House Amends and Re-Passes HR 3055 – FY 2020 CR

Yesterday the House took up the Senate amendment to HR 3055, FY 2020 spending minibus, and approved that amendment after substituting new language for the Senate amendment. The approval vote was nearly a party-line vote of 231 to 192 (10 Democrats and 12 Republicans switched sides). The bill goes to the Senate, probably today.

A party-line vote normally means that the bill will have a difficult time being considered in the Senate. It certainly would not normally be expected to be considered under the unanimous consent process; a single voice can stop that consideration. To be considered under regular order means that the bill would require a 2/3 vote on the debate cloture motion and a party-line vote normally means that there would not be sufficient vote to close debate.

Earlier this year when the House passed HR 4378, the current CR, the vote was more bipartisan; 301 to 123. The conservative members of the House generally object to continuing resolutions (especially short-term CRs) because they interfere with program changes and generally shortchange most spending programs.

That earlier CR passed in the Senate by a mostly bipartisan vote of 81 to 16. This was roughly the same percentage (about 70%) of yes votes in both the House and Senate. If that vote standard holds for this bill, HR 3055 may not pass the Senate as it would not be able to achieve cloture.

During yesterday’s debate, everyone agreed that continued funding of the Federal government was an important goal and that a full spending bill was needed. The Republican opposition to this CR, however, was outlined by Rep. Grainger (R,), Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee (pg H9038):

“At that time [passage of HR 4378] the budget deal had just been signed into law, and the Senate had not yet started consideration of full appropriations measures for fiscal year 2020. By voting for the last CR, I argued at the time that we would provide enough time for appropriators in the House and the Senate to complete work on full-year appropriations bills.

“Unfortunately, not only has that not happened, there still has not even been an agreement reached on spending levels for those bills. No business in the world could survive on temporary funding doled out on a month-to-month basis. The uncertainty created by the habit Congress finds itself in of repeated CRs and the continual threat of a shutdown is crippling, especially for our military.”

The vote today in the Senate could go either way. And, if the bill does pass, we still have to wait for the last-minute decision by the President on whether or not he will sign the bill. Indications are that he will, but there is no telling what he will do when the time comes to act.

NOTE: The current CR expires at midnight tomorrow night.

Rules Committee to Reconsider HR 3055 as CR

Today the House Rules Committee will meet to formulate the rule to consider the Senate amendments to HR 3055, the first House minibus. The Committee will consider substitute language for the Senate amendment that will turn HR 3055 into a continuing resolution that would extend the date of the current CR until December 20^th, 2019.

The hearing web site shows that three amendments have been offered on the revised language. The current proposed language is very similar to HR 4378 (the current CR) and is a relatively clean CR. Two of the offered amendments (Amash and Womack) are more than a little controversial and are unlikely to make it to the floor of the House; where they would be rejected in near party-line votes anyway. The third, Brindisi, is a study and report amendment which are generally less controversial, but I doubt that it will be included either.

Given the Thursday deadline on the current CR, I expect that the House will take up this bill tomorrow and pass it with a significant bipartisan vote. The Senate may take it up tomorrow as well and it will make it to the President’s desk before midnight Thursday in any case. According to news reports, the White House has indicated that the President will sign it, but you never can tell.

There is one bid of potential bad news with HR 3055 being used as the vehicle for this CR. HR 3055 is the only spending bill that the Senate has been able to pass. This should have been the one spending bill that could have made it out of conference. Using it for a CR would seem to indicate that the conferees could not work out a deal on this bill. That bodes ill for an omnibus bill next month. We may still end up with a full year CR.

Senate Amends and Passes HR 3055 – First Senate Minibus

Yesterday the Senate passed an amended version of HR 3055, the first Senate FY 2020 spending minibus by a bipartisan vote of 84 to 9. They first adopted 48 amendments including the substitute language offered by Sen. Shelby (R,MS); only one amendment considered was rejected.

None of the 49 amendments considered specifically addressed chemical safety, chemical security or cybersecurity concerns. Forty-five of the amendments were considered en bloc [pg S6311] under the unanimous consent process with no debate.

Next week the House may consider the Senate version of the bill. When they do, they will probably ‘insist’ on their version. A conference committee will then take up the two versions and try to work out a compromise version. There is a slight chance that this will happen before the current continuing resolution runs out on November 21^st.

