Funding the Gov't Until February 8th Plus $5 Billion for Border Security & $7 Billion for Disaster Relief (H.R. 695)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 695?
(Updated September 3, 2020)
(Updated 12/20/18) This legislation has been amended by the House to provide $5.7 billion in funding for border security and $7.8 billion in disaster relief. That’s in addition to serving as the legislative vehicle for a continuing resolution (CR) that would aim to prevent a partial government shutdown at midnight on Friday, December 21st by funding roughly one-fourth of the federal discretionary budget at current levels through February 8, 2019 (which was all the bill included when the Senate passed it on 12/19/18). In its original form, the bill was the House’s FY18 defense appropriations bill, but those provisions have been removed. A breakdown of the bill in its current form can be found below.
Specifically, the bill would provide funding for the seven FY2019 appropriations bills that haven’t yet been enacted, including:
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies;
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies;
Financial Service and General Government;
Homeland Security;
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies;
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; and
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
The continuing resolution would also authorize several expiring programs (all of which have been covered by past CRs) through February 8, 2019, including:
The National Flood Insurance Program;
The Violence Against Women Act and related programs;
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act;
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); and
Immigration-related extensions including EB-5, E-Verify, Conrad 30 program for international medical school graduates, programs Special Immigrant Religious Workers, and H2B returning worker authority for Homeland Security.
Further, the continuing resolution would provide an extension for several programs that haven’t been temporarily authorized by previous CRs, including:
Homeland Security programs under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act would be authorized through February 8th;
Two expiring provisions of the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act would be authorized through February 8th;
Two Medicaid programs — Medicaid Money-Follows-the-Person and Spousal Impoverishment — would be authorized through March 31, 2019 and their cost would be offset;
The Statutory Pay As You Go (PAYGO) scorecard balance would be debited to the following year.
House Amendment
The section of the bill would provide $5.7 billion in funding for border security (including $5 billion for the construction of a wall system) and $7.8 billion in disaster relief assistance through numerous federal programs.
Argument in favor
Continuing resolutions that temporarily fund the government like this are far from ideal, but sometimes they’re necessary to ensure the federal government stays open for business. A partial government shutdown should be avoided at all costs.
Argument opposed
Funding the government for seven weeks, only to resume the same debate over border security funding that’s been playing out won’t resolve the issue. It’d be better to let the government partially shut down to force lawmakers to strike a longer-term deal.
Impact
Covered federal agencies; and Congress.
Cost of H.R. 695
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) offered the following statement on the continuing resolution to extend government funding through February 8, 2019:
“Having already funded 75 percent of the government on time with broad bipartisan support, I am disappointed that we could not come to an agreement on the remaining 25 percent. However, I am committed to keeping the government open and will take the next six weeks to continue working toward that end. The President is right that we must secure our borders. I hope that this continuing resolution will provide us the time to work out our differences in a thoughtful manner and reach a bipartisan consensus on important national priorities.”
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the bill would be supported by House Democrats:
“Democrats offered President Trump a clear path forward to pass six bipartisan appropriations bills along with a one-year continuing resolution for the Homeland Security bill. Democratic and Republican Appropriators have been ready to pass these bills in a bipartisan way, and we are grateful for their leadership to meet the needs of the American people. This is a missed opportunity to pass full-year funding bills now. However, Democrats will be ready to fully, responsibly fund our government in January, and we will support this continuing resolution.”
The Trump administration had threatened to shut down the government if its request for $5 billion in border security funding wasn’t met.
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
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