The House Appropriations Committee has approved topline fiscal year (FY) 2022 allocations to divide $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending between the twelve annual spending bills. The allocations are largely in alignment with the budget proposed by President Biden.
Overall, nondefense discretionary spending would increase by 16 percent, while defense spending would see a 2 percent increase. According to House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the proposed increases would reverse “decades of disinvestment and devastation” for several domestic programs and would allow agencies to “confront the climate crisis with actions across the whole of government.”
The allocation for the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill, which includes funding for the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, would increase by $9.5 billion compared to FY 2021 to $81 billion. The Energy and Water Development spending bill, which provides funding for the Department of Energy, would receive $53 billion (+$3.4 billion). The Labor-Health and Human Services-Education spending bill, which funds the National Institutes of Health, would get $237 billion (+$54 billion).
The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies spending bill, the text for which was released by the Appropriations Committee on June 27, would grow by $6.2 billion to $43 billion. The bill would provide the Department of the Interior with a $2.3 billion funding boost in FY 2022. Overall, the Department would receive $15.6 billion, $240 million below the amount proposed by President Biden. Specific allocations in the bill are as follows:
- $1.6 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey, an increase of $327 million above FY 2021 and equal to the President’s budget request.
- $3.5 billion for National Park Service, an increase of $324 million above FY 2021 and $28 million below the President’s budget request.
- $1.9 billion for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an increase of $301 million above the FY 2021 enacted level and $32 million below the budget request. The Ecological Services account would get $315 million (+$45.5 million), $17 million below the President’s budget request.
- $1.6 billion for the Bureau of Land Management, $285 million above FY 2021 and $26 million below the President’s budget request.
- $11.34 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an increase of $2 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level and $111 million above the President’s budget request.
The FY 2022 spending bill for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies would receive an overall allocation of $26.5 billion (+$2.6 billion), of which $3.4 billion (+$321 million) would be targeted to agricultural research programs. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) would receive $1.8 billion, $236 million above FY 2021 and $131 below the President’s request. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) would get $1.6 billion, $85 million above FY 2021 and $301 million below the budget request. The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative is slated to receive $450 million, $15 million more than last year and $250 million less than the President’s request.
The House Appropriations Committee has now advanced the Interior-Environment and Agriculture spending bills, along with five other spending bills, namely the ones for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; Financial Services and General Government; Legislative Branch; Homeland Security; and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. The CJS appropriations bill, the text for which has not yet been released, is scheduled to be marked up by the subcommittee on July 12 and by the full appropriations panel on July 15.
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