Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 136.
(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)
Highlights:
This bill provides FY2018 appropriations for the legislative branch, including the House of Representatives and Joint Items such as: the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT), and the Office of the Attending Physician.
It also provides appropriations for:
the Capitol Police,
the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
the Architect of the Capitol (AOC),
the Library of Congress (LOC),
the Government Publishing Office (GPO),
the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and
the Open World Leadership Center.
Pursuant to a longstanding practice under which each chamber of Congress determines its own requirements, the House bill does not include funds for the Senate.
The bill increases overall legislative branch funding above the FY2017 level and includes an increase for the House of Representatives.
For other legislative branch agencies and programs, the bill increases funding above FY2017 levels for the Capitol Police, the AOC, the CBO, and the LOC. The bill funds the GPO and the GAO at FY2017 levels. The bill also includes provisions that would: prohibit a cost of living adjustment for Members of Congress;
establish senior level JCT positions to meet critical scientific, technical, professional, or executive needs; and
restrict the delivery to congressional offices of printed copies of legislation and materials such as the Congressional Record and the U.S. Code. Full Summary:
Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2018
TITLE I--LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Provides appropriations to the House of Representatives for:
Salaries and Expenses;
House Leadership Offices;
Members' Representational Allowances, including Members' Clerk Hire, Official Expenses of Members, and Official Mail;
Committee Employees;
Salaries, Officers, and Employees; and
Allowances and Expenses.
(In this bill, the term "Member of the House of Representatives" also includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.)
(Sec. 101) Requires amounts remaining in Members' Representational Allowances after all payments are made for FY2018 to be used for deficit or debt reduction.
The summary continues for 54 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House without amendment" stage on July 6, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 6, 2017: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 136.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kevin Yoder (R-KS) introduced it on July 6, 2017. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 6, 2017, 3353 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3353 days ago, on July 6, 2017.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers