Catching up on news from the weekend, the U.S. House and Senate averted a federal government shutdown by passing an omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2012, which runs through September 30 of next year. The government had been operating on a continuing spending resolution, which was due to expire on December 17. Details on the last-minute appropriations deal and how the Iowans voted are after the jump, along with comments from some members of the Congressional delegation.
The massive omnibus bill agreed to by House and Senate conference committee members last week spells out fiscal year 2012 funding levels for “Defense, Energy and Water, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor/Health and Human Services, Legislative Branch, Military Construction/VA, and State/Foreign Operations.” A summary of the appropriations is here (pdf). That file compares appropriations for various government agencies and departments to fiscal year 2011 funding and to the level of funding President Obama requested. I was particularly disappointed to read about cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The conference agreement funds EPA at $8.4 billion, which is a $233 million reduction below the FY 2011 enacted level and $524 million below the President’s request. Overall, funding for EPA has been reduced by $1.8 billion (-18.4%) in calendar year 2011.
The conference agreement cuts $14 million (-6%) in clean air and climate research programs; $12 million (-9.5%) in EPA’s regulatory development office; and $14 million (-5%) to air regulatory programs. In addition, the bill includes:
* A 33% reduction to the EPA Administrator’s immediate office;
* A $101 million reduction for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which received $6 billion in “stimulus” funding;
* A $78 million reduction for EPA operations/administration, which includes $41 million (-5%) in cuts to EPA’s regulatory programs;
* A $14 million (-6.2%) reduction for uncoordinated climate and other air research; and
* An elimination of $4 million in funding that EPA has used to delay the processing of Appalachian mining permits.
Other departments funded at lower levels compared to the past fiscal year include Treasury, Homeland Security, Interior, Education, and Health and Human Services. Naturally, the self-styled Republican deficit hawks didn’t have a problem increasing discretionary spending for the Department of Defense.
The House approved the conference report for the omnibus spending bill on December 16 by 296 votes to 121 (roll call). Most of the Democratic caucus voted for the bill, including Iowans Bruce Braley (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02) and Leonard Boswell (IA-03). Nearly two-thirds of House Republicans voted for the spending bill as well, including Tom Latham (IA-04). Steve King (IA-05) was one of the 86 Republicans who voted against the omnibus bill.
Also on December 16, the House approved H.R. 3672, which allocates $8.1 billion in disaster aid and recovery assistance.
FEMA Disaster Relief Fund – The bill includes $6.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). This includes funding for fire assistance, emergency declarations, major disasters, surge operations, and disaster readiness support. In addition, these funds will help cover costs from large-scale, previous disasters such as the summer 2011 tornados and Hurricane Irene.
Army Corps of Engineers Disaster Recovery – The legislation provides $1.7 billion in funding for disaster recovery assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers. This funding will help repair damage to critical infrastructure caused by recent storms and floods, and will help prepare for future disaster events.
The disaster relief funding bill passed by a wide margin, 351 to 67 (roll call). Iowa’s five representatives voted for this bill. All but one of the no votes came from House Republicans.
In past years, Congress did not offset disaster relief funding with spending cuts to other federal government agencies and programs. However, House Concurrent Resolution 94 called for cutting most fiscal year 2012 discretionary spending by 1.83 percent in order to offset the $8.1 billion in the disaster relief bill. (The Department of Defense, Military Construction, and Veterans Affairs was exempt from that 1.83 percent spending reduction.)
House Concurrent Resolution 94 passed by 255 votes to 165 (roll call). All 234 House Republicans present voted for the resolution, including Latham and King. But only 21 Democrats voted to offset disaster relief funding with other spending cuts. Boswell was one of them. Braley and Loebsack were among the 165 Democrats who voted against the offset.
One other important bill cleared the House on Friday: the Senate amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 passed by an overwhelming 396 to 23 margin (roll call). All five Iowa representatives voted for that bill, which was amended to remove two provisions the president had threatened to veto.
The Senate convened on December 17 to pass the final spending bills for fiscal year 2012. Senators considered the disaster relief funding first; that bill passed easily by 72 to 27 (roll call). Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin voted yes, while Republican Chuck Grassley voted no.
The Senate then rejected the House resolution containing the spending offsets. The roll call shows 43 votes for that resolution, including Grassley. But 56 Senators, including Harkin, voted against the cuts to other discretionary spending.
Finally, before adjourning for the remainder of the year, the Senate approved the 2012 omnibus appropriations bill by 67 to 32 (roll call). Harkin voted yes, as did all but one of the Senate Democrats. Grassley voted no, as did 31 of the 47 Senate Republicans.
Grassley didn’t send out a press release regarding his votes on the fiscal 2012 spending bills.
Harkin highlighted the disaster relief and flood prevention funding in his statement of December 16:
Harkin: Senate-House Appropriations Agreement Contains Vital Funding for Army Corps; FEMA Disaster
Funding crucial for Iowa flood fighting and flood-related recoveryWASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that House and Senate negotiators had reached agreement on an Appropriations measure that will provide significant funding to combat flooding and flood-related damage in Iowa. The measure also contains funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster fund. Both the House and the Senate are expected to vote in favor of the measure later today.
Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and its Energy and Water Development subcommittee, which funds the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
“I am pleased that the U.S. House and Senate worked out an agreement that provides needed funding for flood structure repair so vital to Iowa,” said Harkin. “Repairing these levees is crucial since the state may encounter future high water along the Missouri River. I am, however, disappointed that the measure did not include a reimbursement for the Corps to recover some funds they had shifted from various ongoing projects for flood fighting and repair.”
Under the measure, the Corps will receive $1.7 billion for disaster costs including $388 million for the repair of flood damaged levees and other structures across the nation, including those in Southwestern Iowa. This funding will allow the Corps to move forward with the repair of levees under their jurisdiction. This sum should be sufficient to fully repair the levees under the jurisdiction of the Corps along the Missouri River in Southwestern Iowa.
The Appropriations measure also includes $6.4 billion for the FEMA disaster fund. Without additional funding, FEMA would likely have to limit their spending to immediate disaster needs, deferring their long- term disaster repair and mitigation work in January.
Levees expected to receive funding with for their repair in Southwestern Iowa include those protecting Bartlett, Council Bluffs, Carter Lake, Hamburg, Omaha, Pacific Junction, Percival, and the rural areas near those communities.
Earlier this week, Harkin discussed the need to move forward on levee repair with Jo-Ellen Darcy, the Assistant Secretary for Civil Works. He spoke of both the need to move forward as quickly as possible and with full strength. He also raised the possibility of preserving a variety of temporary levees for the long-term, particularly noting the Hamburg levee.
Bruce Braley welcomed House action to avoid a government shutdown in this statement of December 16:
Washington, DC – Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement after supporting an agreement on a bill that funds US government operations through 2012:
“It’s disappointing that Congress failed to do its job for months and didn’t pass a bill to keep the government operating until today. I’m relieved that there won’t be a government shutdown for the holidays.
“The political jockeying over extending the middle class payroll tax cut needs to stop. Extending the middle class tax cut is simply the right thing to do. This tax cut has everything to do with strengthening the economy; it shouldn’t have anything to do with Republicans or Democrats scoring political points. I urge Congressional leaders to put their differences aside and extend these vital tax cuts for Iowa families.”
Extending the middle class Social Security payroll tax holiday for an additional year would mean an average Iowa family making $50,000 per year would save $1,000 on their taxes.
Loebsack’s press release of December 16 focused on “gridlock” over extending the payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits and the “doc fix” for Medicare reimbursements, which Bleeding Heartland discussed here. I did not see any public statement on the 2012 appropriations.
Similarly, Boswell didn’t send out a press release regarding the spending bills. Instead, on December 16 he again called on Congress to extend the payroll tax cut before the end of the year.
Latham didn’t care to highlight his vote for the omnibus spending measure either. Instead, on December 16 his office highlighted Latham’s efforts to “protect family farm tradition” from alleged overreach by the U.S. Department of Labor.
King’s press release focused on the disaster relief bill he supported, not the omnibus spending bill he opposed:
King: Additional Disaster Relief Funding On Its Way
Sunday, December 18, 2011Washington, DC- Today Congressman Steve King (R-IA) released the following statement after Congress passed legislation to provide $8.1 billion in emergency funding for disaster recovery. The bill included $6.4 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund and $1.7 billion in funding for disaster recovery assistance through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps). The legislation passed the House yesterday, with King’s support. Additionally, the House passed, and King supported, legislation to offset the cost of the disaster aid with an across-the-board cut to non-defense spending in Fiscal Year 2012. The legislation was approved by the Senate today, although the offset for the disaster relief was stripped out by a vote of 43-56. The legislation now awaits the president’s signature.
“This year’s flooding along the Missouri River did significant amounts of damage to homes, businesses, and farm land, and it greatly weakened much of the infrastructure that’s in place up and down the river to protect us from flooding,” said King. “The Corps has estimated that nearly $750 million in damage was done to the levees and other flood control infrastructure in the Missouri River basin. Getting our levees repaired to their pre-flood specifications has been a priority of mine since water levels crested. Without the protection of the levees, home owners and businesses will be unable to rebuild and many farmers will be forced to pay triple crop insurance premiums. This funding will give FEMA the resources it needs and will provide the Corps the resources necessary to repair flood protection structures to, and I emphasize this, their pre-flood elevations. Finally, beleaguered flood victims can see at least one positive step that Congress has taken.”
“For several months, I have said that emergency disaster aid should be offset with cuts to line items in the budget that are of less priority,” said King. “I was pleased that this position prevailed in the House yesterday with the vote to pay for the disaster relief that was passed. This was the right and responsible thing to do. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats oppose responsible federal spending and seem to believe that continued deficit spending is preferable to prioritized spending. It appears their view is that rebuilding levees and other critical infrastructure is of no higher priority than any other line item in our federal budget. I disagree. I believe our nation’s fiscal situation requires us to carefully prioritize federal spending. I am pleased that the House followed this principle, and I am disappointed in the Senate’s failure to do the same.”
King’s Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack has signaled that she plans to question the incumbent’s commitment to disaster relief for his constituents. I doubt she will get much traction; King seems to have protected himself well on that front.
Share any relevant thoughts in this thread.