Senate-House Convene First Energy & Water Conference Since 2009
Package also Includes Appropriations for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch
Package also Includes Appropriations for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and Legislative Branch
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a further sign of a return to regular order in the appropriations process, the Senate and House today convened a conference committee on Energy and Water Development appropriations for the first time since 2009. The Energy and Water Development Fiscal Year 2019 funding measure was considered as part of a larger package, H.R. 5895, that also includes Fiscal Year 2019 appropriations for Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and the Legislative Branch, the first of three minibus appropriations bills to pass the Senate. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) expressed optimism that the conference committee would soon complete its work on the package and urged his fellow conferees to adhere to the bipartisan framework that facilitated overwhelming support for the Senate-passed version of the legislation.
“I am pleased that we have been able to make meaningful progress on this package, and I am optimistic that we can complete our work in short order,” said Chairman Shelby. “If we can do this, we will take another important step toward regular order in the appropriations process. I believe that would benefit us all – both parties and both chambers – because it would reintroduce stability into the process. It would also show the American people that we are here to do our jobs – to conduct their business in a deliberate manner.”
Shelby also stressed the importance of passing the first package in order to move to the appropriations package that includes the Fiscal Year 2019 Defense and Labor-Health & Human Services-Education (Labor-HHS) bills. The Defense and Labor-HHS bills represent the majority of discretionary federal spending, yet neither has been signed into law before the end of the fiscal year in a decade.
“Success here would generate momentum for the critical work that lies ahead. For example, a couple of weeks ago the Senate passed another appropriations package that contained the Defense and Labor-HHS bills. I know that package is of great interest to all of us, and I am sure we share a desire to get it signed into law before the end of the fiscal year.”
The House appointed conferees last night on the Defense-Labor-HHS minibus package, and the Senate is expected to take commensurate action soon. Shelby’s full statement, as prepared, is below.
“Thank you, Chairman Alexander. I want to begin by commending you for your hard work in guiding this package of appropriations bills through the process.
“I know that you and your House counterpart on the Energy and Water Subcommittee, Chairman Simpson, along with your respective Ranking Members, have been working diligently on that division of this bill, and I want to thank you for your efforts.
“The efforts of the other Subcommittee Chairs and Ranking Members are to be commended as well. You have all done an amazing job making quick work of a very complex task.
“I also want to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and all the House conferees for working with us in an effort to strike a balance that accommodates Members on both sides of the Capitol and the political spectrum.
“Striking a balance is not easy, but I hope we can all agree it is the right thing to do for the American people.
“I am pleased that we have been able to make meaningful progress on this package, and I am optimistic that we can complete our work in short order.
“If we can do this, we will take another important step toward regular order in the appropriations process. I believe that would benefit us all – both parties and both chambers – because it would reintroduce stability into the process.
“It would also show the American people that we are here to do our jobs – to conduct their business in a deliberate manner.
“Continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills, on the other hand, have the opposite effect. I believe we can and should avoid that. Instead, success here would generate momentum for the critical work that lies ahead.
“For example, a couple of weeks ago the Senate passed another appropriations package that contained the Defense and Labor-HHS bills. I know that package is of great interest to all of us, and I am sure we share a desire to get it signed into law before the end of the fiscal year.
“But we cannot get there if we do not complete our work here.
“As we work to resolve the remaining differences in this package of bills, I believe we must refrain from including provisions that would prevent us from achieving bipartisan support.
“That approach has been the path to success in the Senate, and I want to thank Vice Chairman Leahy once again for working with me to strike that important balance.
“We are very close to completing our work on these bills. I, for one, am extremely optimistic that we will get there.
“And we will get there as long as we remain focused on the goal of passing as many appropriations bills as possible before the end of the fiscal year. I think that we all share that goal, and I am confident that by working together we can achieve it.
“Again, I want to thank my colleagues for their hard work and determination on this first minibus package. And with that I yield; thank you, Mr. Chairman.”
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