Overview
When the Senate adjourns, The Topline will also be adjourning. We may, or may not, be in your inbox next week. But, if we aren't, we hope you enjoy the time off and look forward to being back in September!
Senate Momentum: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its seventh and eighth bills of the appropriations cycle this week, with the Labor-HHS and Defense bills passing the Committee. Heading into (possible) recess, the Committee has made quick progress having approved these eight bills in just three weeks. This progress reflects the shared commitment of appropriators from both parties to preserve the bipartisan appropriations process, despite some efforts to undermine it.
This momentum sets the Senate up for consideration of an appropriations minibus, likely to include MilCon-VA, Ag-FDA, and CJS. Leg Branch may also be added to the package, though Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) has stated he wants to vote against the Leg Branch bill and in favor of the other three. Senate leaders have been working to finalize a bipartisan deal to avoid procedural hurdles during consideration of the minibus, but doing so requires unanimous consent from all 100 senators, which is no easy feat.
Various senators from both parties had placed holds on the minibus in hopes of getting their preferred language inserted. Democrats used their holds to push back on the Trump administration’s continued rescissions efforts, as OMB Director Russ Vought has signaled forthcoming rescissions requests and the use of controversial pocket rescissions. While these holds wouldn’t sink the package entirely, working through them would greatly lengthen the time needed for the package’s consideration into next week, right when senators were hoping to leave town.
Recess Reflections: With the Senate possibly heading into recess next week and the House already out, appropriators have their work cut out for them when they get back into town in September.
The House adjourned last week after advancing nine of the 12 appropriations bills through the Committee and passing two on the floor. As noted in previous newsletters, a clear pattern has emerged: House appropriators are marking at levels in between the White House request – which has proposed steep budget cuts – and the Senate, which has shown strong resistance to significant reductions and has been more open to funding increases, particularly in the Defense bill. So far, the House’s appropriations bills propose an average 6% cut to non-defense discretionary spending, in contrast to the White House’s call for a 23% cut. Notably, the only bills to reach the House floor – Defense and Military Construction-VA – have included funding increases over the last fiscal year. Meanwhile, bills with more substantial cuts, such as Labor-HHS, remain stalled, awaiting floor consideration.
The Senate has made similar progress in advancing appropriations bills through Committee. However, it is unclear whether additional minibus packages will be brought to the floor in September. The current minibus under consideration includes some of the least controversial bills, yet even this package has faced challenges moving forward.
As September approaches, attention will also shift toward crafting a short-term funding measure to keep the government operating beyond the September 30 deadline, with both parties beginning to weigh the strategy ahead and considering what a viable compromise might look like. While Congress may be headed home, appropriators are already preparing for what promises to be a busy September.
