Appropriations Watch: FY 2024

Updated 4/24/2024: On Tuesday, April 23, the Senate passed a package of national security-oriented bills passed by the House on Saturday, April 20, that provided supplemental appropriations for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, as well as a fourth bill that addressed sanctions and other economic concerns. Three of the four bills considered provide a total of roughly $96 billion in budget authority, and the fourth has a minimal fiscal effect. The rule for the four House bills technically sent them to the Senate as an amendment to a previous Senate-passed bill. The President signed the bill on April 24.

On Feb. 13, the Senate passed an amended version of a $95 billion national security supplemental that includes funds for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and operations in the Red Sea. The House had previously passed stand-alone supplemental appropriations last fall, but an alternative $17.6 billion Israel supplemental was defeated under suspension of the rules on Feb. 6.

The Senate cleared a "minibus" full-year appropriations package early in the morning on Saturday, March 23, by a 74-24 vote, for the remaining six appropriations bills that were set to expire on Friday, March 22: Defense, Financial Services-General Government, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch, and State-Foreign Operations. The President signed the measure, and the hours-long lapse in funding is not expected to disrupt government operations. The House had passed the measure on Friday, March 22, under suspension of the rules by a 286-134 vote.

On March 8, the Senate cleared, by a 75-22 vote, full-year appropriations for fiscal year 2024 under a first “minibus” for six appropriations bills: Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD. The President signed the measure. The House had passed the minibus under suspension of the rules by a 339-85 vote on March 6.

The fourth continuing resolution for FY 2024, which continued the "laddered" approach from earlier CRs, was designed to allow time for Congress to complete appropriations for the year under an announced agreement. Both sets of appropriations bills that were scheduled to expire under the CR have now been funded through September. 

Congressional leaders announced a deal on topline appropriations levels for fiscal year 2024 on Jan. 7. The topline agreement provided for a total of $773 billion in nondefense discretionary spending, including $704 billion in base nondefense spending and $69 billion in side deals, and $886 billion in defense spending.

The new fiscal year began on October 1, and Congress struggled to enact a CR by the end of September to avoid a government shutdown. Supplemental funding for Ukraine, Israel, and border security have also been central to disagreements over appropriations this year. The Biden administration has released supplemental funding requests of $106 billion for national security priorities and $56 billion for domestic programs

With the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), appropriations bills were marked up in the House and Senate in June and July. The FRA caps total base discretionary spending at $1.590 trillion for FY 2024, with base defense spending capped at $886 billion (a 3 percent increase from FY 2023) and base nondefense spending capped at $704 billion (up to a 9 percent decrease from FY 2023, depending on how it is measured). 

As we did last year, we'll be tracking the bills as they move from committee to the House and Senate floor and onto the President's desk.

The table below shows the status of each appropriations bill. To learn more about the appropriations process, read our Appropriations 101 paper. 

Appropriations will be one of several deadlines Congress will face over the coming months. See a list of the upcoming fiscal deadlines here.

 
Item House Senate
Second full-year "minibus" for six bills (Defense, Financial Services-GG, Homeland Security, Labor-HHS-Ed, Leg Branch, State-Foreign Ops)

Passed by a 286-134 vote under suspension of the rules on March 22

Passed by a 74-24 vote on March 23

Signed by the President on March 23

First full-year "minibus" for six bills (Agriculture, CJS, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, MilCon-VA, THUD)

