This Week on the Hill: Transportation-MilCon Approps, Zika, NDAA

This week, the Senate moves on to debate a combined Transportation-HUD and Military Construction-VA spending bill that will include debate over provisions for battling the Zika virus, while the House plans for extensive floor debate on the fiscal 2017 edition of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). 

The upper chamber begins the week with a confirmation vote on Paula Xinis to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, with consideration of the appropriations bill due thereafter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already scheduled cloture votes for three Zika funding proposals, each differing over the amount and offsets included in the provision. Democrats favor funding President Obama’s full $1.9 billion request without any coinciding cuts or offsets (S. Amdt. 3898), while Republicans prefer a $1.1 billion package (S. Amdt. 3899) that would be paid for by raiding money set aside for a preventative-health fund set up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The third amendment is a bipartisan compromise (S. Amdt. 3900) that would provide $1.1 billion without the ACA offset. All three proposals are being offered as amendments to the Transportation-HUD and MilCon-VA minibus (H.R. 2577) being debated on the Senate floor this week.

Meanwhile, the House may bring a standalone Zika spending bill to the floor this week, according to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY). That measure is set to be considered by the House Rules Committee tomorrow, with House Republicans suggesting that their version would deal only with the current fiscal year and tap unused funds from the government’s effort to contain the Ebola virus.  

The main action in the House this week will be the beginning of floor consideration for the fiscal 2017 NDAA (H.R. 4909). The measure includes $610.5 billion in funding for defense programs, including $18 billion from a separate war operations account that will be used for high-profile weapons programs within the Department of Defense’s (DOD) regular budget. War funding was included in the bill over vocal protests from the White House and congressional Democrats, who oppose allowing the DOD to use war funding to circumvent existing spending caps. Nearly 400 other amendments have been filed with the House Rules Committee, on issues ranging from requiring women to register for the Selective Service to eliminating staff on the White House’s National Security Council.

House lawmakers are also scheduled to consider nine bills under suspension of the rules today.

• S. 1492 – A bill to direct the Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Archivist of the United States, to convey certain Federal property located in the State of Alaska to the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska.
• H.R. 3832 – The Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Prevention Act of 2015 would amend the tax code in an attempt to prevent identity theft and provide a centralized point of contact for victims of the practice.
• S. 2143 – A bill to provide for the authority for the successors and assigns of the Starr-Camargo Bridge Company to maintain and operate a toll bridge across the Rio Grande near Rio Grande City, Texas.
• H. Con. Res 88 – A resolution to reaffirm the Taiwan Relation Act and the Six Assurances as cornerstones of US-Taiwan relations.
• H.R. 1150 – The Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act would revise the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) and coordinate religious freedom policies and strategies across all U.S. programs.
• H.R. 1887 – A bill to repeal a requirement forcing the government to sell Federal property and assets that support the operations of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Plum Island, New York.
• H.R. 4743 – The National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act of 2016 would establish a National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium to address cybersecurity risks, including acts of terrorism.
• H.R. 4780 – The Department of Homeland Security Strategy for International Programs Act would direct the Department of Homeland Security to submit a comprehensive three-year strategy for international programs dedicated to vetting and screening persons seeking to enter the US.
• H.R. 4407 – The Counterterrorism Advisory Board Act of 2016 would establish a board to coordinate and integrate the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence activities.

‘Today on the Hill’ includes updates provided by the House and Senate majority leaders, as well information derived from publications including Bloomberg Government, The Hill, Morning Consult, Kaiser Health News, Modern Healthcare, Inside Health Policy, and others.