $254 million for the Economic Development Administration, $3.2 billion for the Patent and Trademark Office (funded by patent fee collections), and $974 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Within the Department of Commerce, the bill includes $5.7 billion for NOAA, which is $74 million less than fiscal year 2016.
Census Bureau
Within the Department of Commerce, the bill includes $1.5 billion for the Census Bureau, which is $148 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Department of Justice
The bill provides a total of $29.2 billion for the Department of Justice components, which is $156 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The bill provides $9.45 billion, which is $652 million greater than fiscal year 2016. Within this amount, the bill provides $646 million for construction work on the FBI’s new headquarters.
U.S. Marshals Service
The bill provides $2.7 billion, which is $13.5 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Drug Enforcement Administration
The bill provides $2.5 billion, which is $34.1 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
United States Attorneys
The bill provides $2.03 billion, which is $30 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Bureau of Prisons
The bill provides $7.1 billion for operation of the federal prison system, which is $387 million less than fiscal year 2016.
State and Local Law Enforcement Activities
The bill provides $2.36 billion for state and local law enforcement activities, which includes $384 million for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants to state and local law enforcement entities.
Crime Victims Fund
The bill includes a distribution from the Crime Victims Fund of $2.96 billion, $85 million less than fiscal year 2016. The committee reports that this amount is approximately the average amount the fund has collected annually during the last three years. The bill includes CHIMPs to the CVF that lower budget authority by $8.78 billion in fiscal year 2017, raises budget authority by the same amount in fiscal year 2018, and does not change budget authority or outlays over the 2017-2026 period.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The bill provides $19.3 billion for NASA, which is $21 million greater than fiscal year 2016. The Space Launch System is funded at $2.15 billion, $150 million greater than fiscal year 2016. The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is funded at $1.3 billion, $30 million greater than fiscal year 2016. NASA’s Science activities are funded at $5.4 billion, $194 million less than fiscal year 2016. The Commercial Crew program is funded at $1.18 billion; this program aims to end U.S. reliance on Russia to transport Americans to and from the International Space Station.
National Science Foundation
The bill provides $7.5 billion for the NSF, which is $46 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The bill provides $365 million, equal to fiscal year 2016.
International Trade Commission
The bill provides $89 million, equal to fiscal year 2016.
Legal Services Corporation
The bill provides $395 million, which is $10 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
U.S. Trade Representative
The bill provides $59 million, which is $4.9 million greater than fiscal year 2016.
Sections 202, 203 and 204
Prohibit funds appropriated by the Department of Justice title from being used to pay for an abortion – except in the case of danger to the life of the mother or rape – or require a person to perform or facilitate an abortion. This provision does not remove the obligation of the director of the Bureau of Prisons from providing escort services necessary for a female inmate to receive an abortion.
Section 506
Prohibits contracts to any person who a court or agency determines falsely affixed “Made in America” labels to products not made in the U.S. Also provides that “to the extent practicable,” promotional items purchased with funds in this act should be made in America.
Section 520
Prohibits funds from being “used to authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of any of the following laws:” Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the National Security Act of 1947, the USA PATRIOT Act, the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015, and the underlying laws that these acts amended.
Section 523
Prohibits contracts or grants greater than $5 million unless the contractor or grantee certifies that they do not owe unpaid taxes, have filed all required tax returns, and have not been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code.
Section 527
Prohibits funds from being used for the transfer or release of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S.
Section 528
Prohibits funds from being used to construct, acquire, or modify any facility in the U.S. to house Guantanamo detainees.
Section 537
Prohibits the use of funds to prevent states from implementing their medical marijuana laws.
Section 538
Prohibits the use of funds in contravention of the “Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research” provision of the Agricultural Act of 2014, which authorizes higher education institutions or a State department of agriculture to grow or cultivate industrial hemp for agricultural research.
Administration Position
A statement of administration policy is not available at this time.
Cost
The bill’s total spending of $56.3 billion is $563 million greater than the fiscal year 2016 funding level and is $1.6 billion greater than the president’s budget request. However, the bill totals $183 million less than the president’s request when considering spending without rescissions and CBO scorekeeping adjustments. The bill’s spending is consistent with the 302(b) allocations derived from the Appropriations Committee’s total 302(a) allocation of $1.07 trillion.
Amendments
The amendment situation is unclear at this time.