Winegrape Growers of America – April 29 Policy updates regarding appropriations issues

Biden also requested that Congress provide the $22.5 billion for COVID-19 he requested back in March, as part of the Ukraine supplemental. Earlier efforts to pass additional Covid funding stalled in the House due to opposition over offset issues that would have drawn back unspent Covid funds from state and local governments. Biden has expressed the need for both Covid and Ukraine funding to move through Congress saying, “I don’t care how they do it…They can do it separately or together, but we need them both.” Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) suggested that the Ukraine bill could move without the Covid aid because the Ukraine measure is so urgent. “We will give them all they need,” Hoyer told reporters, referring to Ukraine.

The Appropriations process is moving ahead in the House as Member request deadlines for all 12 subcommittees have now passed, officially closing out the submissions process. In addition to the Appropriations portal closing, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) and Budget Committee held numerous hearings this week, which include:

1. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Homeland Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the DHS
2. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Legislative Branch – FY23 Budget Request for the Library of Congress
3. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Defense Subcommittee – National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command FY23 Budget and Posture (CLOSED)
4. Wednesday, April 27: House Budget Committee – Department of Defense FY23 Budget
5. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Legislative Branch Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Government Publishing Office
6. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Milcon-VA Subcommittee – Meeting Veterans’ Full Needs: Update on Women’s Health, Mental Health, Homelessness, and Other Programs
7. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Interior Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the United States Forest Service
8. Wednesday, April 27: HAC Legislative Branch Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Architect of the Capitol
9. Wednesday, April 27: HAC E&W Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation
10. Thursday, April 28: HAC Interior Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the United States Department of the Interior
11. Thursday, April 28: HAC Agriculture Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for USDA
12. Thursday, April 28: HAC LHHS Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Department of Education
13. Thursday, April 28: HAC E&W Subcommittee – The FY23 DOE Budget
14. Thursday, April 28: HAC SFOPS Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Department of State
15. Thursday, April 28: HAC Homeland Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
16. Thursday, April 28: HAC Milcon-VA Subcommittee – Air Force Installations and Quality of Life Update
17. Thursday, April 28: HAC CJS Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Department of Justice
18. Friday, April 29: HAC Interior Subcommittee – FY23 Budget Request for the Environmental Protection Agency

HAC subcommittee and full committee markup dates are scheduled:

1. Subcommittee markup dates:
   1. June 13, Monday
   2. June 14, Tuesday
   3. June 15, Wednesday
   4. June 16, Thursday
   5. June 21, Tuesday
   6. June 22, Wednesday

1. Full Committee markup dates:
   1. June 22, Wednesday
   2. June 23, Thursday
   3. June 24, Friday
   4. June 28, Tuesday
   5. June 29, Wednesday
   6. June 30, Thursday

Earlier this month, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) signaled an agreement for $10 billion in Covid funding relief, but the effort quickly fell apart due to Republican opposition to the Administration’s repeal of Title 42. This pandemic-related restriction allows border authorities to quickly expel migrants for public health purposes. Republicans opposed the consideration of additional Covid funding unless the majority would allow a vote to reinstate the Trump-era policy, effectively sidelining the compromise. This renewed push by the Biden Administration for Covid relief funding is expected to face challenges if a vote on Title 42 does not receive consideration.

The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) Member submission process is underway, with subcommittee deadlines starting next week, which you can find here. SAC also held the following hearings this week:

1. Tuesday, April 26: SAC CJS Subcommittee – Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2023 for the Department of Justice.
2. Tuesday, April 26: SAC Defense Subcommittee – Closed hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2023 for the Missile Defense Agency.
3. Wednesday, April 27: SAC SFOPS Subcommittee – Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2023 for the Department of State.
4. Thursday, April 28: SAC Agriculture Subcommittee – Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2023 for the Food and Drug Administration.
5. Thursday, April 28: SAC THUD Subcommittee – Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2023 for the Department of Transportation.

Below are the final funding summaries for the FY22 omnibus. The bill text for H.R. 2471 can be found here, and the full package summary can be found here. Highlights of the Ukraine supplemental is here, one-pager can be found here, and summary can be found here. The standalone COVID-19 supplemental summary is here and bill text can be found here.

If you have any questions about specific spending levels, bill language, and/or reports, please feel free to reach out to us for more information.