The House is expected to vote later today on a spending bill to fund federal government operations after the current continuing resolution (CR) expires on March 27. The measure would fund most federal agencies through a straightforward continuation of the current CR, but would also include full-year, detailed spending bills for Defense and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs. The bill would leave the March 1 sequester cuts in place for fiscal 2013, but with adjusted spending directions for defense and veterans affairs programs to provide more flexibility and soften the impact of the sequester on high-priority programs in these areas. The bill would set the total discretionary spending level at $1.043 trillion, consistent with the discretionary caps set by the Budget Control Act of 2011 and modified by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013. As the measure also leaves the March 1 sequestration in place, this would effectively reduce total fiscal 2013 discretionary spending under the bill to roughly $984 billion, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently submitted a list of issues or “anomalies” to be addressed in an extension of the current CR. Some, but not all, of OMB’s recommendations are addressed in the House bill, which contains more than 60 anomalies for programs covered under the new CR to increase or decrease funding for certain programs. Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS) has published a brief examining which OMB recommendations with funding implications for state grant programs are and are not included in the House CR. For example, the CR does increase the obligation limitation for surface transportation programs from $39.1 billion to $39.7 billion per OMB’s recommendation. However, the House bill does not provide for the extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and related programs, which will need an extension or reauthorization to continue operating after March 27.

The OMB released a Statement of Administration Policy on the measure yesterday expressing concern that the House spending measure provides for spending directions for defense and veterans affairs to help mitigate the impact of the sequester on these areas, but does not extend such spending flexibility to other federal agencies. The Administration refrained from making a veto threat, but did recommend that Congress work to “refine” the measure to address these concerns. The Senate is likely to seek amendments to the House spending measure that would extend additional flexibility to domestic programs. In its statement yesterday, the Administration also continued to urge Congress to replace the March 1 sequestration with a long-term deficit reduction agreement.

Links: HR 933; FFIS Brief; Statement of Administration Policy