July 28th

1000 MORE's weekly nonpartisan roundup of the most important happenings in federal government, written in a way that doesn't require a law degree to understand, with tools to take action

July 28, 2023

This week on the Hill:

Government Shutdown Watch
Defense Spending Bill Update
Annual Military Construction & VA Funding
Annual Agriculture & Nutrition Budget Bill
Historic Judicial Appointments
Biden Makes News on Mental Health

Government Shutdown Watch

There are 12 bills Congress needs to pass by September 30th to avoid a government shutdown. Congress is scheduled to leave town for the August recess today. The Senate is set to return on September 5th, and the House comes back on September 12th, giving them exactly 12 days of a full session to pass all 12 budget bills. That’s a bill a day. The only other path to the government staying open is Congress passing continuing resolutions by the deadline to provide temporary funding in order to buy more time to negotiate final budget details.

The first two of the 12 appropriations bills hit the House floor this week: the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. For the first time in five years, the Senate cleared all 12 bills out of committee before the August recess, so they will be able to start voting on budget bills as soon as they return to D.C in September.

While that’s progress, most news outlets are reporting that House Republican infighting is putting Congress on a collision course to a shutdown. Republican leadership and far-right House members are too far apart on their positions on budget cuts and policy, and given their track records, neither side seems likely to budge on what they want.

Negotiation doesn’t seem to be a focus either. This week, top House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Bob Good, (R-VA), said, “we’re going to pass a good Republican bill out of the House and force the Senate and the White House to accept it.”

This situation puts House Republicans in swing districts in a difficult spot. They could be pressed by Republican leadership to take votes that will hurt their reelection chances, making it more possible that Republicans lose the House in 2024. (We keep telling ya’ll they care about your opinion.) Democrats only have a maximum of 212 votes in the chamber, so they would need at least six Republicans to vote with them to pass a bill. This is unlikely, given how the optics of doing so would play out with the Republican base of Trump supporters.

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Defense Spending Bill Update

The House passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) earlier this month. Far-right House members added amendments to ban reimbursements of service member travel for abortion care, books on gender, and trans healthcare, and stop the Biden administration’s military DEI work.

The Senate worked through amendments on their version of the bill this week. The difference in the Senate bill is that there is much more bipartisan desire for additional defense spending, rather than the flat number in the House bill keeping spending at 2022 levels: $886B. The Senate wants the final number to be more than what was agreed to in the debt ceiling deal, which dictated the House bill’s final number. There is also stronger bipartisan support for Ukraine funding, so that number in the final bill could increase too.

The Senate passed their version of the NDAA on Thursday by a huge bipartisan margin: 86-11. When Congress comes back from August recess, both chambers will have to meet in conference committee to negotiate the final bill, which will have to pass in both chambers before the president can sign it into law.

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Annual Military Construction & VA Funding

The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is one of two annual budget bills that made it out of committee for a vote in the House this week. This bill would fund military construction, NATO’s Security Investment Program, the operation and maintenance of military family housing, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies for fiscal year 2024, which runs October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

The House passed the bill on Thursday by a vote of 219-211. All Democrats and two Republicans, Rep. Ken Buck, (R-CO) and Rep. Tim Burchett, (R-TN) voted against it. The Senate is expected to vote on their version of the bill after the August recess.

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Annual Agriculture & Nutrition Budget Bill

The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is the other annual budget bill on the House schedule for a vote this week. This bill would fund the annual budget for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and related agencies. It also provides money for the Food and Nutrition Service for Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration.

Even though the bill was drafted by a House Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Andy Harris, (R-MD), other members of the group are pushing to add amendments to ban the Agriculture Department’s equity commission and gender affirmation surgery funding. While the bill was scheduled for a vote before the August recess, it will not get one until September, as Congress is now out of session. House Freedom Caucus demands on mail-order abortion pills and more cuts and work requirements for SNAP, rural economic development programs, and the “Food for Peace” program, which sends surplus food to countries where people would otherwise starve, may hold up Republicans getting to 218 to pass it.

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Historic Judicial Appointments

The Biden administration made headlines this week on federal judicial appointments. President Biden reached 140 judges approved to the federal bench. This is more than any other President at this time in their presidency, and it is the most diverse group of federal judges appointed to the bench in history. Additionally, the president announced four more judicial nominees, who, upon approval, would include the first Hispanic person to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Biden Makes News on Mental Health

The administration also proposed new Mental Healthcare rules to make sure private insurers provide the same access to mental healthcare as medical healthcare. The new rules are still in the public comment period. Should they go into effect, the rules would make insurance companies increase mental healthcare coverage.