Congress Approves Fiscal Year 2018 Funding; Cochran Retires
On March 23, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 into law, finalizing appropriations for fiscal year (FY) 2018 nearly six months after the fiscal year began. The omnibus bill includes all 12 individual appropriations bills and will fund the federal government through September 30, 2018. This bill came after a bipartisan deal was reached to raise spending caps, which resulted in increases for many programs across the government – including those important to the social and behavioral sciences. The omnibus also served as a last hurrah for Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, who announced that he will retire effective April 1 after serving in the Senate for 40 years. Cochran’s successor will be Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, who has most recently served as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.
Read on for COSSA’s full analysis of the FY 2018 omnibus appropriations bill.