Final FY 2019 Appropriations – GovWin FMA’s First Take

Published: February 15, 2019

BudgetInformation TechnologyPolicy and LegislationPresident Trump

A final FY 2019 spending bill is approved, averting the threat of another partial government shutdown.

The U.S. House and Senate have passed, and President Trump is signing, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 (a.k.a H.J.Res.31), an omnibus appropriations bill that funds for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2019 those civilian agencies that were under Continuing Resolution (CR) through February 15. The result is that all federal departments and agencies have been funded through September 2019, the end of the fiscal year. The GovWin Federal Market Analysis (FIA) team has looked at all these bills to see what is noteworthy.

Of the 12 annual appropriations bills that Congress worked on for FY 2019, five were signed in September 2018 under two “minibuses” that covered the Department of Defense (DoD) and half-dozen major civilian departments and agencies. Those departments had full-year funding at the beginning of the fiscal year while the remainder, including the Department of Homeland Security, have been operating under two Continuing Resolutions (CR) – separated by a partial shutdown. With the signing of H.J. Res 31 the outstanding civilian departments are now covered for the rest of FY 2019.

FY 2019 Appropriations – Overall

The 12 FY 2019 appropriations bills fall into two groups – those passed before the beginning of the fiscal year and those passed as a consolidated appropriations after the latest series of CRs and a shutdown. A comparison of the appropriations bills reveals that eight of the bills saw at least modest increases in funding levels from FY 2018 to FY 2019. (See chart below.)

FY 2019 Appropriations – Key Departments

Below, we look at how many of the largest and most influential departments are funded for FY 2019. For clarity we have identified which appropriations bill covers each particular department: HR 5895 (Minibus #1) includes the Military Construction/VA, Energy, and Legislative appropriations bills, HR 6157 (Minibus #2) encompasses the Defense, Labor, HHS, and Education appropriations bills, and H.J. Res 31 covers the remaining bills.

Department of Defense

The DoD is funded by HR 6157 (Minibus #2) which was passed in September and provides $674.4B in total discretionary budget for the Department of Defense (DoD), $606.5B in base funding and $67.9B for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO). The base budget amount is an increase of $17.1B above the FY 2018 enacted level and aligns with previously passed budget agreements and the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $56.1B, $35.6B and $46.8B in base funding for Military Personnel for the Army, Air Force and Navy/Marine Corps respectively
  • Allocates $50.0B, $50.0B, 55.9B, $66.6B in base funding for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) for the Army, Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps and Defense Agencies respectively
  • Apportions $22.0B, $44.4B, $60.7B and $7.7B for Procurement for the Army, Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps and Defense Agencies respectively
  • Allots $11.1B, $41.2B, $18.5B and $25.9B for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) for the Army, Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps and Defense Agencies respectively
  • Appropriates $27.0B, $17.7B, $7.9B and $9.1B in Oversees Contingency Operations (OCO) funding for the Army, Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps and Defense Agencies respectively
  • Assigns $250M for the Defense Rapid Innovation Program
  • Allocates $1.6B and $15.2M for the Defense Working Capital Fund – base funding and OCO respectively
  • Provides $34.0B and $352.1M for the Defense Health Program – base funding and OCO respectively

Other DoD Technology-related Provisions

  • Supercomputers – No funds may be used to purchase supercomputers which are not manufactured in the U.S. unless the Secretary of Defense certifies it is needed for national security purposes is not available from U.S. manufacturers. (Sec. 8049)
  • DoD Cloud – No funds may be used to migrate to the proposed Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) or the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) cloud until 90 days after the Secretary submits plans for a budget accounting system for all DoD cloud-related services and migration efforts and submits a detailed description of the DoD’s enterprise cloud strategy addressing implementation, acquisition, innovation and security threat assessment and mitigation. (Sec. 8137)

Agriculture

The H.J. Res 31 budget legislation includes $23B in discretionary funding for the Department of Agriculture, $32M above the level enacted in FY 2018 and $4B more than the president’s budget request for FY 2019.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $3.2B for Agricultural Research
  • Allocates $3B for the Food and Drug Administration
  • Allocates $3.6B for Rural Development
  • Provides $1.7B for the Farm Service Agency
  • Schedules $1B for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
  • Provides $56M for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, including $38M dedicated to enhancing departmental cybersecurity
  • Stipulates that the CIO and Executive IT Investment Review Board must approve all new IT expenditures and upgrades

Commerce

H.J. Res 31 provides $11.4B in overall discretionary funding for Commerce, an increase of $277M above the FY 2018 enacted level and $1.6B above the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds the Census Bureau at $3.8B, an increase of more than $1B above FY 2018 enacted levels to effectively prepare for the 2020 Decennial Census
  • Allots $3.4B to PTO, equal to the president’s budget request
  • Provides $1B for National Weather Service operations, research and facilities. It also fully funds efforts to procure future weather satellites for accurate weather forecasting

