Making appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes.
Other short titles
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018
Long title
"An Act to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to include severe forms of trafficking in persons within the definition of transnational organized crime for purposes of the rewards program of the Department of State, and for other purposes"
Introduced in the House of Representatives as "TARGET Act (Targeted Rewards for the Global Eradication of Human Trafficking)" (H.R. 1625) by Edward R. Royce (R-CA) on March 20, 2017
On the evening of March 21, 2018, the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018[1] was released. The text was posted to the web site of the United States House Committee on Rules at 10:00p.m.[2] H.R. 1625, formerly the TARGET act, was used as a legislative vehicle for the appropriations bill.[3] At 10:15p.m., the committee's Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) said he did not have a printout of the bill to consider.[2] The Committee voted 8–3 to allow one hour of debate on the full bill and to disallow all points of order against the motion to add the more than 2,000 pages to the bill.[2] The rule was filed at 1:20a.m.[2] The one hour of debate began at 9:15a.m.[2] Afterwards, James McGovern (D-Massachusetts) advocated to amend the bill further in order to be able to add text to adjust the status of unauthorized immigrants who entered the U.S. as children.[2] The House voted 233–186 to disallow adding any text to the bill other than the more than 2,000 pages proposed the night before.[2]
The morning of March 23, PresidentDonald Trump said he might veto the bill because it would not fully fund a planned wall along the Mexico–United States border and would not address the individuals who entered the United States as children and are present in the United States without legal status.[7] President Trump signed the bill later in the day.[8]
The bill funds the federal government through September 30, 2018.[9]
The bill includes large increases to both defense and non-defense spending, following the budget-cap increases that had been included in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)115–123 (text)(PDF).[4]
The bill bans federal funds going to ACORN, an organization that dissolved in 2010, along with "any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, allied organizations, or successors."[10][3]
Federal funding cannot be used to move employees from the National Finance Center, which provides payroll and human-resources services to federal agencies.[11]
The Food and Drug Administration must act against foods that are labeled as milk, cheese, or yogurt but are not made from a product of a dairy animal.[13][14]
The bill prevents the closure of the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, an agricultural experiment station that increases efficiency in sheep production and improve the sustainability of rangeland ecosystems.[14]
The bill delays the implementation of regulations requiring trucks that carry livestock to install electronic devices to monitor time spent driving.[16]
The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act is extended to September 30, 2018.[16] The Pesticide Registration Improvement Act created a registration service fee system for applications for specific pesticide registration, amended registration, and associated actions.[17]
The foreign catfish inspection program received a $5.5 million increase. Equivalence determinations must be completed within 180 days for each country that wants to continue exporting catfish to the United States. Imports of catfish are prohibited until a final rule of equivalence is issued if the deadline is not met.[18]
The bill increased the budget of the Department of Defense by $61 billion. Military employees will receive an increase in pay of 2.4 percent.[19]
The bill added funding for approximately 17,000 more active duty troops and 10,000 more reserve troops in 2018.[20]
The bill included $34.4 billion for defense health and family programs, $359 million for cancer research, $125 million for research of traumatic brain injury and mental health, and $287 million for prevention of sexual assault and responses to sexual assault.[20]
The Department of Defense is now prohibited from spending more than 25 percent of its budget during the last two months of the fiscal year. Previously, the Department of Defense was limited to 20 percent.[20]
The Department of Defense is now allowed to reallocate to $20 million of its budget without notifying Congress. Previously, the threshold was $15 million.[20]
The Child Care Development Block Grant, which provide child-care services for low-income family members who work, receive employment training, attend school, or whose children receive or need to receive protective services, was increased by $2.3 billion.[22][23]
Head Start, which provides comprehensive early-childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent-involvement services to low-income children and their families, received an increase of $610 million.[22]
The National Park Service received an increase of $138 million, intended to help its maintenance backlog.[24]
The Bureau of Land Management's budget was increased by $79 million. Of that increase, $50 million is for improving the maintenance backlog on federal lands.[21]
The Fish and Wildlife Service received an increase of $75 million. Of that increase, $53 million is for addressing its maintenance backlog at federal wildlife refuges and federal fish hatcheries.[21]
The Internal Revenue Service is prohibited from spending federal funds "to target citizens of the United States for exercising any right guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States" or "to target groups for regulatory scrutiny based on their ideological beliefs."[24]
The Internal Revenue Service may not spend federal funds "to issue, revise, or finalize any regulation, revenue ruling, or other guidance not limited to a particular taxpayer relating to the standard which is used to determine whether an organization is operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare for purposes of section 501(c)(4)."[24]
