Monday, July 31st, 2023
Military Construction-VA Appropriations: The House passed its first 2024 spending bill, H.R.4366 (219-211), which provides more than $317 billion in funding, which includes increases for the VA above current levels. The bill also calls for more than $130 billion for veterans’ medical care and a boost for Department of Defense military construction projects. The Military Construction-VA bill is usually considered the least controversial of the 12 annual spending measures, but Democrats marched in lockstep against the bill, saying it was chock-full of extremist policy riders and would cut military housing money needed by troops and their families.
NDAA: The Senate passed S.2226, their version of the National Defense Authorization Act. Defense programs at the Pentagon, Energy Department, and other agencies would be authorized to receive $886.3 billion. The measure would back a 5.2% pay increase for troops, authorize fewer active-duty Air Force and Navy personnel than requested amid recruitment challenges, and prohibit former service members from working for certain foreign governments. The bill also included funding for a firefighter cancer initiative and for 9/11 responders, a section on combating global corruption, and a new program aimed at increasing the quantity of U.S.-produced low-enriched uranium. Republicans banded with Democrats to defeat a provision that sought to limit aid sent to Ukraine, which is in the middle of a counter-offensive to take back land claimed by Russia. The Senate also defeated several GOP attempts to increase oversight of the aid, including a provision that sought to create a lead inspector general for Ukraine assistance.
Chips Permitting Exemption: The Senate passed an amendment to the NDAA which speeds up construction of US semiconductor facilities by exempting certain projects from often lengthy environmental reviews. The environmental exemption would apply to certain projects that receive grants under the CHIPS and Science Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law last year. The semiconductor investment, members of both parties say, will help wean the US off foreign technology supply chains while creating good-paying manufacturing jobs at home
Strategic Oil Reserves: The Senate passed an amendment to the NDAA which blocks China from purchasing oil from the US’s emergency stockpiles. It also bans the sale of oil to Russia, North Korea and Iran. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, created in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, currently stands at 346.8 million barrels. The Biden administration has vowed to refill the reserve after a historic release.
Block Prairie Chicken Rule: The House passed S.J.Res.9 (221-206), which would block a final rule by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to list two populations of the lesser prairie chicken under the Endangered Species Act. The final rule, issued Nov. 25, 2022, lists two distinct population segments of the lesser prairie chicken under the ESA. The southern segment, in parts of New Mexico and Texas, is listed as endangered. The northern segment, in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas, is listed as threatened. The rule went into effect March 27. The resolution was passed by the Senate in May of this year. The measure now heads to President Biden, who has said he will veto it.
Block Long-Eared Bat Rule: The House passed S.J.Res.24 (220-209), which would block a final rule by the US Fish and Wildlife Service designating the northern long-eared bat as an endangered species. The final rule, issued on Nov. 30, 2022, reclassifies the northern long-eared bat from a threatened species to an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The American Farm Bureau Federation, American Petroleum Institute, Associated Builders and Contractors, National Association of Manufacturers, Public Lands Council, and the US Chamber of Commerce have expressed concerns of the regulatory restrictions it places on the public. The Senate passed the bill back in May of this year. It now heads to President Biden, who has said he will veto the measure.
Agriculture and FDA Funding: House GOP leaders abandoned plans to take up their $25.3 billion Agriculture bill last week after the party’s hard-right faction demanded more spending cuts. The bill, H.R.4368, would allocate $25.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Agriculture Department (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and related agencies. The measure would block the FDA’s decision this year to allow mifepristone, an abortion drug, to be dispensed by certified pharmacies. The bill also would prohibit funds for programs that promote critical race theory or to take any discriminatory action against individuals who believe marriage is a union of one man and one woman.
