President Donald Trump on on Aug. 2 signed H.R. 3877, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019, into law after the bill passed the House July 25 and the Senate Aug. 1.
The legislation suspends the debt limit through July 31, 2021, and sets defense spending toplines at $738 billion for fiscal 2020 and $741.5 billion in fiscal 2021. It gets Congress through the final two years of spending caps under the 2011 Budget Control Act, avoiding the possibility of a return to sequestration.
The legislation adds $2.5 billion in base defense spending to the amount set in 2020 federal budget legislation passed in June by the House of Representatives. If the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) can secure one-quarter of that add-on, it would reach its requested budget for the federal fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The House approved $15.9 billion for the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency, roughly $600 million below its request.
As the situation stands now, the newly passed caps deal does not change the fiscal 2020 funding outlook for he Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management. The House has recommended $7.2 billion for the nuclear cleanup office, which would be flat from current funding but $706 million more than the Trump administration request.
The Senate has yet to issue any appropriations bills for the upcoming budget year. Legislation should begin appearing after Congress’ summer recess ends on Sept. 9. That would leave only a matter of weeks before the next fiscal year. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) has indicated he prefers passage of multi-agency “minibus” bills that will cut down on the time needed for debate in committee.
