Senate Releases Appropriations Bills Ahead of Omnibus Negotiations

On November 10, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of all 12 fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills; this is for the fiscal year that officially began last month on October 1. As previously reported, the House of Representatives passed 10 of its bills in July. The release of the Senate bills signals that lawmakers plan to negotiate final FY 2021 spending during this post-election lame duck session. Senators are not expected to take up the bills on the Senate floor; rather, their bills are meant as a jumping off point for negotiations with the House on a final deal.

As a reminder, the federal government is currently operating under a continuing resolution (CR) until December 11, leaving just four weeks to complete the bills—likely through a large omnibus package. There are reports that a second CR may be needed to extend the deadline by another week, providing lawmakers additional time to complete their work on the FY 2021 bills.

Read on for COSSA’s full analysis of the Senate FY 2021 funding bills for federal agencies and programs important to the social and behavioral science research community. And take a moment to contact your lawmakers and urge their support for social science funding in the final FY 2021 appropriations bill.