Passed by a 339-85 vote under suspension of the rules on March 6

Passed on March 8 by a 75-22 vote

Signed by the President on March 9

Continuing Resolution through March 8/March 22

Passed by a 320-99 vote under suspension of the rules on Feb. 29

Passed by a 77-13 vote on Feb. 29

Signed by the President on March 1

Continuing Resolution through March 1/March 8

Passed by a 314-108 vote under suspension of the rules on Jan. 18

Signed by the President on Jan. 19

Passed by a 77-18 vote on Jan. 18

Continuing Resolution through Jan. 19/Feb. 2

Passed by a vote of 336-95 under suspension of the rules on Nov. 14

Passed by a vote of 87-11 on Nov. 15

 Signed by the President on Nov. 17

Continuing Resolution through Nov. 17 

Passed by a 335-91 vote under suspension of the rules on Sept. 30

Passed by an 88-9 vote on Sept. 30 

Signed by the President on Sept. 30

Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act 

Rule adopted by a 316-94 vote on April 19

Passed by a vote of 311-112 vote on April 20

Cloture invoked on the motion to concur as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 80-19 on April 23

Passed as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 79-18 on April 23; signed by the President on April 24

Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act 

Rule adopted by a 316-94 vote on April 19

Passed by a vote of 366-58 on April 20

Cloture invoked on the motion to concur as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 80-19 on April 23

Passed as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 79-18 on April 23; signed by the President on April 24

Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act 

Rule adopted by a 316-94 vote on April 19

Passed by a vote of 385-34 on April 20

Cloture invoked on the motion to concur as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 80-19 on April 23

Passed as part of amendment to HR 815 by a vote of 79-18 on April 23; signed by the President on April 24

Senate Foreign Aid Supplemental (February version; HR 815)

Amended version agreed to and sent to the Senate on April 20 as part of rule for four national security bills 

Passed on Feb. 13 by a 70-29 vote

Cloture invoked on the motion to concur to House amendment by a vote of 80-19 on April 23

Motion to concur to House amendment passed by a vote of 79-18 on April 23; signed by the President on April 24

House Israel Supplemental Funding (February version)

Failed under suspension of the rules on Feb. 6 by a 250-180 vote

N/A

Senate Foreign Aid and Border Security Supplemental (December version)

N/A

Cloture on the motion to proceed failed by a 49-51 vote on Dec. 6

House Israel Supplemental Funding (November version)

Passed by a vote of 226-196 on Nov. 2

N/A

Ukraine Supplemental Funding as Stand-Alone Bill

Passed by a 311-117 vote on Sept. 28

N/A

Budget Resolution Approved by committee on Sept. 20 by a 20-14 vote N/A
302(b) Approved by full committee on June 15 by a vote of 33 to 27 Approved by full committee on June 22
Agriculture

Approved by subcommittee on May 18 by voice vote
Approved by full committee on June 14 by a 34 to 27 vote

Failed on a 191-237 vote on Sept. 28

Approved by full committee on June 22
Motion to proceed to three-bill minibus agreed to by a vote of 91-7 on Sept. 14; passed by a vote of 82-15 on Nov. 1
Commerce, Justice, Science

Approved by subcommittee on July 14

Rule to bill failed to advance by a 198-225 vote on Nov. 15

Approved by full committee on July 13 by a 28 to 1 vote
Defense 

Approved by subcommittee on June 15
Approved by full committee on June 22 by a 34 to 24 vote
Rule to begin floor consideration failed by a 212-216 vote on Sept. 21; rule for bill failed to advance by a 212-214 vote on Sept. 19

Passed by a 218-210 vote on Sept. 28

Approved by full committee on July 27 by a 27-1 vote
Energy and Water Development

Approved by subcommittee on June 15
Approved by full committee on June 22 by a 34 to 24 vote

Passed by a 210-199 vote on Oct. 26

Approved by full committee on July 20 by a 29-0 vote
Financial Services and General Government

Approved by subcommittee on June 22
Approved by full committee on July 13 by a 34 to 26 vote

General debate and amendments considered on floor on Nov. 8 and 9

Approved by full committee on July 13 by a 29 to 0 vote
Homeland Security

Approved by subcommittee on May 18 by voice vote
Approved by full committee on June 21 by a vote of 33 to 25

