President Trump Feb. 15 signed the remaining seven fiscal year (FY) 2019 spending bills into law, hours before the midnight deadline, preventing another partial government shutdown. The president Feb. 15 also declared a state of emergency to seek additional funding for a wall along the southern border of the United States.
The Senate Feb. 14 voted 83-16, followed by the House vote of 300-128, to adopt the conference report to H.J. Res 31, which included FY 2019 funding for the seven remaining spending bills. The final package includes $3.1 billion in discretionary funding for the Food and Drug Administration and $8.1 billion for the National Science Foundation, increases of $269 million (9.6%) and $308 million (3.9%), respectively, over the FY 2018 enacted levels. Agencies funded by the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill — including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration — received their FY 2019 funding beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 [see Washington Highlights, Sept. 28, 2018].
The conference report was a product of a bipartisan, bicameral conference committee formed after the Jan. 25 passage of a three-week long continuing resolution [see Washington Highlights, Jan. 25]. The final report included $1.375 billion for barriers along the U.S. southern border.