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Congress Now in August Recess--Appropriatons State-of-Play

Let's Get Into It.

Budget & Appropriations

The latest coverage on Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations that are relevant to Duke.

Duke Government Relations' primer on the federal appropriations process.

HAPPY FRIDAY.

August recess is officially underway.

Up until their departure, Congress had been slowly working through FY26 funding bills: releasing texts, marking up the bills and advancing them through committee. Here is the current status of the FY 26 appropriations bills.

House

Passed Full House:

Defense
Military Construction-Veterans Affairs

Approved by Full Appropriations Committee:

Agriculture
Energy and Water
Homeland Security
Interior and the Environment
Legislative Branch
State and Foreign Operations
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

Approved by Appropriations Subcomittee:

Commerce, Justice, Science
Financial Services

Senate

Passed Full Senate

Agriculture
Legislative Branch
Military Construction-Veterans Affairs

Approved by Committee:

Commerce, Justice, Science
Defense
Interior and the Environment
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS.

Here is a breakdown of the status of each bill in each chamber and provisions of interest to Duke, with some highlights below:

Commerce-Justice-Science

House: Includes language that would prohibit funds from the bill to go to an institution of higher education that enters into a partnership or other formal academic collaboration in STEM with an entity that is located, operated or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party or the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
Senate: The Senate measure includes language that would block the Department of Commerce, NSF and NASA from making sudden changes to the indirect costs rate, also known as the facilities and administrative (F&A) costs of conducting research.

Defense:

House: The House's bill includes encouraging DOD to work with the extramural research community on indirect cost rates.
Senate: The Senate's bill includes a similar provision related to indirect costs, but prohibits DOD from using funds to make any changes to negotiated indirect cost rates from FY 2024.

Energy-Water

House: In the bill advanced by the House earlier this month, a provision is included that prohibits the Department of Energy from providing financial assistance to any foreign entity of concern, as well as the purchase of technology and telecommunications equipment from China and other adversaries. The House bill also includes language that blocks the administration from implementing the proposed 15 percent cap on indirect costs.

Interior-Environment:

House: The House bill contains language that notes the important work of the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide cultural infrastructure projects, education programs and historic preservation, reversing the administration’s attempt to eliminate NEH.

Labor-Health-Human Services:

Senate: The bill maintains its longstanding bill language prohibiting NIH from developing or implementing a modified approach to funding F&A costs. The committee also rejected the president’s proposal to eliminate TRIO, the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need program, and international education programs under the Education Department.

WHAT'S NEXT?

When both chambers return from their August recess, they have four weeks in session until government funding runs out, as established by the last continuing resolution (CR). At this time, it is unclear how likely a government shutdown is, though both chambers will want to avoid that potential instance.

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