Follow the Money: Where Does the Federal Budget Process Stand?

Because the federal appropriations process will have implications for programs important to the disability community, ANCOR is pleased to share with members an update about where the process currently stands.

The big picture: Because of continuing partisan disagreements over controversial topics, negotiations for the budget have followed two tracks:

• Stop-gap funding to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month and gain more time for FY20 negotiations. This is known as a continuing resolution (CR).
• The actual bills funding FY20.

News on the CR: On Thursday, “The House this afternoon easily passed a stopgap spending measure that would avert a government shutdown at month’s end and extend federal programs until just before the Thanksgiving recess. The [House] voted 301-123 to send the bill, H.R. 4378 (116), on to the Senate, which is expected to clear the legislation for President Donald Trump’s signature next week.”

News on FY20 negotiations relevant to the disability community:

• The Labor-H bill, which would fund Medicaid, is tangled in disagreements over abortion policy in the Senate that is leading to a lot of procedural jockeying on how to maneuver the bill .
• The larger Agriculture and FDA bill, which would fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, which gives food assistance), is working its way through the committee process in the Senate. The Senate is expected to give those agencies more funding than the President requested.
• The larger Transportation-Housing bill, which includes funding for housing assistance grants, is also working its way through the committee process. Likewise, the Senate is expected to give those agencies more funding than the President requested.