Omnibus

Omnibus is derived from Latin and means "for everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one, or combines diverse subjects.

 

On May 1, negotiators released legislative language for an omnibus funding package to fund the government through the end of Fiscal Year 2017 (September 30). The Continuing Resolution which was funding the government was set to expire on May 5. The compromise provided $1.163 trillion in total funding, with base discretionary funding at $1.07 trillion. On May 3, the House passed the omnibus spending by a margin of 309-118. On May 4, the Senate passed the same legislation with a vote of 79-18 and it was signed into law later that day by President Trump.

 

The agreement provides a FY2017 budget of $1,367,000,000 for the Savannah River Site Environmental Management program missions, which is less than FY2017 requests but better than funds provided under the continuing resolution from FY2016. Within the funds for Site Risk Management, the agreement includes $3,000,000 to support the disposition of spent fuel from the High Flux Isotope Reactor. The unique facilities at the Savannah River Site provide vital capabilities to our national security programs. The Department is directed to provide to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than June 30, 2017 a briefing on its long-term vision for sustainment of the site (SRS).

 

The High Flux Isotope Reactor HFIR is a domestic research reactor located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. HFIR began operations in 1965 and it still operating. The current storage basin capacity for HFIR has been full since 2012. Storage of the HFIR spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the reactor pool will last until 2020, assuming seven operating cycles per year. Disposition alternatives under consideration for the HFIR SNF could include processing and down-blending cores in SRS H-Canyon; long-term wet storage in L-Basin at SRS; or potential dry storage at SRS.

 

Overall, the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) is funded at $12.938 billion, a $412 million increase over fiscal year 2016. The NNSA Weapons Activities is funded at $9.318 billion, a nearly $400 million increase and the NNSA Nonproliferation Activities is funded at $1.902 billion. The SRS portion of NNSA activities should remain a little above $600 million, giving SRS a total funding close to $2 billion when you combine NNSA and the DOE-EM allocations together.

 

The amount allocated for MOX indicates that the program lost funding. The bill provides $335 million for MOX construction, compared with the $340 million allocated last fiscal year, a loss of $5 million. The bill allocated $15 million for the National Nuclear Security Administration to further study the dilute and dispose option.

 

The White House is expected to release its fiscal 2018 budget request on May 22, leaving only about a month-and-a-half worth of work days for Congress and the Administration to reach a consensus on federal spending for the new budget year that starts October 1.