Key investments in the federal 2019 spending bill

On Feb. 14, 2019, Congress passed H.J. Res. 31 — the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 — which provides fiscal-year 2019 appropriations for several federal departments and agencies through Sept. 30, 2019, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The President signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 on Feb. 15, 2019.

Funding highlights include:

Federal Emergency Management Agency

For FEMA grant programs, it provides $2.8 billion, $201 million less than fiscal year 2018 but $318 million (13 percent) more than the President’s budget request.

FEMA Federal Assistance

The agreement includes $3.344 billion for grants and training to state, local, tribal and territorial entities, $50 million more than fiscal year 2018 and $699 million more than the fiscal year 2019 request. Key programs:

• $700 million for Firefighter Assistance Grants;
• $350 million for Emergency Management Performance Grants;
• $262.5 million for Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis;
• $250 million for Pre-disaster Mitigation Grants;
• $120 million for Emergency Food and Shelter Grants;
• $10 million for Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grants;
• $276 million for training, including $44 million for the U.S. Fire Administration.

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The agreement provides a total of $985.5 million for NIST, a cut of $213 million below the fiscal year 2018 level and $356 million above the President’s budget request. Funding for NIST measurement labs and research remains at $725 million, the same as the fiscal year 2018 level.

Consumer Product Safety Commission

The agreement funds CPSC at $127 million, an increase of $1 million above the fiscal year 2018 enacted level and $4 million more than the President’s budget request.

General Services Administration)

The agreement provides funding for the Federal Buildings Fund at a level of $9.285 billion, which is $211 million more than the fiscal year 2018 enacted level and $847 million less than the President’s budget request.

Environmental Protection Agency

The bill provides $8.849 billion for the EPA, $25 million more than fiscal year 2018 and $2.658 billion more than the President’s budget request.

Wildland Firefighting

The bill provides $2.05 billion for fire suppression at the Forest Service and Department of the Interior, an amount that covers the 10-year rolling average of actual firefighting expenditures plus an additional $500 million for the Forest Service in case suppression costs exceed the 10-year average, as they have in recent years.

Public Housing Capital Fund

The agreement includes $2.775 billion in order to enable public housing agencies to perform the annual routine maintenance and rehabilitation of the nation’s 1.1 million public housing units. The President’s budget did not include funding for the program.

Community Development Block Grant

The agreement includes $3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program, equal to the fiscal year 2018 enacted level. The President’s budget did not include funding for the program.