Passed on a 220-208 vote on Sept. 28

Approved by full committee on July 27 by a 24-4 vote
Interior, Environment

Approved by subcommittee on July 13
Approved by full committee on July 19 by a 33 to 27 vote

Passed by a vote of 213-203 on Nov. 3

Approved by full committee on July 27 by a 28-0 vote
Labor, HHS, Education

Approved by subcommittee on July 14

General debate and amendments considered on Nov. 14 and 15

Approved by full committee on July 27 by a 26-2 vote
Legislative Branch

Approved by subcommittee on May 17 by voice vote
Approved by full committee on June 21 by a vote of 33 to 24

Passed by a vote of 214-197 on Nov. 1

Approved by full committee on July 13 by a 29-0 vote
Military Construction, VA Approved by subcommittee on May 17 by voice vote
Approved by full committee on June 13 by a 34 to 27 vote
Passed on July 27 by a 219-211 vote
Approved by full committee on June 22
Motion to proceed to three-bill minibus agreed to by a vote of 91-7 on Sept. 14; passed by a vote of 82-15 on Nov. 1
State, Foreign Operations

Approved by subcommittee on June 23
Approved by full committee on July 12 by a 32 to 27 vote

Passed by a 216-212 vote on Sept. 28

Approved by full committee on July 20 by a 27-2 vote
Transportation, HUD

Approved by subcommittee on July 12
Approved by full committee on July 18 by a 34 to 27 vote

General debate and amendments considered on floor on Nov. 6 and 7; proceedings postponed

Approved by full committee on June 22
Motion to proceed to three-bill minibus agreed to by a vote of 91-7 on Sept. 14; passed by a vote of 82-15 on Nov. 1

Sources: House Appropriations Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, Congress.gov. All dates are in 2023 unless noted otherwise.

As we explain in Appropriations 101, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approve 302(b) spending levels for each subcommittee after the topline 302(a) levels are determined by the Budget Committees. Below is an excerpt (click here to read the full report).

How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations?

After the President submits the Administration’s budget proposal to Congress, the House and Senate Budget Committees are each directed to report a budget resolution that, if passed by their respective chambers, would then be reconciled in a budget conference (to learn more, see Q&A: Everything You Need to Know About a Budget Conference).

The resulting budget resolution, which is a concurrent resolution and therefore not signed by the President, includes what is known as a 302(a) allocation that sets a total amount of money for the Appropriations Committees to spend. For example, the conferenced Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget between the House and Senate set the 302(a) limit for that year at $1.017 trillion.

In the absence of a budget resolution, each chamber may enact a deeming resolution that sets the 302(a) allocation for that chamber. Leaders of the House and Senate Budget Committees may propose deeming resolutions at whatever level they find necessary to fund discretionary priorities and to officially set 302(a) allocations for the fiscal year. Deeming resolutions for FY 2024 had been expected to adhere to the $1.590 trillion level included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, but the House may draft its appropriations bills to the $1.471 trillion level from FY 2022 and set its 302(a) allocations accordingly. In the House, this can be done by a simple majority vote, which is how the FY 2023 deeming resolution passed. However, in the Senate such a resolution does not have privileged consideration, making it vulnerable to a filibuster.

The appropriations process for the current fiscal year, FY 2023, was completed in December 2022. The House adopted a deeming resolution for FY 2023 in June 2022 and passed six appropriations bills over the summer, while the Senate released its bills in late July and passed none before the new fiscal year. Lawmakers ultimately agreed to an FY 2023 omnibus appropriations bill in December 2022 that provided $1.602 trillion in base discretionary spending, an increase of 8.9 percent from comparable FY 2022 level.

How does Congress allocate appropriations?

Once they receive 302(a) allocations, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees set 302(b) allocations to divide total appropriations among the 12 subcommittees dealing with different parts of the budget. The subcommittees then decide how to distribute funds within their 302(b) allocations. The 302(b) allocations are voted on by the respective Appropriations Committees, but they are not subject to review or vote by the full House or Senate. The table below lists the FY 2023 regular (non-emergency) appropriations along with the House and Senate FY 2024 302(b) allocations. The table will be updated as both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees release their 302(b) allocations for FY 2024.

