Senate passes budget, paves way for FY2014 omnibus

Yesterday, the Senate approved the two year budget agreement proposed by Budget Committee Chairmen Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Paul Ryan last week. The House passed the agreement last week before they broke for recess, and the President is expected to sign the legislation shortly. This budget sets limits for discretionary spending for both FY14 and FY15. Its passage paves the way for an FY2014 funding bill and avoids another round of sequestration cuts which were scheduled for mid-January. 

PNWA was in Washington, DC last week talking with the Northwest Congressional Delegation about the importance of passing annual bills.  We specifically advocated for the new starts we received for the MCR jetty major rehab and the Seattle Harbor deepening study; the robust funding numbers for many of our regional projects; and for retention of additional O&M funding pots including $30M for small ports.  Currently, the full House has approved their FY2014 Energy & Water Appropriations bill, which would fund the Corps through September 30, 2014.  The Senate E&W Appropriations Subcommittee has passed their funding bill, which is currently awaiting passage by the full Senate. 

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees will now assign revised allocations to each subcommittee, who will then finalize their individual bills. Given the limited time before the current continuing resolution (CR) expires on January 15th, it is very likely that the bills will be negotiated between the two Chambers and then combined into a single "omnibus" appropriations bill. An omnibus or another CR will need to be passed by January 15, 2014 to avoid another government shutdown.

The Northwest Delegation is poised to be helpful to our regional projects.  We have four Members serving on the Appropriations Committees in their respective chambers - WA Senator Patty Murray, OR Senator Jeff Merkley, WA Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and ID Rep. Mike Simpson.  Rep. Simpson is in an especially key position as Chairman of the Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee, which has direct jurisdiction over how the House funds the Corps of Engineers.  PNWA is in close contact with these offices, all of which have historically taken a regional perspective on our issues and been supportive of funding for Northwest Corps projects.  We will continue our advocacy efforts with the entire Northwest Delegation and the Energy & Water Subcommittees, and will provide updates as they are available.