APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

Weekend deadline for FY 20 appropriations bills

Appropriators are supposed to turn in their list of unresolved issues today and complete their FY 20 bills by this weekend in order to get them passed by the current CR deadline of December 20.

Roll Call reports that to some it’s an achievable goal:

“‘I’m more enthusiastic than I was a couple of days ago,’ said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. ‘We want final negotiations to be done this weekend.'”

Others – not so sure:

“Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby of Alabama confirmed the weekend goal but appeared less confident that it could be met. ‘I’m more guarded because we still have the big hurdles and we haven’t concluded those,’ he said. ‘And they will be the hardest.'”

The biggest hurdles are funding for the Trump wall and related immigration issues:

“The [HS] subcommittee’s ranking Democrat, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, echoed that assessment. ‘Everything that’s controversial is on the table,’ he said, citing wall funding, detention bed capacity, and the president’s authority to transfer money from other programs to a border wall. ‘We haven’t come to a conclusion yet,’ he said.”

LHHS also has big hurdles. Senate LHHS Chairman Roy Blunt described his House counterpart Rosa Delauro as “a tough negotiator” and wasn’t totally confident they could reach today’s deadline.

The Hill reports that detention beds are one of the biggest hurdles in the HS bill to resolve:

“Democrats are insisting that the Homeland Security spending bill include drastic cuts to the number of beds ICE has available for detaining immigrants, a move that Republicans argue will lead to weaker border defense.”

Recent reports of fake schools for immigrants didn’t help negotiators:

“Anger at ICE shot up this week, particularly among Democrats, following revelations that the agency set up a fake school in Michigan in a bid to lure foreign students to violate immigration laws.”

Currently, there are 35,520 detention beds. The House FY 20 HS bill would reduce the number to 34,000 while the Senate bill raises the number to 52,000.

According to DHS, the detained population at the end of November was 44,860.

Wall Funding – is there already enough funding?
Additional funding for the southern border wall has been described as the major obstacle to finishing the FY 20 appropriations bills. Rumors are that the White House will not sign any appropriations bills if Congress doesn’t include $8.6 B in new wall funding.

However, Defense News reports that HASC Chairman Adam Smith says the Administration doesn’t need more funding for the Trump wall:

“Because the administration used statutory power to re-program Defense Department dollars from personnel, military construction and other accounts to pay for building border barriers, House Armed Services Committee chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Thursday, the border wall budget is now overflowing, and he has tried to relay that to the White House.

“‘And you managed to steal $6.1 billion out of the Pentagon budget, and you did that fair and square,’ Smith told an audience at the American Enterprise Institute. ‘They don’t like the word ‘steal,’ by the way. Declare victory, OK? You managed to get $7.5 billion for the wall, and I’m told … they can’t spend that $7.5 billion before the end of [fiscal year 2020].'”

Another CR?
From Politico Playbook:
[House Speaker Nancy] ” PELOSI on a shutdown: ‘I don’t think we’re headed for a shutdown. I don’t think anybody wants that. I think the president and the Republicans learned in the last shutdown that it just wasn’t — there was no upside to it, even though the president has said I’ll take pride in shutting down government. I don’t think he’s going to take pride in shutting it down again.

“‘ WE WOULD HOPE TO BE FINISHED BY THE 21ST . And we’re on a good path. If we’re not, we will just go to a continuing resolution until a couple — you know, until after Christmas. But I hope we don’t have to do that. But I don’t think anybody wants to see a shutdown.”

HAC Appropriator Tom Graves still working on budget/appropriations reforms
Even though FSGG Ranking Member Tom Graves announced yesterday he was not going to run for re-election he still plans to continue working on the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress and on the issue of restoring Congressional earmarks, as Roll Call reports:

“Graves, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, solicited ideas about whether the House’s nearly decade-long ban on earmarks had been effective and whether there might be a way forward that would empower the legislative branch. Earmarks refer to lawmaker-directed spending, typically for projects in their congressional districts or states.”

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The Senate recently passed S. 1846, the State and Local Government Cybersecurity Act of 2019. There is no similar House bill as of this time.