 

The table below compares actual funding for FY 2023 with the FY 2024 302(b) allocations from the House and Senate.  

Budget Authority Allocations to Appropriations Subcommittees (billions)
Subcommittee FY 23 Enacted Level President's FY 24 Budget House FY 24 Senate FY 24 Final Negotiated FY 24 Level
Agriculture $25.5 N/A $17.8 $26.0 $26.2
Commerce, Justice, Science** $82.4 N/A $58.7 $69.6 $66.5
Defense $797.7 N/A $826.4 $823.3 $824.5
Energy and Water Development $54.0 N/A $52.4 $56.7 $58.2
Financial Services and General Government** $27.6 N/A $11.3 $16.8 $13.7
Homeland Security** $60.7 N/A $62.8 $56.9 $61.8
Interior, Environment** $38.9 N/A $25.4 $37.9 $38.6
Labor, HHS, Education $207.4 N/A $147.1 $195.2 $194.4
Legislative Branch $6.9 N/A $6.7 ($5.3 House-only spending formally approved) $6.8 $6.8
Military Construction, VA $154.2 N/A $155.7 $154.4 $153.9
State, Foreign Operations** $59.7 N/A $41.4 $58.4 $55.8
Transportation, HUD** $87.3 N/A $65.2 $88.1 $89.5
Undistributed Changes in Mandatory Programs N/A -$30.6* N/A N/A N/A
Total, Base Discretionary $1.602 trillion $1.695 trillion* $1.471 trillion^ $1.590 trillion^ $1.590 trillion

Sources: House Appropriations Committee, Senate Appropriations Committee, CBO estimate of Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (first FY 2024 six-bill minibus), CBO estimate of Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (second FY 2024 six-bill minibus), CBO estimate of H.R. 2617 (FY 2023 omnibus), Office of Management and Budget

*The President's FY 2024 budget proposes $1.726 trillion in discretionary funding partially offset by $30.6 billion in changes in mandatory spending programs (CHIMPs).

**In addition to base discretionary spending, the two six-bill minibus packages provide for certain adjustments to Fiscal Responsibility Act caps, including $12.5 billion in total emergency spending, $2.65 billion for Interior-Environment for wildfire suppression, and a total of $20.4 billion for disaster relief ($20.261 billion to Homeland Security and $143 million to Financial Services). Emergency spending was distributed as follows: $2 billion for Commerce-Justice-Science, $2.5 billion for State-Foreign Operations, and $8 billion for Transportation-HUD.
 

^The Senate 302(b) totals reflected the cap as enacted in the Fiscal Responsibility Act; the House originally limited its total to the FY 2022 level. New Senate allocations with emergency spending and other revisions that were filed on September 12 totaled $1.652 trillion and included $36.7 billion for emergency spending, $20.4 billion for disaster relief, and $2.65 billion for wildfire suppression. Emergency spending was distributed as follows: $10.8 billion for Transportation-HUD, $8 billion for Defense, $4.5 billion for Labor=HHS-Education, $4.3 billion for Homeland Security, $3.25 billion for State-Foreign Operations, $2.25 billion for Commerce-Justice-Science, $2.195 billion for Interior-Environment, and $1.365 billion for Energy-Water. Disaster relief spending was allocated to Homeland Security ($20.261 billion) and Financial Services-General Government ($143 million). All $2.65 billion in fire suppression spending was allocated to Interior-Environment.

As Congress considers appropriations bills, it is important that lawmakers avoid budget gimmicks and contemplate the longer-term trajectory of discretionary spending.

If you have any questions about terminology or the appropriations process, please see our Appropriations 101 report, and stay tuned to our blog for continuing coverage.