FY 2015 Funding Update (sort of...)

On Tuesday, June 10th, the United States Senate Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations approved their version of a fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bill.  The next step is having the full Senate Appropriations Committee meet to approve the Subcommittee product.  But, that meeting has been postponed indefinitely in the midst of continuing controversy over a series of riders some lawmakers would like to attach to the measure.   

The details of the Senate subcommittee markup have not been released publicly, but according to unofficial reports the appropriations bill would provide the Corporation for National and Community Service with $1.065 billion for fiscal year 2015, an increase of $15 million. The proposed legislation would expand AmeriCorps by 1,000 positions and specifically and unequivocally reject the Administration's proposal to restructure and cut the Senior Corps programs.  (Absent full Senate Appropriations Committee action, the official text (and substantiation of the Senior Corps policy victory) will likely never be published.

The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on LHHS/Ed is expected to take up their markup in July, possibly following subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston's July 22nd runoff election for the Georgia Republican Senate nomination.

And what of the future of all FY 2015 appropriations?  With the recent runoff survival of Mississippi's Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) pronouncements of what life would be like under his leadership in a Republican-controlled Senate, odds are even more likely that final decisions on FY 2015 appropriations will be held off until after the November mid-term elections.  In fact, rumor has it that a Continuing Resolution is already in the making to fund government activities through the election -- Happy Thanksgiving.  Note that a "CR" would like retain the status quo in program funding -- good news for Senior Corps programs but bad news for early childhood programming which got a significant boost in Chairman Harkin's bell lap!