It seems unlikely that the full 12 spending bills (four were included in the Senate version of HR 3055) will be passed by the 21^st. This means that we will likely (depending on the President) see another continuing resolution to keep the government working past that date. Various news reports (see here for example) claim that the CR under consideration behind closed doors will continue into next year.

Senate Committee Reports for HR 3055 – First Senate Minibus

The version of HR 3055 that the Senate will resume considering today is based upon four spending bills proposed by the Senate Appropriations Committee. While there may be some slight differences in the language included in Senate Amendment 948 that amendment specifically adopts the four committee reports “for purposes of determining the allocation of funds provided by, and the implementation of,’ each of the four divisions in the proposed bill.

Those reports are:

• S Rept 116-127 (Div A - CJS)

• S Rept 116-110 (Div B – ARD)

• S Rept 116-123 (Div C – IER)

• S Rept 116-109 (Div D – THUD)

As is typical for spending bills, the important details are found in these reports, not in the bill language. Below I will discuss some of the more interesting details.

Cybersecurity

Every division (and most titles) of the proposed amendment contain some sort of cybersecurity language. Mostly though those references and spending allocations pertain to protecting the IT systems of the US government.

Not unexpectedly the NIST section of the Division A report deals with supporting cybersecurity workforce training. While no specific funding is outlined the Committee “directs that no less than the fiscal year 2019 level is provided for cybersecurity research, outreach, industry partnerships, and other activities at NIST, including the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence” (pg 23). Interestingly the Committee desires to see “a priority being placed on areas with a high concentration of Department of Defense, automotive, and health care related industries”.

NIST is also called upon to address industrial cybersecurity via Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) cybersecurity research. The report calls for spending ‘no less than’ $2 million “to improve the sustainable security of IIoT devices in industrial settings” (pg 23). The Committee calls for comprehensive strategies that would “couple computer science and engineering, psychology, economics, cryptography, and network research to deliver significant mitigations and options for industrial adoption, as well as guidance to consumers and industry on how to manage and utilize these devices consistent with best security practices” (pg 24).

The National Science Foundation ‘Education and Human Resources’ section of the Division A report also significantly addresses cybersecurity training issues. The Committee provides $55 million (pg 169) for the CyberCorps scholarship program with $7.5 million of that going to support the two year programs at NSA sponsored Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance 2–Year Education [CAE2Y] program community colleges.

The DOJ portion of the Division A report addresses another aspect of cybersecurity education; computer forensics and digital investigation. The State and Local Law Enforcement and Cybercrime Prevention section includes a requirement for DOJ to allocate $2 million “for a separate competitive grant program to expand a partnership with an institution for higher learning for the purposes of furthering educational opportunities for students training in computer forensics and digital investigation” (pg 130).

There is an interesting control system cybersecurity provision in the Division D Report. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) portion of the DOT Title “urges FRA to prioritize funding to establish enhanced cybersecurity methods, standards, and best practices, especially as it relates to the implementation of PTC [Positive Train Control] technology and future versions of this technology” (pg 73). Specifically, the Committee directs the FRA to “work with industry to identify current vulnerabilities and prepare for threats that could arise from future updates and the migration to future designs.”

Chemical Safety

There is only one mention of chemical safety issues that I can find in the four reports. That deals with the continued funding of the Chemical Safety Board. While the initial Trump Administration budget proposed eliminating the CSB, this year’s budget proposed $10.2 million and the Committee recommends continuing the current funding level of $12 million. The report notes that “The Board has the important responsibility of independently investigating industrial chemical accidents and collaborating with industry and professional organizations to share safety lessons that can prevent catastrophic incidents and the Committee expects this work to continue.”

Moving Forward

It is looking more likely that the Senate will pass HR 3055 later this week. The bill would then have to go back to the House. The House is unlikely to accept the Senate version so the bill would have to go to conference. The conference report would also address the differences in allocations and implementation directions, essentially rewriting the two versions of the Committee Reports.

Senate Begins Consideration of HR 3055 – First Senate Minibus Spending Bill

Yesterday the Senate began consideration of HR 3055. This was the second FY 2020 spending minibus passed by the House back in June. As is typical for spending bills, the first amendment to be proposed for this bill in the Senate is the substitute language from the Senate Appropriations Committee; SA 948.

This amendment would only have the Senate version consider four of the five divisions included in the House version. The Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act will be included in a later spending bill. The Senate leadership hopes that the remaining four divisions have a low enough controversy level that they will be able to be passed and sent to the House for conference with some hope of the bill actually making its way to the President’s desk before November 21^st; the end date of the current continuing resolution.

