On July 29, the House cleared a $600 billion package of seven spending bills, including the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill that includes $50 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).
The minibus package, H.R. 4502, passed on a vote of 219-208, includes bills that outline funding levels for the departments of Labor (DoL), Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, Agriculture, Interior, Veterans Affairs (VA), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Transportation (DoT), along with other Federal departments and offices.
“This week, as we advance these appropriations bills, Congress will continue our work to advance infrastructure and budget and reconciliation bills that meet the needs of the American people, separate from the appropriations bills,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at the time.
The minibus package for FY22 will include:
- $253.8 billion for DoL, HHS, Education, and related agencies, an increase of $55.2 billion from FY21;
- $26.55 billion for Agriculture, Rural Development, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies, an increase of $2.851 billion from FY21;
- $53.226 billion for Energy and Water Development and related agencies, a $1.474 billion increase from FY21 to invest in jobs focused on clean energy technologies;
- $29.1 billion for Financial Services and General Government, an increase of $4.8 billion from FY21, and includes funding of $500 million for Election Security Grants;
- $43.4 billion for Interior, Environment, and related agencies, a $7.3 billion increase from FY21;
- $279.9 billion for Military Construction, VA, and related agencies, an increase of $28.1 billion from FY21, including funds to protect “our national security investments to respond to the challenges posed by Russian and Chinese aggression;”
- $84.1 billion for DoT, HUD, and related agencies, an increase of $8.7 billion from FY21; and
- $81.3 billion for Commerce, Justice, Science, and related agencies, a $10.2 billion increase from FY21, which includes $1.35 billion in funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology – a $320 million increase from FY21 – and $9.63 billion for the National Science Foundation. Commerce will also see $106.9 million for cybersecurity risk mitigation.
“After the devastation of the pandemic and decades of disinvestment, the American economy caters increasingly to the wealthy and leaves the middle class, hard-working families, small businesses, and the vulnerable behind. With these bills, we are reversing these trends and investing in the American people,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn. “Together, our transformative and historic funding increases will create good-paying jobs, grow opportunity for the middle class and small businesses and provide a lifeline for working families and the vulnerable.”
The House has now passed nine of 12 annual spending bills, so a government shutdown still looms with two months to go when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
