FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2019
Senate Passes First FY 2020 Appropriations Minibus, Includes Interior Package
On Thursday, October 31, by a final vote of 84-9, the full Senate cleared its first Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 appropriations minibus. The four spending bills included in that minibus are Interior, Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-HUD.
The same minibus was passed by the House under
H.R. 3055 . Senate leaders inserted their own spending numbers into the package, which as
NIHB has reported previously , provides a lower overall funding level for the Indian Health Service (IHS) compared to the House mark. The Senate mark funds IHS at roughly $6 billion in FY 2020, compared to $6.3 billion under the House mark . It remains to be seen if the House and Senate agree to a final spending package before the expiration of the
current Continuing Resolution (CR) on November 21.
While passage of the first minibus including Interior demonstrates a sign of progress, steep divisions remain between House and Senate leaders on the second minibus that includes the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) Package, among other bills. The same day the full Senate passed the first minibus with Interior, a procedural vote on the 2nd minibus with Defense and Labor-HHS tanked in a final vote tally of 51-41 (60 votes needed for passage).
It remains highly likely that another CR will be enacted to keep the government open passed November 21. While a date has not yet been established, it is likely that a second CR will not extend farther than the end of the calendar year. In multiple discussions, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have indicated their desire to complete work on all twelve FY 2020 appropriations bills by New Year’s Eve.
