 |
|
|
|
 |
Congress continued working on appropriations this week, with the House passing its Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for FY2017 on Thursday after three hours of debate. The Senate was able to pass its second appropriations package after approving the Energy and Water bill last week. The Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Act passed the Senate on Thursday, adding to the pile awaiting House action. The House is expected to move its own Energy and Water appropriation next week, but Speaker Paul Ryan has warned members to expect tough votes as he remains dedicated to an open process that allows for members to offer amendments on the House floor.
Meanwhile, appropriations committees on both sides of the Capitol continued to move bills toward the floors of their respective bodies. The Senate Appropriations committee marked up its $147.7 billion Agriculture and Rural Development spending bill for FY2017. The $147.7 billion is less than President Obama's requested amount, but more than the amount appropriated in FY2016. The package includes $864.5 million in funding for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which was $4.1 million over the requested budget for NRCS. An additional $150 million was approved to fund the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations program, which has not been funded in the appropriations bills since FY2010.
The House moved one step closer to releasing its version of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment held a hearing to review the most recent
Army Corps of Engineers Chief's Reports. Committee Chairman Shuster expects to unveil his WRDA package next week. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has already reported their version of WRDA to the full Senate and are awaiting floor time that's beginning to look pretty crowded with the upcoming Memorial Day recess.
The House and Senate are expected to name conferees as soon as next week to begin ironing out the differences in their energy bills. However, chances of a bill reporting out of conference before the summer recess arrives are growing slim. House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop is expected to be a chief negotiator on the House side and has huge reservations with the Senate bill, especially the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Lisa Murkowski is still maintaining hope of finding an agreement though, saying, "If you don't have confidence, it doesn't happen. You have to believe."
|
|
|
|
News From Around the Basin
|
Water Quality
Water Resource Management (floodplains, dams, navigation, wetlands, flooding, supplies)
Agriculture
Biodiversity, Wildlife and Invasives
In the Cities
Gulf Coastal Region
Resource Development
E-Newsletters, Publications, Journals, Multimedia
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
