HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE UNVEILS SHORT-TERM CR

Todd Jacobson and Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
9/13/13

The House Appropriations Committee this week unveiled a short-term Continuing Resolution that would fund the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies through Dec. 15. Overall, the bill provides funding at a rate of $986.3 billion, which is slightly less than the current, post-sequestration level. House lawmakers could take up the bill next week after a vote this week was delayed over concerns from some Republicans that it doesn’t defund Obamacare, though some GOP lawmakers are pressuring House leadership to revamp the proposed CR.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) admitted that the stopgap legislation was not ideal, saying it was “simply a temporary measure to keep the lights on in government until this Congress can fulfill its duty by approving Appropriations bills for the next fiscal year.” He added: “This is not the preferred way of doing the nation’s financial work—this Congress can and should be passing regular Appropriations bills that reflect the country’s changing fiscal needs and realities. However, given the late date, a Continuing Resolution is necessary to stop a government-wide shut down that would halt critical government programs and services, destabilize our economy, and put the safety and well-being of our citizens at risk.”

The bill could provide time for lawmakers to negotiate a long-term budget solution that would do away with across-the-board sequestration cuts, Rogers said. “It is my hope that this stopgap legislation will provide time for all sides to come together to reach this essential goal,” Rogers said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Obama was open to signing a short-term Continuing Resolution that was “clean” in an effort to buy time for broader budget negotiations. “We would consider a clean CR that prevents a shutdown,” Carney said.

Interior-Environment Bill in Limbo, For Now

Work on the 12 FY 2014 appropriations bills has come to a halt on Capitol Hill as lawmakers mull the CR. Media reports this week indicated that House appropriators would likely punt consideration of what has become a bitterly divisive Interior-Environment spending measure until later this fall. That measure would slash funding for the EPA to $5.5 billion, 33 percent below the White House request, dramatically cutting the coffers of air and water quality programs. A draft floated by Senate appropriators last month, meanwhile, stuck closely to the President’s request.

Work to fund federal Energy and Water programs for FY 2014 also appears trapped in the Senate. The House of Representatives passed its version of the FY 2014 Energy and Water Appropriations Act in July. That bill would provide $430 million for the Department’s Fossil Energy R&D program, a $10 million increase above the White House request. The full Senate hasn’t yet acted on its version of the bill, but the Senate Appropriations Committee matched the Administration’s $420.6 million request for the Fossil Energy R&D program.