The purpose of this legislation is to improve the cybersecurity posture of state, local, tribal, and territorial governments (SLTTs) through the coordination of activities with DHS National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). CBO estimates that enacting S. 1846 would cost $31 million over the 2019–2024 period. A summary of this legislation is attached.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/S.-1846-STATE-AND-LOCAL-GOVERNMENT-CYBERSECURITY-ACT-OF-2019.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]View Full Summary[/su_button]

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

Democrats make counter funding offer on 302(B)s funding levels

Bloomberg reported that Democrats made a new offer to Republicans for resolving the impasse over the FY 20 funding levels:

“House Democrats made an offer on the set of 12 allocations shortly before Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) entered a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Lowey told reporters.

“The allocations agreement may require a change to the budget caps deal signed into law in July (Public Law 116-37), as Democrats have proposed a plan that would change the overall spending levels through emergency spending or cap adjustments, a House Democratic aide said. Because that would require a change in law, the Trump administration would have to agree to that plan.”

Various media reports confuse when these new numbers will be revealed or agreed upon.

Following yesterday’s meeting with Pelosi, Mnunchin, Lowey and Shelby, Politico reported that the FY 20 302(b) numbers could be settled no later than Nov. 18:

“Officials from both parties emerged from the meeting confident that they could settle on concrete spending amounts over the weekend – a deal that would likely avoid a paralyzing government-wide shutdown this winter. It would finally allow Congress to begin passing spending bills and avoid a dreaded year-long funding patch.”

However, Bloomberg reports that the new allocations will not be settled until later next week:

“Lowey said she hopes to strike a deal on a bicameral set of allocations by [Wednesday] Nov. 20, the day before government funding expires. Lawmakers already plan to rely on a second stopgap measure to fund the government through Dec. 20.

“‘There was a general agreement from all sides that it was important to get our work done and we intend to move forward and get our work done by Nov. 20,’ Lowey said.”

Disagreement over funding of the Trump wall has been the major impediment for finalizing the FY 20 spending caps. Politico reports, there may be a deal in the works to get around the issues:

“‘Republicans appear willing to set aside discussing the wall for now in hopes of achieving the bipartisan goal of finalizing the allocations,’ a senior Democratic aide said after the meeting.”

“One idea is to use emergency cash to pay for bipartisan initiatives like the VA Mission Act – a new veterans program that Trump himself has championed – that could free up some money for DHS.

“That would not resolve the border wall issue, but it would at least allow both parties to move past it for now as they begin work on other funding bills.”

The House will vote next week on a second CR that will extend the funding deadline until December 20th.

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

How will Congress end the FY 20 appropriations?

CQ posted an article this week that said rumors to extend the next CR into late January or early February are dead.  Instead, the more popular date for the new CR is through Dec. 13 or 20. Besides determining a new CR date, the parties need to resolve outstanding differences between each other. Democrats want more funding for the FY 20 Labor-HHS bill:

“Senate Democrats last month proposed adding $3.3 billion to the bill’s allocation, paid for by cuts to the DHS bill, but the GOP countered with just $1 billion more – offset through surplus Pell Grant funds within the Labor-HHS-Subcommittee jurisdiction. The House L-HHS bill, written before the budget deal was passed, provides $14 billion more than the Senate bill.

The parties also disagree on funding for the Trump wall. The White House is asking for $8.6B for wall construction. The Senate Homeland Security bill appropriates $5B. The House bill provides no funding for new physical barriers. CQ states that, “Passing all the bills before the new year would require a compromise on the wall and transfer authority.”

“One option proposed by Democrats is to use emergency funds, cap adjustments or both to free up discretionary funds to allow for a higher Labor-HHS-Education allocation. Republicans have not expressed any willingness to go along with this. They say it would involve reopening negotiations over the budget deal that specified adjustments above the caps for war funds and 2020 census costs.

“Another possible option would be to spread funds for wall construction over several different bills, including the massive Defense bill as well as Homeland Security and Military Construction-VA, allowing resources for the wall to take a smaller bite out of each bill.”

The pressure is on to reach some sort of a deal because there are only eight legislative days left before the current CR expires on November 21.

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill.  This legislation provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other independent agencies.