My quick review of the 43 pages this bill took up in yesterday’s Congressional Record did not turn up anything worth talking about here. Below is a quick table of contents for the bill if you are interested in looking for something in particular; please forgive the all-CAPS format, it is a simple copy and past job and I have no desire to go back and put it into a more reasonable case structure. NOTE: the 'Sxxxx numbers' are CR page numbers.

Senate Amendment 948

DIVISION A—COMMERCE AND JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020 [S5978]

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [S5978]

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE [S5981]

SCIENCE [S5986]

RELATED AGENCIES [S5988]

DIVISION B—AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES [S5991]

AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS [S5991]

FARM PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS [S5994]

RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS [S5995]

DOMESTIC FOOD PROGRAMS [S5997]

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS [S5998]

RELATED AGENCY AND FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION [S5998]

GENERAL PROVISIONS [S5999]

DIVISION C—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED

AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020 [S6003]

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR [S6003]

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [S6011]

RELATED AGENCIES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE [S6013]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES [S6015]

GENERAL PROVISIONS [S6018]

DIVISION D—TRANSPORTATION, AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2020 [S6020]

TITLE I DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION [S6020]

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION [S6022]

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION [S6023]

FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION [S6025]

NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION [S6026]

FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION [S6026]

FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION [S6027]

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION [S6028]

PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION [S6029]

PIPELINE SAFETY [S6029]

TITLE II DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [S6030]

TITLE III RELATED AGENCIES [S6041]

House Amends and Passes HR 3055 – 2nd FY 2020 Minibus

Yesterday, after dealing with well over 200 amendments, the House passed HR 3055, the second FY2020 spending minibus, by a near perfect (1 Democrat votes Nay) party line vote of 227 to 194. Both of the proposed amendments that I discussed earlier were adopted earlier this week.

Amendment Actions

The Maloney amendment (#264) was passed on Monday afternoon as part of amendment en bloc #7 by a voice vote. The amendment would encourage DOT to conduct research implementing connected vehicle and autonomous vehicle technologies at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings. There was no debate on this amendment.

The DeFazio amendment (#233) was passed later Monday afternoon after almost 10 minutes of debate. A recorded vote was requested and the amendment subsequently passed by a near party line vote (ten Democrats voted Nay and four Republicans voted Aye) of 221 to 195.

The debate was contentious, and more than a little hyperbole was used in attempts to sway the vote. At one point, Rep. DeFazio (D,OR) describes the potential results of a terrorist attack on a unit train of 100 LNG railcars, saying “It is likely it will cause a chain reaction and explosion. It is going to be about as powerful as Hiroshima if it goes off.” (pg H5053).

Rep. Price (D,NC) noted (pg H5054) that: “I want to note that the underlying bill provides $1 million for the  natural gas in rail tank cars, and it requires the Department to incorporate findings and recommendations from this study into any rulemaking on the transportation of LNG in rail tank cars before issuing a final rule authorizing such shipments.”

This requirement is outlined on page 75 of the Appropriations Committee Report (H Rept 116-106) on HR 3163, the original DOT spending bill that was incorporated into HR 3055 as Division E. That section in the Report on “LNG by Rail” concludes by stating:

“The Committee provides up to $1,000,000 for PHMSA to initiate this study within 30 days of enactment of this Act, and to complete this study no later than 18 months after enactment of this Act. Further, the Committee directs PHMSA to incorporate the findings and recommendations from this study into any potential rulemaking on the transportation of LNG in rail tank cars and prior to issuing a final rule authorizing such shipments [emphasis added].”

The DeFazio amendment would have no affect on the LNG by rail rulemaking, it specifically addresses the issuance of a Special Permit by PHMSA. That ‘special permit’ would be an interim authorization to ship liquified natural gas by rail pending the completion of the rulemaking. The inclusion of the DeFazio amenement in the bill could be a moot point; there is a chance that the special permit could be approved in this fiscal year.

Moving Forward

It still is not clear if the Senate will be taking up spending bills under regular order this year. If they take up HR 3055, they will certainly substitute language from the Senate versions of the underlying spending bills. It is very unlikely that a Senate version of this bill would include the DeFazio LNG by rail language. If/when the Senate passes their version of HR 3055, a conference committee will have to work out the differences between the two versions of the bill. There is a remote possibility that the DeFazio language could make it into an agreed upon conference version of this bill because it would only affect the approval of a Special Permit, and would not have a direct effect on the rulemaking on the mater.

