The Senate amended H.R. 6157 to contain the conference report for the defense, health, education, and labor appropriations "minibus" along with a continuing resolution to fund the gov't through December 7th. We transferred the summary of the bill that initially passed the Senate here.

What is it?

(Updated 8/21/18): The Senate amended this bill to contain its $675 billion defense spending bill for FY2019 and its $181 billion appropriations package for the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services. In its original form, the bill was the House's $675 billion defense bill, a summary of which can be found here. A breakdown of the current bill's various provisions can be found below.

DEFENSE

This section of the bill would provide $675 billion in FY2019 for the Dept. of Defense (DOD), an increase of $20.4 billion from the prior year. Of the total, the base budget is $607.1 billion while $67.9 billion is provided for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). A detailed breakdown of where that funding would go can be found below.

Military Personnel & Pay: This section would fund an Active Duty end strength of 1,329,461 servicemembers and a Selected Reserve end strength of 816,900 for a total strength of 2,146,361 — an increase of 6,961 servicemembers from the prior year. A military pay raise of 2.6%, the largest in nine years, would be funded by this bill. It’d also include additional funding targeted to support the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs, the State Partnership Program, and the Advance Trauma Training Program.

Readiness: A total of $232.2 billion in base and OCO funding would be provided for operation and maintenance accounts to improve the military’s readiness. This includes funding for training and equipment modernization to restore readiness in the near- and long-term. It’d also include targeted funding for the following:

• $350 million for Navy facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization;
• $350 million for Air Force weapons systems sustainment;
• $23 million in funding for U.S. Southern Command Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance requirements (which includes the Caribbean plus Central and South America);
• Full funding for flight operations and force related training for Special Operations Command.

Shipbuilding: A total of $24 billion would be provided for Navy shipbuilding, including $2.3 billion in additional funding for high priority shipbuilding and industrial base programs. It’d fund the construction of 13 new ships:

• Two Virginia class submarines;
• Three Arleigh Burke class destroyers;
• Two Littoral Combat Ships;
• One expeditionary sea base and one expeditionary fast transport;
• Two TAO fleet oilers; one towing, salvage, and rescue ship; and one cable ship.

Additionally, this section would provide:

• $500 million in advance procurement for an LPD Flight II amphibious transport dock;
• $350 million in advance procurement for the LHA 9 amphibious assault ship;
• $250 million in advance procurement to purchase an additional Arleigh Burke class destroyer in FY2021;
• $250 million for submarine industrial base expansion to increase capacity and create multiple suppliers for critical submarine components.

Aviation Programs: A total of $42.2 billion would be provided for the procurement of military aircraft, including $3.8 billion to address high priority aviation programs across the services such as:

• $1.2 billion for eight F-35 carrier variants and four F-35 short takeoff/vertical landing Joint Strike Fighters (Navy & Marine Corps);
• $720 million for additional AH-64E Apache helicopters (Army);
• $320 for 15 UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters (Army National Guard);
• $300 million for the O/A-X Light Attack Aircraft program (Air Force);
• $240 million for three V-22 Osprey aircraft (Navy);
• $120 million for Air Force F-35 advance procurement for FY2020;
• $200 million for Navy and Marine Corps aviation spares and repair parts to address maintenance issues;
• An additional $375 million to support the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System, including additional MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.

Missile Defense: A total of $10.5 billion would be provided for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), which includes $1.2 billion to support unfunded priorities and emergent threats including:

• $100 million for the development of a space-based Missile Defense Tracking System to detect conventional ballistic missiles and hypersonic glide vehicles;
• $85 million to continue research and development of three separate laser scaling efforts;
• $46 million to accelerate development of critical technologies against hypersonic threats;
• $285 million to address a U.S. Pacific Command Joint Emergent Operational Need.
• $500 million for Israeli Cooperative Programs.

Munitions: $18.5 billion would be provided for missile and ammunition programs, including $366 million in additional, targeted funding for high priority munitions. That’d include $125 million to expand Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and Long Range Anti-SHip Missile production rates and an additional $57 million for the Army’s industrial facilities to increase production capacity.

Defense Health: $34.5 billion would be provided for the Defense Health Program, which provides medical services for military personnel and their families, continues advancements in medical research, and implements the next generation of electronic health records. Of the total, $974 million would be provided for defense medical research efforts, including $330 million for the competitively awarded peer-reviewed medical research program, and $202 million to advance DOD medical research priorities.