Attached is a summary of the funding recommendations. Some highlights:

1. Provides $18 million for the Cybersecurity Enhancement Account of Treasury.
2. Provides $6.1 million for the Treasury’s Department-Wide Systems and Capital Investments Programs.
3. Of the amounts appropriated to the IRS for Operations Support, not less than $10 million shall be available for the development of a vendor tax check application.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/FY-20-Senate-Financial-Services-GSA-Funding.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″ color=”#000000″ size=”10″]View Full Summary[/su_button]

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs recently reported S.734 to the Senate, the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019. There is a similar bill (HR 1668) pending consideration in the House of Representatives. There is no floor schedule for either bill as yet.

The purpose of S. 734 is to proactively mitigate the risks posed by inadequately secured Internet of Things (IoT) devices through the establishment of minimum-security standards for IoT devices purchased by the Federal Government. The bill codifies the ongoing work of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards and guidelines, including minimum-security requirements, for the use of IoT devices by Federal agencies. The bill also directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to issue the necessary policies and principles to implement the NIST standards and guidelines on IoT security and management.

Additionally, the bill requires NIST, in consultation with cybersecurity researchers and industry experts, to publish guidelines for the reporting, coordinating, publishing, and receiving of information about Federal agencies’ security vulnerabilities and the coordinate resolutions of the reported vulnerabilities. OMB will provide the policies and principles and DHS will develop and issue the procedures necessary to implement NIST’s guidelines on coordinated vulnerability disclosure for Federal agencies. The bill includes a provision allowing Federal agency heads to waive the IoT use and management requirements issued by OMB for national security, functionality, alternative means, or economic reasons.

CBO Cost Estimate: Using information from NIST, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $35 million over the 2019-2024 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts.

In 2020, CBO estimates that NIST and OMB would spend a total of $11 million to develop the IoT guidelines and standards. Of that amount CBO estimates that NIST would spend a little more than $3 million to hire 11 employees and that OMB would spend about $350,000 to hire 2 employees. Those newly hired NIST staff would develop the new federal guidelines and provide technical assistance to federal agencies. In addition, CBO estimates that NIST would spend a little more than $3 million to hire contractors and convene workshops to assist with guideline development. Finally, CBO estimates that NIST would spend around $4 million to update their National Vulnerability Database (NVD) to account for the vulnerability of IoT data.

After 2020, CBO estimates that NIST and OMB would spend approximately $6 million annually to update the IoT guidelines and standards, report to Congress, and further update the NVD.

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APPROPRIATIONS/BUDGET NEWS

Before the August recess, the House Committee on Appropriations acted on HR 3931, the FY 2020 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. The full House has not yet acted on this legislation and is not likely to.  Action will await inclusion as part of whatever Omnibus legislation comes to pass. Some highlights of this bill:

1. In the Management Directorate account, $223.7 million for phase two construction of a headquarters facility.
2. $116.3 million for financial systems modernization.
3. $10.3 million for the HIRT program.
4. $20.6 million for Federal cybersecurity to accelerate data protection for the CDM program.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/FY-20-House-Funding-for-DHS.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″]View Full Report[/su_button]

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FY20 House Funding

The House of Representatives recently passed the FY 2020 Transportation/HUD Appropriations Act (HR 3163).   Included in this legislation is funding in the amount of $300 million for HUD’s Cybersecurity and Information Technology Fund.  This is $20 million more than requested and is specifically for the Federal Housing Administration’s IT for the purposes of improving operations, data security and financial risk assessment, and program performance, and eliminating fraud.

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/FY-20-House-Funding-for-HUD-Cybersecurity-and-IT-Fund.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″]View Full Report[/su_button]

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FY2020 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill

The House Appropriations Committee recently approved the fiscal year 2020 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. This legislation provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other independent agencies.

This legislation is scheduled for the House Floor this week. A summary of the recommendations is attached. Some highlights:

• Provides $18 million for the Cybersecurity Enhancement Account
• Provides $7.7 million for Bureau of the Fiscal Service for IT modernization
• Provides $290 million for the Business System Modernization program
• Provides $12.8 million for IT infrastructure with the Executive Office of the President

[su_button url=”https://www.deepwaterpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/FY-20-House-Financial-Services-GSA-Funding.pdf” target=”blank” style=”flat” background=”#777e85″]View Full Analysis[/su_button]

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