Omnibus budget bill good news for counties

County interests fare well in $1.163 trillion omnibus spending bill

In recent years, as partisan battles over federal spending have intensified, Congress has been unable to enact stand-alone appropriations bills through the regular appropriations process.

Instead, Congress has started to rely more heavily on year-end omnibus appropriations measures (that combine some or all of the 12 annual spending bills) or continuing resolutions (which fund federal government programs and agencies at prior-year spending levels) to finalize the annual process.

This year was no different with Congress needing to pass two separate short-term continuing resolutions before finalizing the annual appropriations process.

On May 1, just days before the May 5 shutdown deadline, House and Senate appropriators released the text of a $1.163 trillion, 1,665-page omnibus spending package (H.R. 244) that would fund the federal government through the remainder of FY17.

One trillion dollars of the funds ($1.07 trillion) are considered “base spending” funds, while the remaining $93.5 billion was included for Overseas Contingency Operations and Global War on Terror funding. OCO funding does not count against statutory budget caps.

The spending plan combines the remaining eleven FY17 appropriations bills into one large measure and would provide a slight increase in overall spending from FY16 levels, while keeping base discretionary funding roughly equal.

Under the omnibus, most programs important to counties fare very well. For example, many Department of Agriculture Rural Development and water programs receive funding above or equal to FY16 levels. Water and Waste Disposal Programs, the Rural Community Facilities program and Rural Development Grants all receive slight increases under the omnibus.

Programs under the Department of Housing and Urban Development also generally fare well. The Community Development Block Grant program receives level funding at $3 billion compared to FY16, while the HOME Investment Partnerships program also receives level funding at $950 million.

Although EPA takes a small cut under the omnibus, most programs important to counties receive level funding. For example, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, grants to assist with water quality improvements, receives level funding under the omnibus package, as do regional water grant programs and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Program.

Certain health programs, including the Prevention and Public Health Fund (PPHF) and those to address the nation’s mental health crisis, also fared quite well under the spending package.

PPHF, the first dedicated funding stream that was established out of the Affordable Care Act to support community prevention efforts, is fully funded at $1 billion. Efforts to combat the opioid epidemic received $800 million, a more than five-fold increase over FY16. In addition to increased funding for opioids, the omnibus provided level funding, at $1.9 billion, for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant; $30 million in increased funding for SAMHSA’s Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, for a total of $541.5 million; and an additional $50 million for mental health divided between SAMHSA and the Health Resources and Service Administration.

Human Services programs are largely level-funded. The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, for example, receives level funding of $3.39 billion compared to FY16. The Community Services Block Grant, a    NACo-supported program, does receive a cut of $9 million and will be funded at $742 million for FY17. The Head Start program, funded at $9.25 billion through the omnibus, receives an increase of $8.2 million.

State and local homeland security grants, such as those administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are also spared major cuts. The State Homeland Security Grant Program ($467 million) and FEMA grants ($2.7 billion) both receive level funding. FEMA Mitigation Program funding, on the other hand, is increased by $600 million to help provide disaster relief to local communities.

Programs of interest to counties under the Department of Justice such as the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) and Second Chance Act grants are level-funded at $210 million and $68 million, respectively. SCAAP reimburses states and local governments for the cost of incarcerating undocumented immigrants convicted of certain crimes. Second Chance Act grants help reduce recidivism by improving individuals’ reintegration into the community after release from incarceration.

County public lands priorities were also addressed in the omnibus, though the bill does not include a reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program. The Payments In lieu of Taxes program will be fully funded in FY17, receiving $465 million in the omnibus package.

This is an increase of $15 million over FY16. Further, the omnibus fully funds the 10-year average cost for wildland fire suppression for both the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service. These accounts are funded at $4.2 billion with $407 million in emergency funding.

For transportation-related funding, the omnibus maintains critical programs such as the Essential Air Service and TIGER Grant programs, providing level funding for each. Both had been scheduled for elimination under President Trump’s “skinny budget.”

The bill also allows $44 billion from the Highway Trust Fund to be used for federal-aid highways. This represents a $905 million increase over FY16.