MISCELLANEOUS

• $929 million in additional funding would be provided to support and accelerate offensive and defensive hypersonics research and prototyping efforts; including $345 million for the prompt global strike capability development and $300 million for the Air Force’s hypersonic conventional strike and air-launched rapid response weapons.
• $317 million in additional funding to further directed energy technology and transition such activities to offensive and defensive capabilities in the future; including $150 million for the Air Force to apply directed energy to airbase defense, precision attack, and aircraft self-protection.
• $447 million in additional funding to ensure access to trusted microelectronics and develop manufacturing processes for next generation chips.
• $308 million in additional funding to accelerate the pursuit of state of the art AI systems that can be rapidly adapted to the warfighting mission needs of the DOD.
• $356 million in additional funding to expand and accelerate cyber research across the DOD.
• $564 million in additional funding to develop enhanced offensive and defensive space capabilities, including $100 million for advanced sensors for the successor to the space based infrared system and $200 million for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) development efforts.

EDUCATION, LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

This section of the bill would provide $181.2 billion in FY2019 funding for the Departments of Labor, Health & Human Services (HHS), Education, and related agencies — an increase of $4.1 billion from the prior year. A breakdown of its various provisions can be found below.

DEPT. OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

This section would provide $90.1 billion in discretionary funding for HHS, an increase of $2.3 billion from the prior year.

National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH would receive $39.1 billion, an increase of $2 billion from the prior year. That’d include:

• $2.3 billion for Alzheimer’s disease research, up $425 million from the prior year, which would exceed the $2 billion funding goal for the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease for the first time.
• $550 million to combat antibiotic resistant bacteria, increase of $37 million.
• $500 million for research on opioid addiction, development of opioid alternatives, pain management, and addiction treatment.
• $429.4 million for the BRAIN Initiative to map the human brain, an increase of $29 million.
• $120 million for research on the universal flu vaccine, a $20 million increase.

Fighting Opioid Abuse: This section would provide $3.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other agencies to fight opioid abuse, an increase of $145 million from the prior year. It’d include:

• $1.5 billion for the SAMHSA’s State Opioid Response Grant, which includes a 15 percent set-aside for states with the highest opioid use disorder mortality rate and $50 million set-aside for Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
• $500 million for research related to opioid addiction, development of opioid alternatives, pain management, and addiction treatment.
• $476 million for CDC opioid overdose prevention and surveillance programs, and a public awareness campaign.
• $200 million for Community Health Centers to support and enhance behavioral health, mental health, or substance use disorder.
• $120 million for responding to the opioid epidemic in rural communities.

Obamacare: No new funding would be provided for the Affordable Care Act (ACA, commonly known as Obamacare). This section would also include the following oversight provisions:

• The risk corridor program, which compensates health insurance plans that lose money, would have to be operated in a budget neutral manner so no appropriations could be used as payments to insurers.
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would be required to notify relevant congressional committees two business days before any ACA-related data or grant opportunities are released to the public.
• ACA-related spending would have to be classified by category since its inception, and information about employees, contractors, and activities involved in administering Obamacare would have to be published.

Head Start: This section would provide $10.1 billion for Head Start, an increase of $250 million from the prior year. Funding would keep all Head Start programs current, while an additional $35 million would expand the length of Head Start programs’ day and year to increase the duration of services provided.

Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): This section would provide $5.2 billion, equal to the prior year. The program provides grants to improve the quality of child care programs, increasing provider rates, ensuring safety standards, and expanding access to affordable child care.

Public Health Preparedness and Response:

• The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), which is responsible for advanced research and development of medical countermeasures for national preparedness efforts, would receive $562 million in funding.
• Project BioShield would receive $735 million, up $25 million, which aims to enhance national preparedness by procuring medical countermeasures against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats.
• $285 million would be provided to improve the response and enhance the effectiveness of the current pandemic influenza capabilities.
• The Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, which provides states with resources to further their response capabilities for natural disasters, disease outbreaks, and CBRN threats.

Miscellaneous:

• $182 million would be provided to reduce the Medicare appeals backlog, an equal amount to the prior year’s funding.
• $27 million would be provided for services for victims of human trafficking, an increase of $3 million from the prior year.

