Federal funding update
For the past few months, there has been a tug of war in our nation's capital regarding spending limits, earmarks, and which programs should or shouldn't be cut. The following is a summary of the FY2011 fiscal year that is already underway, the FY2012 budget that will be released next week, and the great earmark debate. At the end of the story, please note our thoughts on the path forward.
FY2011 Appropriations
We are over four months in the 2011 fiscal year, and federal agencies are currently operating under a fourth continuing resolution (CR), which is set to expire on March 4th. Last week, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) called for $58B to be cut from FY2011 domestic spending. In the preceding months, some Republicans had called for a $100B trim from domestic agencies in FY2011, but with the fiscal year already well underway, that goal likely will not be met. House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) followed Ryan's announcement with proposals for how much funding each appropriations bill would receive in the $58B reduction scenario. The House Energy & Water bill, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Energy, would receive $29.9B. The President's request (budget) for those agencies for FY2011 had been $35.3B. Those agencies received $33.5B in FY2010 funds. These proposed House cuts would be 15% below the President's budget, and 10% below FY2010 enacted levels.
If the House is successful in passing these proposed FY2011 domestic spending cuts, that effort is likely to come to a halt in the Democratically-controlled Senate. For now, it is assumed that another CR will be needed by early March, as a compromise is not yet in the offing. However, if the proposed cuts eventually come to pass after a longer period of negotiation, the pain will be more acute, as the cuts will be spread over a shorter period of time.
Earmarks
For the remainder of FY2011 and FY2012, the big news is the ban on earmarks. House and Senate Republicans had previously pledged a two-year ban on earmarks. Last week, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI) announced that the Senate would follow suit, and would not include earmarks in FY2011 or FY2012 bills.
"The handwriting is clearly on the wall," Inouye said in a statement. "The president has stated unequivocally that he will veto any legislation containing earmarks, and the House will not pass any bills that contain them. Given the reality before us, it makes no sense to accept earmark requests that have no chance of being enacted into law. At the appropriate time," Inouye said, "I will once again urge the Senate to consider a transparent and fair earmark process that protects our rights as legislators to answer the petitions of our constituents, regardless of what the president or some federal bureaucrat thinks is right."
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) noted that "we're being pragmatic about this year, but we also [believe] strongly that, as members of Congress, we have to represent our states and fight for them."
PNWA participated in the FY2011 appropriations process, and successfully advocated for several funding increases for navigation infrastructure projects in the Northwest. For a detailed listing of the projects we support, the funding that was proposed in the budget, and the spending levels that had been proposed in the House and Senate bills, see our FY2011 Appropriations document.
FY2012 Budget
The Administration has indicated that the FY2012 budget will be released next Monday, February 14th. That is one week later than the traditional date of the first Monday in February, with the delay attributed to the seating of a new Director of the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), as well as the lingering uncertainty regarding Congress' work on FY2011 spending levels.
Once the budget is released, PNWA will work with our Corps colleagues to understand proposed project funding levels. Our goal is to understand how much dredging, jetty repair, and lock maintenance can be accomplished with what is in the budget. From there, we determine appropriate levels of advocacy for Northwest navigation projects. We will report on the budget once it is released, and we have reviewed the document with our agency colleagues.
What Does it all Mean?
With an earmark ban in place for FY2011 and FY2012, it is reasonable to assume that the Administration and federal agencies will have more discretion over spending decisions. It is possible that the next few years could be similar to what happened in FY2007, when Congress did not complete most appropriations bills, and agencies were required to submit work plans for committee approval.
PNWA has long had excellent relationships with the Corps of Engineers at every level, and your staff has been working closely with Corps HQ, Northwestern Division, and the districts in the Northwest to communicate our priorities. PNWA staff met with Corps HQ staff on January 25th in DC, and meets regularly with regional staff. As Corps funding will undoubtedly be reduced along with most other domestic agencies, we will continue our conversations with our Corps colleagues to determine how projects will be affected.
It should be noted that an earmark ban does not mean that PNWA or its members should stop communicating with our Northwest Congressional delegation. It is our belief that navigation infrastructure projects funded through the Corps of Engineers already have undergone a significant amount of oversight. Every Corps of Engineers project that appears in an appropriations bill is the product of a study that weighed the costs and benefits of the project, and determined that it provided a positive return on taxpayer investment. PNWA will continue to regularly communicate with Northwest Members of Congress and their staff, highlighting projects that are inadequately funded, and encourage our delegation to actively engage on behalf of projects that are important not only to residents of the Northwest, but also the nation.
PNWA staff contact: Kristin Meira