The Senate continues its aggressive effort to move FY2017 appropriations bills to completion. 

Last week the Senate passed the second and third appropriations bills for FY2017:  Transportation/HUD bill and Military Construction/Veterans Affairs (MilCon/VA).  The two bills were combined in a single bill and passed the Senate by a significant majority, 89-8.  The Senate passed its first FY2017 appropriations bill, Energy & Water on May 12.

In addition to providing appropriations for military construction spending in the Department of Defense (DoD), the VA, the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, the bill also would make available $1.1 billion “for medical and public health preparedness and response capabilities related to the Zika virus.”

Touting the Senate’s progress on FY2017 appropriations bills, Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) Chairman Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) said, “Senators have now worked through three appropriations bills and I look forward to additional cooperation as other FY2017 bills are brought to the [Senate] floor.”

The SAC has approved another five bills (Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science, DoD, Homeland Security, and Legislative), which are now ready for full Senate action.

The House also has proceeded apace on FY2017 appropriations bills.  To date, the full House has passed one FY2017 appropriations bill (Military Construction/VA), while another (Energy and Water) failed to achieve enough votes to pass.  The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) has approved another five bills (Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science, DoD, Legislative, and Transportation/HD) that await final action by the full House.

The Military Construction portion of the Senate MilCon/VA bill would provide $7.9 billion for military construction projects, family housing, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), and the NATO Security Investment Program.  This is $486 million above the FY2017 request.

The House-passed FY2017 MilCon/VA bill provides $250 million more than the request.

The Senate bill would provide $5.9 billion for active and reserve military construction projects: $5.2 billion for active components construction ($170 million above the request) and $673 million for guard and reserve components construction (the requested level). Funding in the bill for Family Housing totals $1.320 billion, the requested amount.

The bill would fund the requested amounts for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program (NSIP), $187 million and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), $200 million

The Senate-passed bill includes another $515 million to be used by the military services for projects identified on the service’s unfunded priority list provided to Congress.

Funding totaling $200 million would be rescinded from prior-year programs if the bill became law.