Fall FY 2024 Appropriations Outlook

As Congress reconvenes this week, attention will return to FY 2024 appropriations bills; however, the path to completing this year’s spending bills remains unclear. House Republicans hope to advance two additional appropriations bills in the coming weeks, specifically focusing on Homeland Security (H.R. 4367) and Defense (H.R. 4365), which would bring the total number of House-passed bills to three (the House passed the Military Construction/Veterans Affairs appropriations bill in July before recessing for the summer).   

Meanwhile, in anticipation of a likely standoff with the House on appropriations, the Senate is reportedly preparing a stop-gap measure (also known as a continuing resolution) to preempt a partial government shutdown come October 1 (the start of the new fiscal year). The Biden Administration requested more than $40 billion in emergency spending earlier this summer to address the war in Ukraine and disaster relief funding for Maui and other natural disasters. With the House scheduled to be in session for only 12 days in September, the window for any substantive legislative action is quickly closing, thereby requiring immediate action on a continuing resolution.

As previously reported, the Senate has led the action on FY 2024 spending so far this year by reporting out of committee all twelve of its appropriations bills. In contrast, the House Appropriations Committee released limited information on its proposals for FY 2024 and advanced only one of its bills, as noted above. Calls from the most conservative wing of the Republican majority to cut funding below the amounts negotiated in a budget deal passed earlier this year has stifled progress on many of the bills in the House. 

Below is a snapshot of the Senate’s proposals for agencies important to the social and behavioral science community. COSSA’s full analyses are available here. 

Looking Ahead

Assessing the outlook, multiple scenarios are on the table for the fall, such as an omnibus package that combines all twelve appropriations bills or a series of smaller “minibuses.” It is too soon to predict how the FY 2024 appropriations process will end. However, the largest among the hurdles obstructing a smooth appropriations process continues to be the ultra-polarized Congress with razor-thin margins in both chambers. Between the likely standoffs on FY 2024 funding levels and the need for emergency funding to provide disaster relief, the next several weeks promise to keep policymakers busy.