The bill adds $15 million of funding for the Denali Commission, which helps remote villages in Alaska affected by erosion and the impact of climate change. The Trump Administration had previously recommended eliminating the Denali Commission.[12]
The bill increased the maximum award for Pell Grants by $175.[26]
The bill adds $60 million to TRIO, eight programs that help low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities to attend middle school, high school, college, and graduate school.[26]
The bill adds $10 million to GEAR UP, a program that helps middle schools and high schools in areas with high rates of poverty and provides college scholarships to students with low incomes.[26]
The bill gives $5 million of funding for the National Park Service's HBCU Historic Preservation Program.[26]
The bill added $10 million of funding for the HBCU Capital Financing Program, which finances improvements to the infrastructure of historically black colleges and universities and improves their infrastructure.[26]
Appalachian Regional Commission's budget is increased by $3 million, a third of which funds job retraining in counties hurt most by the decline of the coal industry.[27] The Trump Administration previously proposed eliminating the Appalachian Regional Commission.[27][18]
The bill gives $300 million for cleaning of the Great Lakes, particularly to prevent invasive Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes by building new barriers and improving existing barriers.[10]
The Palestinian Authority is ineligible from receiving federal funds unless the Palestinian Authority stops providing stipends to Palestinians imprisoned in Israel for attacking Israel or people in Israel.[10]
According to Jamphel Shonu of the Tibetan Government in Exile, "The massive bill includes $8 million for Tibetans inside Tibet and $6 million for Tibetan community in India and Nepal. The Congress also approved an additional and a new line of funding of $3 million to strengthen the capacity of Tibetan institutions and governance in exile."[29]
The bill includes $1.6 billion for Mexico–United States border wall, less than the $25 billion sought by the Trump administration.[4][24] The funding is largely restricted to upgrading existing fencing and planning and design.[24][30]
The bill includes the CLOUD Act which amends the Stored Communications Act of 1986 to allow United States authorities to use warrants and subpoenas to require United States-based service providers to provide requested data stored on computer servers regardless of whether the servers are located within the United States or elsewhere. The bill also instructs the executive branch of the federal government to end mutual legal-assistance treaties with foreign governments.[32]
The bill provided the largest increase in research funding in a decade, contrary to the significant cuts requested by the Trump administration.[33][34] The budget of the National Institutes of Health was increased by $3 billion.[citation needed]
The bill includes funding for the National Institutes of Health's research into opioids, the Centers for Disease Control's programs for overdose prevention and monitoring, improving access to treatment for people in rural areas who are addicted to opioids, and the development of a protocol to notify medical facilities about patients' previous opioid use.[27][24]
Funding was included for the Gateway Program, a rail infrastructure program in the Northeast Corridor that had been a matter of dispute, but the funding was included as part of existing programs rather than as an explicit item.[4][30]
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs will allow veterans with other-than-honorable discharges to access its emergency rooms for urgent mental health care.[36]
Veterans with other-than-honorable discharges may appeal for discharge upgrades.[36]
Veterans are eligible to receive care at private-sector medical offices if deemed appropriate by a medical provider.[36]
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs must provide information on eligibility for benefits to affected veterans within six months of the bill's passage. Veterans must be able to call a phone number for more information. Usage of care must be tracked and reported to Congress.[36]
The bill authorizes an additional 60,000 H-2B visas to be issued each year.[37] H-2B visas allow foreign workers to work in the United States on a one-time, seasonal, peakload, or intermittent basis.[38]
The bill extends the EB-5 program, which allows a foreign individual to immigrate and receive a green card if the person invests at least $1 million in a business in the United States that will employ at least 10 people.[39][40]
The EB-4 program is extended, which allows certain religious workers to immigrate and live permanently in the United States.[39][41][42]
The E-Verify program is extended for three years. E-Verify is a website by the Department of Homeland Security that allows businesses to verify the employment eligibility of their employees.[39][44]
The Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce continues to have funding, despite the Trump administration's proposal to eliminate it altogether. The Economic Development Administration gives money to rural communities to create jobs, retain existing jobs, and help businesses grow.[27]
NASA's Independent Verification and Validation Facility funding was restored, despite the Trump administration's attempts to eliminate it. The Independent Verification and Validation Facility increases cost-effectiveness and safety for NASA's mission-critical software.[27]
^Shonu, Jamphel (March 23, 2018). "US Congress Approves Increased Funding for Tibetans in Tibet and Exile". Central Tibetan Administration. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018. The massive bill includes $8 million for Tibetans inside Tibet and $6 Million for Tibetan community in India and Nepal. The Congress also approved an additional and a new line of funding of $3 million to strengthen the capacity of Tibetan institutions and governance in exile. In addition to the total $17 million listed here, there are also other Tibetan programs from the US government.
