The House and Senate Appropriations Committees produced a bill that covers spending for the rest of FY2014, avoiding another government shutdown.  Both the House and Senate Committees released political statements on the bill, as well as a brief and detailed summary.

Overall, the bill retains the status quo, but with a bit of additional funds, the Committees restored some of the money lost to The Sequester.   What about some of the programs covered by Federal Policy Week?  Well below are a few highlights of the funding changes from the FY13 levels (taken directly from the House Democrats and Senate Democrats’ summaries) that you might find helpful.

Ag Conservation- NRCS: The bill provides $813 million for NRCS, which is $46 million above FY 2013, to provide technical assistance to agricultural producers so they may continue to be good stewards of the land.

Forest Service: The bill provides $2.4 billion for the U.S. Forest Service (non-fire), which is $52 million more than the 2013 enacted level.

NOAA:  The bill provides $5.3 billion for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is $320.4 more than the 2013 enacted level, including $953.6 million for National Weather Service operations, which is $46.7 million more than the 2013 enacted level.

NASA: The bill provides $17.65 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which is $154.8 million more than the 2013 enacted level.  The $17.65 billion in the bill for NASA, which is $781 million above the FY 2013 sequester level.

NSF: The bill provides $7.2 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is $67.9 million below the 2013 enacted level, but an increase of $288 million above the FY 2013 sequester level.

DOE: The bill provides $26.466 billion, an increase of $1.317 billion above the FY 2013 post sequester enacted level for DOE.

• EERE: $1.912 billion for Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), which is $102 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
• Office of Science: $5.071 billion for the Office of Science, which is $205 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
• ARPA-E: $280 million for the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), which is $15.5 million more than the 2013 enacted level.

EPA: $8.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is $143 million less than the 2013 enacted level and $299 more than the post-sequester level.

Interior: Provides $10.4 billion for the Interior Department, an increase of $492 million above the FY13 post-sequestration level.

• National Park Service. The agreement includes $2.5 billion for the National Park Service (NPS), $163.9 million above the 2013 post-sequestration level and $29 million more than the 2013 enacted level.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:  The bill provides $1.4 billion for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (F&WS), which is $32 million less than the 2013 enacted level but $45 million more than the post-sequester level.  Including increased funding for national wildlife refuges. $472 million for the operations of national wildlife refuges, an increase of $20 million above the FY 2013 sequester level.
• BLM: $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is $7 million more than the 2013 enacted level.

Notable Provisions Removed:

• The agreement eliminates the majority of riders proposed in the House bill, including those related to Waters of the United States, guns on Corps lands, Clean Water Act agriculture exemptions and ceiling fan standards.
• The final agreement rejects egregious policy riders contained in the House bill, including (1) prohibiting regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from electric utilities; and (2) prohibiting EPA from changing or supplementing guidance or rules clarifying Federal jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act.