The House rejected, by a vote of 112-305, their $37.44 billion FY 2017 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill ( H.R. 5055) after two days of debate that had seemingly put it on a path to final passage. 130 House Republicans joined 175 House Democrats in opposing the bill on very different grounds. Conservative Republicans were frustrated over a provision in the bill that barred discrimination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workers by federal contractors, while Democrats were opposed to the bill's funding levels for various programs at the Department of Energy, the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), as well as several contentious policy riders, such as one barring implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) and the Corps' "waters of the US" (WOTUS) final Clean Water Act (CWA) jurisdictional rule. House GOP leaders must now find a way to keep the legislation alive when Congress returns next week, or risk not passing any FY 2017 appropriations bills under "regular order", leading to a continuing resolution (CR) by September 30 and a spending omnibus bill during the lame duck session this fall. The House considered 57 amendments to the bill, approving 34 amendments and rejecting 23 amendments, including rejecting, by a vote of 169-247, an amendment introduced by Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) which would have stricken the section of the bill related to California water policy. The White House also threatened to veto the bill. Read more...

On May 25, the House passed, by a vote of 241-178, an amended version of the "Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016" ( S. 2012). The House Amendment that was attached to the Senate-passed energy bill is a compilation of 36 bills previously passed by the House, many of which contain controversial provisions that House Democrats have voted to oppose and which the White House has indicated would cause the President to veto them. Among the 36 bills, the House Amendment contains the text of a controversial bill aimed at addressing the California water crisis,the "Western Water and American Food Security Act" ( H.R. 2898). That bill would modify rules governing water rights and use, endangered species management, and water infrastructure projects in order to facilitate increased storage and availability. While the bill primarily deals with California water use and species management to address a severe multiyear drought in the state, it also would provide additional oversight authority to the Interior Department's Bureau of Reclamation to accelerate the review and approval process of Western water projects. Specifically, the bill would designate the Bureau of Reclamation as the lead agency for the purpose of approving surface water storage projects; limit the amount of time and money that can be spent on a water project review; allow local water districts and local governments to repay construction costs early; and require the completion of a number of project feasibility studies to ensure their eligibility for funding under a California referendum. The bill would modify the criteria used when evaluating the health of the delta smelt and other salmonid species in California. It also would bar the federal government from making federal permits or other approvals contingent on the transfer of water rights

On May 24, the full House Appropriations Committee marked up and passed its FY 2017 Transportation-HUD and Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bills. The Transportation-HUD bill provides $58.2 billion in discretionary spending  while the Commerce-Justice-Science bill provides $56 billion in discretionary spending. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior-Environment and Financial Services-General Government also passed their respective FY 2017 Appropriations bills by voice vote on May 25. The Interior-Environment bill provides $32.095 billion while the Financial Services-General Government bill provides $21.7 billion in funding. These two bills will likely be marked up by the full House Appropriations Committee during the week of June 6.

On May 24, the Senate passed, by a vote of 56-41, a disapproval resolution ( H.J.Res.88) to overturn the Labor Department's fiduciary duty rule, which requires financial advisers to act in the best interest of retirement savers.  Republicans were able to clear the joint resolution through the Senate, despite not having 60 votes, by using the Congressional Review Act. The law gives lawmakers 60 days to pass a resolution with a simple majority, though it still has to signed by the President in order for a regulation to be blocked. Senate Republicans argue that the Labor Department's fiduciary rule hurts the middle class by limiting access to financial advice, calling it another example of regulatory overreach by the Obama Administration. However, the White House has already threatened to veto H.J.Res.88 because " the bill would overturn an important Department of Labor final rule critical to protecting Americans' hard-earned savings and preserving their retirement security." The House previously passed the resolution on April 28 by a vote of 234-183. Read more...