2018 Omnibus Appropriations Bill Passed

On Friday, March 23^rd President Trump signed into law a $1.3 trillion appropriation that will fund the federal government through September 30, 2018, the end of the fiscal year.  H.R. 1625 – The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 – was a 2,232-page bill incorporating all 12 appropriations bills.  The new language was introduced on March 20^th and passed the House on March 22^nd by a vote of 256-167 and passed the Senate shortly after midnight on March 23^rd by a vote of 65-32, averting a government shutdown. 

This omnibus appropriation bill represented a reversal from recent years of decreased discretionary spending levels.  The legislation sets defense spending levels at $700 billion and non-defense spending at $591 billion.  The enactment last month of the of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 paved the way for the higher spending levels reflected in the omnibus.  The bill increased defense spending by $80 billion dollars and an additional $71 billion in defense related Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).  The omnibus also appropriates $63 billion above previous caps in domestic discretionary programs.

Some notable funding items in the omnibus include:

• $7.9 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. This is in addition to the nearly $126 billion in supplemental disaster relief that has already been appropriated during FY 2018
• $21.2 billion to support to rebuild and improve infrastructure, including transportation and capital projects, water and wastewater projects, and rural broadband
• $175 million for flood mitigation activities under the National Flood Insurance Program
• $8.3 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a 15% increase over FY 2017
• $5.43 billion for Community Health Centers to provide health care services to medically underserved communities