Education

Funded under HR 6157 (Minibus #2) in September, the bill provides $71.5B for the Department of Education, which is $581M above the FY 2018 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds IDEA special education grants to states at nearly $12.4B
  • Includes $1.17B for grants that provide flexible funds to states and school districts to expand access, improve school conditions, and increase the use of technology
  • Provides $1.9B for career, technical and adult education programs to ensure that all students have the opportunity to continue to develop their skills after high school and enter into good-paying jobs

Energy

HR 5895 (Minibus #1) provides funds for the Department of Energy’s energy programs, the National Nuclear Security Administration and other environmental cleanup and defense activities.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds the new Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response account with $120M for energy sector cybersecurity and emergency response activities
  • Contains $6.5B for the purchase, construction and acquisition of plants and capital equipment to carry out related science activities under the Office of Science
  • Provides $366M to the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, despite the FY 2019 budget request to eliminate the program
  • Supports atomic energy defense activities with $11.1B for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
  • Allocates $1.8B for Naval Nuclear Reactors

Health and Human Services

HR 6157 (Minibus #2) provides a total of $90.5B for HHS, an increase of $2.3B above last year’s enacted level. Although HR 6157 provided FY 2019 funding for the bulk of HHS, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appropriations are included in the newest legislation. H.J. Res 31, which provides $3.1B in discretionary funding, a $269M increase over FY 2018 enacted levels and $103M below the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $39.1B in funding for NIH, an increase of $2B above the FY 2018 enacted level. Funding includes $2.34B for Alzheimer’s disease research, $400M for the Cancer Moonshot research initiative, $429M for the Brain Research through Application of Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) initiative, and $376M for the All of Us research initiative
  • Funds CDC at $7.9B, a $354M decrease over FY 2018
  • Provides $5.7B to fund SAMHSA, $548M above FY 2018
  • Supports HRSA with $6.8B
  • Provides $23.2B for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to support early childhood programs, preschool development grants, and community services block grants

Homeland Security

H.J. Res 31 provides $49.4 billion in discretionary funding, $2 billion above the President’s budget request and $1.7 billion above the FY2018 enacted level.

That amount includes $2 billion for defense-related activities, $113 million above the request. Additionally, the division provides $12 billion in major disaster funding.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $14.9B for Customers and Border Protection (CBP), including $1.375B for 55 miles of physical barrier and $564M for non-intrusive imaging equipment for border points of entry
  • Allocates $7.6B to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including$30.5M in Alternatives to Detention (ATD) family case management
  • Supplies $16.6B for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including $12.6B in disaster relief funding
  • Allots $4.9B for the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), including additional funding for computed tomography imaging systems and airport explosive detection systems
  • Appropriates $12B for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), of which $10.3B billion is discretionary funding, $578M million above the request and $92M below the FY 2018 enacted level
  • Provides $1.7B for the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), including $1.1B for the protection of civilian federal networks and $33M for the Election Infrastructure Security Initiative (EISI)
  • Apportions $435M for the newly created Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD), which seeks to detect and prevent chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks against the U.S.
  • Allocates $132M for E-Verify operations and enhancements at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Housing and Urban Development

H.J. Res 31 provides $44.2B in total funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and increase of $3B over the president’s budget request for FY 2019.

Funding highlights include:

  • Includes $8B for new public housing and infrastructure
  • Provides $31B for Public and Indian Housing
  • Allocates $12.7B for Housing Programs
  • Contains $7.7B for Community Planning and Development
  • Provides $96M for Policy Development and Research
  • Funds HUD’s ongoing Financial Transformation Initiative with $20M
  • Provides $44.7M for the Office of the Chief Information Officer
  • Contains $238M for a department-wide Information Technology Fund focused on modernization and O&M initiatives

Interior

H.J. Res 31 includes $13B in funding for Interior, a $95M decrease from FY 2018 enacted levels and $2.4B above the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $1.6B in funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a $17M drop from FY 2018 enacted levels but $352M above the president’s budget request. $55.6M in funding will go towards construction including $39.8M for the backlog of deferred maintenance mainly at national fish hatcheries and national wildlife refuges
  • Funds the National Park Service at $3.2B, an increase of $20M above FY 2018 enacted levels and $521M over the president’s budget request. Includes construction funding of $365M for new construction, maintenance, dam safety, program management, planning and equipment maintenance, which is $123M over the budget request
  • Allocates $3.1B to Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education, an increase of $17M over FY 2018 and $667M over the president’s budget request
  • Appropriates $15M for activities carried out under the Central Utah Project Completion Act
  • Provides $1.4B to the Bureau of Reclamation for the restoration of water and other related natural resources
  • Allocates $62M for activities under the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, $35M for the California Bay-Delta Restoration Fund and $61M for administrative functions at the Bureau of Reclamation
  • Allocates $1.6B (under HR 5895 (Minibus #1) Water provisions) to the Bureau of Reclamation, an increase of $85M above the FY 2018 enacted level

