The House and Senate are back from recess and the appropriations season is moving forward in full swing. The House passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill and the Legislative Branch bill with overwhelming majorities.

On Wednesday, the House passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill (H.R. 4486) which provides funds for the troops, their families, and veterans’ programs. The bill passed with a vote of 416-1 (Representative Labrador (R-ID-1st) voted against the bill). The total cost of the bill is significantly less ($1.8 billion) than FY 2014.

Bill text: http://beta.congress.gov/113/bills/hr4486/BILLS-113hr4486rh.pdf

Bill report: http://beta.congress.gov/113/crpt/hrpt416/CRPT-113hrpt416.pdf

Amendments:http://appropriations.house.gov/uploadedfiles/04.30.14_fy_2015_milconva_bill_-_floor_adopted_amendments.pdf

The Legislative Branch bill (H.R. 4487) includes funding for House Member offices, security, and Capitol operations and maintenance. The bill passed the House with a vote of 402-14. The bill is the same funding level as it was in FY 2014.

Bill text: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr4487rh/pdf/BILLS-113hr4487rh.pdf

Bill report: http://beta.congress.gov/113/crpt/hrpt417/CRPT-113hrpt417.pdf

Amendments:http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/05.01.14_FY_2015_Legislative_Branch_Bill_-_Floor_Adopted_Amendments.pdf

The House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Subcommittee released their bill, which includes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Census Bureau, and other programs. The bill is $398 million below the FY 2014 enacted level. The bill passed out of the Subcommittee and now moves to the full committee.

For text of the bill and key provisions visit here:http://appropriations.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=377757

The Senate Appropriations Committee is also working through their process and held their first full Committee hearing of the year on innovation. As previously noted, the Chairwoman wanted to use the opportunity to make the case for federal investment in research.

It is expected that the Senate subcommittees will soon turn to markups of individual bills. Note that Mikulski stated in this hearing that she intends to “finish our bills by October 1 and show that the Appropriations Committee gets its work done on behalf of the American people.”

To see Senator Mikulski’s full statement click here:http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/chairwoman-mikulski-remarks-federal-innovation-hearing