Rules Committee to Meet on HR 3055 – The Second FY 2020 Minibus

Tomorrow the House Rules Committee will meet to formulate the rule for the consideration of HR 3055, the Second FY 2020 Minibus. The new version of HR 3055 will include language from HR 3055 (CSJ), HR 3164 (ARD), HR 3052 (IER), HR 2745 (MCVA), and HR 3163 (THUD). The meeting Tuesday and a second meeting on Wednesday will set the list of amendments that will be allowed to be considered on the floor. The HR 3055 web page currently lists 553 separate (and often duplicative) amendments that have been proposed.

The following amendments have caught my interest:

• Division A (CSJ), #108, Rep. Langevin (D,RI), Increases funding for CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service, the nation’s premiere cybersecurity workforce recruitment and curriculum development initiative by $7.35 million; the money coming from the NSF account for reimbursing DHS for security guard services.

• Division B (ARD), #55, Rep. Langevin, Increases funding for the FDA's Transform Medical Device Safety, Cybersecurity, Review, and Innovation initiative by $5 million in order to increase the FDA's capacity to protect consumers from cyber threats both pre- and post-market; the money coming from the account of the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, US Department of Agriculture.

• Division E (THUD), #9, Rep. DeFazio (D,OR), Prohibits authorizing the transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail tank car and prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from using funds to authorize transportation of liquefied natural gas by rail tank car by issuance of a special permit or approval.

• Division E (THUD), #107, Rep. Maloney (D,NY), Decreases and then increases funding for Transportation Planning, Research, and Development by $1 million for the purposes of encouraging the Department of Transportation to research implementing connected vehicle and autonomous vehicle technologies at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings.

HR 3055 Introduced – FY 2020 CJS Spending

Earlier this week Rep. Serrano (D,NY) introduced HR 3055, the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act, 2020. The bill does not contain any significant cybersecurity language, the Appropriations Committee Report does contain some cyber language; none of it specifically addresses control system security issues.

Cyber Issues

In the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) portion of the report, the Committee briefly addresses cybersecurity issues. On page 20, the Committee “encourages NIST to utilize existing expertise within its Information Technology Laboratory to increase cybersecurity technical training to small manufacturers to strengthen their cybersecurity capabilities”.

In the Department of Justice portion of the report, the Committee briefly touches on cyber-enabled crime. On page 46, the Committee “directs the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to work with the private sector to establish best practices for active cyber defense techniques to better defend American companies from cyberattack.” Later, on page 69, the Report follows up on a not yet submitted report required by the FY 2019 spending bill on “crimes committed against individuals and facilitated by the interstate telecommunications system”; directing DOJ “to submit the report in a timely manner to ensure the Committee has the information necessary to assess and deal with these crimes.”

On page 100 the Report has two cyber related notes for the National Science Foundation (NSF). In the first the Committee “NSF to form partnerships with Hispanic Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities with respect to cybersecurity research”. Next, after noting that the Committee is continuing funding of the CyberCorps scholarship program at 2019 levels, the Report “urges NSF to continue work with qualified community colleges including through providing scholarships and apprenticeship opportunities”.

Moving Forward

This bill will probably be included in the second ‘minibus’ later this month. This bill will pass in the House. Looking at the ‘Minority Views’ section (pgs 153-4) of the bill, there is some Republican dissatisfaction with some of the terms of the bill, but it hardly seems vociferous. Thus the vote will likely be mostly partisan, but there should be some room for developing a compromise conference bill before the end of the fiscal year.

Bills Introduced – 06-03-19

Yesterday with both the House and Senate in session, there were 24 bills introduced. Three of those bills are likely to see additional coverage in this blog:

HR 3052 Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes. Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] 

HR 3055 Making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes. Rep. Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY-15]

HR 3060 To provide for reform and reorganization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and for other purposes. Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18] 

As usual, I will be watching the spending bills for cybersecurity language (particularly for industrial control systems) and chemical safety provisions.

HR 3060 may be interesting. I suspect that it will mainly deal with hurricane response issues, but I will but could include language making changes to grant programs and there is a remote chance that emergency response planning (both for chemical and cyber incidents) may be covered.