THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2016

***Members are advised that close votes are possible today, including potential votes on amendments related to Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) and Davis-Bacon.  All Members are expected to be present and voting. Any expected absences should be reported to the Whip’s Office at x5-3130.

Complete Consideration of H.R. 4974 – Military Construction and Veterans’ Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017 (Rep. Dent – Appropriations). H.R. 4974 appropriates $81.5 billion in discretionary budget authority, which is $1.6 billion more than the FY 2016 enacted level and $1.2 billion below the President’s request, alongside $102.5 billion in mandatory spending for veterans' programs and military construction for FY 2017.  It also appropriates an additional $172 million in discretionary budget authority designated for Overseas Contingency Operations.

Accounting for mandatory programs, including veterans’ pensions, the measure provides a total of $184 billion in budget authority.  The legislation also includes $663 million for medical and prosthetic research, $528 million for major VA construction projects, $4.2 billion for VA Information Technology and $850 million for health care needs including treatment of hepatitis C, long-term care for veterans, assistance to caregivers of veterans, and to fight veteran homelessness.  In addition, H.R. 4974 also provides $66.3 billion in advance appropriations for FY 2018 for veterans’ health benefits and $103.9 billion for mandatory benefit programs.

The Rule makes in order no further general debate. The House will complete consideration of amendments at the end of the bill today. As of last night, the following amendments have recorded votes pending:

Mulvaney Amendment #1
Mulvaney Amendment #2
Mulvaney Amendment #3
Mulvaney Amendment #4
Blumenauer Amendment
Fleming Amendment
Huffman/Gallego/Ellison Amendment

Bill Text for H.R. 4974:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 4974:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)