Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017
Latest action. Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 503.
Highlights:
This bill provides FY2017 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military construction, military family housing, the U.S. share of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program, and base closures and realignments.
The bill also provides appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans benefit and health care programs, Departmental Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration.
Related agencies and programs funded in the bill include the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; the Armed Forces Retirement Home; and the Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, including Arlington National Cemetery.
The bill includes Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and Defense-Wide military construction funds which are designated as Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds and are not subject to discretionary spending limits.
The bill includes both mandatory and discretionary funding. It increases discretionary and overall FY2017 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs funding above FY2016 levels. Compared to FY2016 levels, the bill increases discretionary funding for the VA and decreases discretionary funding for the DOD Military Construction and Family Housing accounts.
The bill permits unobligated balances of funds previously provided for the Ebola outbreak to be used to prevent, prepare, and respond to the Zika virus.
It also includes provisions that:
prohibit the Administration from renovating, expanding, or constructing facilities in the United States to house individuals held in the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay;
restrict the display of Confederate flags in VA cemeteries;
permit VA providers to complete forms for a veteran's participation in a state marijuana program, and
prohibit the use of funds for a new Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round.
Full Summary:
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Provides appropriations to DOD for Military Construction for:
the Army;
the Navy and Marine Corps;
the Air Force;
Defense-Wide agencies and activities (other than military departments);
the Army and Air National Guard; and
the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves.
The summary continues for 154 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 "Passed House amended" stage on May 19, 2016. 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 May 26, 2016: Received in the Senate. Read twice. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 503.
- 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 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 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?
Charles Dent (R-PA) introduced it on April 15, 2016. 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 April 15, 2016, 3800 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3759 days ago, on May 26, 2016.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 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