Government affairs
Legislative Updates
House and Senate lawmakers convened today in a conference committee to resolve differences on H.R. 6147, the package of fiscal year (FY) 2019 appropriations bills that includes funding for the Interior, Environment, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, as well as Financial Services and General Government (FSGG).
The FY19 FSGG Act has broad jurisdiction over agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, the Treasury Department, the Office of Management and Budget, the General Services Administration, the Judiciary, the Small Businesses Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Postal Service.
Of note, both the House and Senate bills preserved NALC’s long-standing language on six-day mail delivery thanks to the hard work from letter carriers all over the country. Conferees will consider whether to adopt a 1.9 percent federal employee pay raise included in the Senate’s FY19 FSGG spending bill or follow the President’s lead who announced his intention to rescind the scheduled pay increase for federal employees in 2019.
While the end of FY18 comes on September 30, a short-term funding measure, or continuing resolution, looks increasingly likely despite encouraging talks. Conferees are expected to meet through the coming weeks and into October at least to finalize language on the package before final approval.
In response to the White House’s government reorganization plan, released back in June, many committees inserted language in their appropriations bills in an attempt to counter any executive power grab that may get pushed through Congress. Both the House and Senate FSGG committees, which would have jurisdiction over the reorganization plan, have included language in their fiscal year FY19 appropriations bills that would prevent agencies from increasing, eliminating, or reducing funding for programs, projects, or activities, without congressional approval first.
NALC will continue to monitor the FY19 appropriations process and keep letter carriers informed on any action.