DEPT. OF EDUCATION

This section would provide $71.4 billion in FY2019 discretionary funding for the Dept. of Education, an increase of $541 million above the prior year.

Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies: $15.9 billion, an increase of $125 million, would be provided for grants to school districts and schools with a high percentage of low-income students to help all students succeed and meet challenging academic standards.

Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants: $1.2 billion, an increase of $125 million, would be provided to support activities aimed at giving students a well-rounded education, including STEM education, computer science, and the use of technology to improve instruction. Grants would also go to ensuring safe and supportive learning environments and responding to school violence.

IDEA Grants to States: $13.3 billion, an increase of $125 million, would go to grants for states to support special education services for children with disabilities, including grants for infants and families and children in preschool.

Pell Grants: The maximum Pell grant award would be increased to $6,195 — an increase of $100 — while funding would be provided to support the Year Round Pell.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF): Funding and authorities provided last year would be continued, which modified eligibility criteria for the PSLF. Student borrowers would be eligible for PSLF if they were enrolled in an ineligible repayment plan but otherwise would’ve been eligible for PSLF.

Miscellaneous:

• Career & Technical Education State Grants would receive the same funding as the year prior, $1.2 billion.
• Grants to states for charter schools, charter management organizations, and other entities for the start-up, replication, and expansion of high-quality charter schools would total $445 million — an increase of $45 million.
• Impact Aid would be funded with $1.4 billion, an increase of $25 million, to provide flexible support to local school districts impacted by the presence of federally-owned land and activities, such as military bases.
• $65 million in dedicated funding would be provided for evidence-based STEM education programs, including computer science education within the Education Innovation and Research program — an increase of $15 million.

DEPT. OF LABOR

This section of the bill would provide $12.1 billion to the Dept. of Labor, a decrease of $92 million from the prior year.

Workforce Training Programs: A total of $2.8 billion would be distributed by formula to states and localities to meet each state’s unique job training and reemployment needs.

Jobs Corps: $1.7 billion would be provided to support Jobs Corps, which is the nation’s largest career technical training and educational program for at-risk youth and has centers in all states, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Veterans Employment Training (VETS) Programs: VETS programs would receive $300 million in funding, a $5 million increase from the prior year. VETS funding provides for intensive employment services to veterans and eligible spouses, transitioning service members, wounded warriors, and disabled veterans.

Rural Workforce Training Initiative: This section would provide $30 million for the dislocated worker training initiative, which offers reemployment and training assistance to dislocated workers in rural areas that were hardest hit by the recession or are recovering slowly. Funding is targeted to retraining workers in the Appalachian and Delta regions, and $5 million of the total is targeted to workforce training for individuals affected by an opioid use disorder.

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would receive $445 million for FY2021, level funding relative to FY2020. An additional $20 million would be provided for FY2019 to continue upgrades to the public broadcasting interconnection system.
• The Institute of Museum and Library Services would receive $242 million, a $2 million increase from the prior year, which supports programs for museums and libraries that encourage innovation, lifelong learning opportunities, promote cultural and civic engagement, and improve access to a variety of services.
• $1.7 billion would be provided to preventing Social Security Disability fraud, abuse, and improper payments which is estimated to save roughly $9 billion over 10 years for the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.

Impact

The Departments of Defense, Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services.

Cost

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

More Information

In-Depth: Both the Defense appropriations bill and the Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bill passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on 30-1 votes.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) offered the following statement on his committee’s passage of this bill:

“This bill sustains U.S. force structure and improves military readiness. It also recommends investments in future technologies needed to defend our nation in an increasingly complex and competitive national security environment. Our military must maintain its technological superiority and this bill does that through important investments in basic research, hypersonics, directed energy, missile defense, cybersecurity, and our test and evaluation infrastructure.”

Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO) said of the bill:

“This bill prioritizes resources for programs that touch the lives of every American and address the biggest challenges facing our nation. Working within the limits of the budget agreement, we were able to continue our commitment to advancing medical research, fighting the opioid epidemic, improving rural health care, and ensuring students have the education and job training to be successful. These are all areas where federal investment is needed to strengthen communities, promote economic growth, and increase U.S. competitiveness.”

Media:

• Senate Appropriations Committee Press Release (Defense)
• Senate Appropriations Committee Press Release (Education, Labor, HHS)
• CBO Cost Estimate

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: U.S. Army Photo by Capt. Charlie Emmons / Public Domain)