FY 2012 Appropriations Update

Congress has been working on numerous FY2012 funding bills.  Some significant cuts are in store for GSA, the Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Program, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and the Bureau of Reclamation. House Appropriators Zero-Out GSA Construction Funding for FY 2012 On June 23, 2011, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill for FY 2012. The legislation provides annual funding for the Treasury Department, the Executive Office of the President, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, the Small Business Administration, the General Services Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and several other independent agencies. The bill includes a total of $19.9 billion in funding for the agencies, which is nearly $2 billion – or nine percent – below last year’s level, and nearly $6 billion below the President’s fiscal year 2012 request. The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Federal Building Fund has borne the brunt of these cuts.  The bill eliminates funding for design and construction services and allocates only $280 million for repairs and alterations for FY 2012.  These reductions come on the heels of the recent FY 2011 budget deal that cut the agency’s budget by $1.7 billion. The Committee is expected to hold off on new construction of civilian Federal facilities because the Committee and the Administration are concerned there are many unneeded and underutilized civilian Federal buildings that need to be taken off the Federal inventory. The Committee has lent its support to the creation of a Civilian Property BRAC to address this issue.  Both the Administration and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are considering proposals to create such a commission.  This process is expected to result in the creation of an inventory of federal structures designated for expanded use, reduced use, decommissioning, modification and sale. AGC has expressed concern to Senate Appropriations leaders about these drastic cuts and is leading a coalition of building contracting groups to help ensure the Senate provides funding for these critical programs. For the text and report of the legislation by the Appropriations Committee, please visit:

http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/FY_2012_FS_Full_xml.pdf
http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/FY_2012_FIN-SERVICES_FULL_COMMITTEE_REPORT.pdf

House Expected to Approve Energy and Water Appropriations Bill On July 15, 2011, the House of Representatives passed the FY2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill by a 219-196 vote.  Under the bill, the Army Corps of Engineers civil works program would be funded at $4.57 billion, a decrease of nearly $284 million from last year’s level and $195 million below the budget request. 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Summary

For the Bureau of Reclamation, the legislation would provide $934 million – $161 million below FY11 levels and $117 million below the president’s request. Senate Votes to Approve FY2012 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Spending Bill The Senate is expected to approve the FY 2012 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill (H.R. 2055) the week of July 18. The bill provides $13.7 billion for military construction and family housing. This figure is $1.049 billion below the budget request and $2.87 billion below the FY2011 enacted level, due primarily to the completion of the BRAC 2005 construction phase in fiscal 2011. For VA, the plan provides a total of $589 million in funding for the major construction projects, a $486 million decrease from the $1.076 billion adopted in fiscal 2011.

For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.