House Appropriations Omnibus Gets Closer

All signals point to the House passing the eight remaining appropriations measures, including the one that funds EPA, before the end of this week.  Such action would pave the way to combine that measure (HR 3354) with the earlier passed four bill combination (HR 3219) into an Omnibus Appropriations Act.  Action would then shift to the Senate which has been working at a slower pace.  The two chambers have until December 8 (the expiration date for the recently signed Continuing Resolution) to resolve any differences an enact funding for fiscal year 2018.
The House still has a few amendments to consider as part of the more than 80 that have been offered by various members.  Among those still unresolved, are an amendment offered by Jared Polis (D-CO) that would prohibit closing any of EPA’s 10 Regional offices and an amendment by Ralph Norman (R-SC) to cut EPA’s funding by an $1.9 billion to bring the funding into line with the Administration’s FY 18 request.  An amendment that has already been accepted for inclusion in the measure was offered by John Katko (R-NY) that added an additional $250 million to the CWSRF.  No similar amendment spoke to the needs of the DWSRF.
ASDWA will continue to keep you informed as the measure moves forward.