Justice

The H.J. Res 31 budget legislation provides $30.9B in overall funding for Justice, a $638M increase over FY 2018 enacted levels and $2.1B above the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $2.9B in funding for the U.S. Marshals Service, a $25M increase over FY 2018 enacted levels and $104M over the president’s budget request
  • Funds the FBI at $9.6B, an increase of $177M over FY 2018 enacted levels and $653M over the president’s budget request
  • Allocates $2.3B to DEA, $77M above FY 2018 and $80M over the president’s budget request

Labor

HR 6157 (Minibus #2) provides a total of $12.1B in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Labor, $94.3M below the FY 2018 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides the Employment Training Administration (ETA) with $9.9B, which includes $2.8B for job training grants, $89.5M for YouthBuild, and $790M in mandatory appropriations for Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances
  • Funds the Job Corps at $1.7B, which maintains the same funding as FY 2018
  • Supports the Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS) with $300M, a $5M increase over FY 2018

NASA

H.J. Res 31 funds NASA at $21.5B, an increase of $764M over the FY 2018 enacted level and $1.6B above the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Allots $1.9B for Earth Science, an increase of $10M over FY 2018 enacted levels and $147M above the president’s budget request. Funding aims to enable collection of better scientific information about the earth and its changing climate
  • Provides $725M for aeronautics research, an increase of $40M over FY 2018 enacted levels and $91M above the budget request. Research efforts will include activities to make passenger air travel safer, more fuel efficient, less noisy, and more environmentally sustainable

Social Security Administration

HR 6157 (Minibus #2) provides $12.9B for SSA for FY 2019, which is $2M above the FY 2018 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

  • Allocates $45M for information technology modernization, including related hardware and software infrastructure and equipment

State Department

H.J. Res 31 provides $54.2 billion in discretionary funding, including $8B in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding. Overall, this is $11.9B above the President’s budget request, and $200M above the FY 2018 enacted level.

Funding highlights include:

  • Provides $5.1B for State Department Operations, which is $662M above the President’s budget request and $114M above the FY2018 enacted level
  • Allocates $6.1B for Embassy and Diplomatic Security, which is equal to the FY2018 enacted level and $716 million above the President’s budget request, including $4.1B in security protection and $2B for embassy security, construction and maintenance
  • Provides $1.4B for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is $25M above the FY 2018 enacted level and $258M above the President’s budget request.

Transportation

H.J. Res 31 provides $87B in total funding for the Department of Transportation, $10.2B more than the FY 2019 president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Includes $9B for new transportation infrastructure
  • Provides $49.3B for the Federal Highway Administration
  • Contains $17.5B for the Federal Aviation Administration
  • Allocates $13.4B for the Federal Transit Administration
  • Provides $2.9B for the Federal Railroad Administration
  • Allocates $1.1B for the Maritime Administration
  • Contains $114M for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation
  • Provides $17M for the Office of the Chief Information Officer, including $15M to upgrade the DOT’s cybersecurity posture
  • Funds Transportation R&D, including systems development, with $8M
  • Offers $2M to upgrade the DOT’s financial systems and re-engineer business processes

Treasury

Division D of H.J. Res 31 provides $12.7B in overall funding for Treasury, an increase of $605M above the FY 2018 enacted level and $83M above the president’s budget request.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds departmental offices at $215M, an increase of $12.8M above FY 2018 enacted levels to enable implementation of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018
  • Contains $11.3B in funding for IRS, a $128M decrease from FY 2018 enacted levels and $194M below the president’s budget request.  The bill includes $77M designated for implementation of FY 2017 tax legislation and $150M for Business Systems Modernization
  • Provides $25M for the Cybersecurity Enhancement Account
  • Provides $118M for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Veterans Affairs

Covered under HR 5895 (Minibus #1) in September the bill provides $208.8B in both discretionary and mandatory funding for VA, an increase of $12.1B above the FY 2018 level. VA discretionary funding totals $86.5B, an increase of $5B above FY 2018, and the highest amount the VA has ever received. Approximately $70.7B of this discretionary total was provided last year via advance funding in the FY 2018 appropriations bill.

Funding highlights include:

  • Funds VA medical care at $72.3B, providing for approximately seven million patients to be treated in FY 2019. This total includes $8.6B for mental health care services, $589M for traumatic brain injury treatment and $7.5B in homeless veterans’ treatment, services, housing, and job training
  • Contains a $1.75B increase in additional discretionary funding for the VA MISSION Act to support ongoing health care programs
  • Provides $1.1B for the new VA electronic health record system
  • Provides $46M above the FY 2018 level for VBA to reduce the disability claims processing backlog. The funding is to be used for hiring additional claims staff, digital scanning of health records, and overtime pay
  • Funds major and minor construction within the VA at $1.8B. In addition, $2B is allotted for infrastructure repair