Before the Congress left for their August recess, House lawmakers passed its first appropriations bill of twelve total that funds the federal government. The House passed (219 – 211) the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill, H.R. 4366. The bill provides $17.47 billion for military construction and $1.6 billion for major and minor VA construction. Meanwhile, the Senate has finished voting the bills out of committee but has yet to pass any appropriations bills on the floor. The Senate is considered more bipartisan in spending levels and policies. Lawmakers will need to pass all twelve appropriations bills by September 30th, or else pass a continuing resolution, a stopgap measure that buys time. Given the short amount of time left, Congress will end up needing to pass one or more continuing resolutions.
For more information, contact Jordan.Howard@agc.org or (703) 837-5368.