Floor Action:
Small Business/Entrepreneurship— On May 8, the House passed, by voice vote, H.R. 1680, the Women’s Business Centers Improvements Act, and H.R. 1702, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act, as amended.
Mark-Ups:
Appropriations— On May 8, the House Appropriations Committee approved, 47-0, the FY2019 Legislative Branch spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). On April 26, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch passed the bill (see The Source, 4/27/18; please click here for the committee report).
Also on May 8, the House Appropriations Committee approved, 47-0, the FY2019 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). On April 26, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies passed the measure (see The Source, 4/27/18; please click here for the committee report).
On May 9, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies approved the FY2019 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered).
According to the committee summary, the bill would provide a total of $149.09 billion in overall funding, $922 million below FY2018. Among several programs important to women and their families, the measure would provide $6 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), $23.3 billion for child nutrition programs, and $73.2 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Also, on May 9, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies approved the FY2019 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered).
According to the committee summary, the bill would provide $62.5 billion in discretionary funding, $2.9 billion above FY2018. The legislation would allocate $493 million for Violence Against Women Act programs, $130 million for DNA Initiative Grants, $48 million for Reduce Sexual Assault Kits Backlog grants, and $100 million for Anti-Human Trafficking grants.
International- On May 9, the House Foreign Affairs Committee approved, by voice vote, H.R. 5105, the Better Utilization of Investment Leading to Development (BUILD) Act. As amended, the bill contains several provisions of H.R. 5480, the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act.
Military— On May 10, the House Armed Services Committee passed H.R. 5515, the FY2019 National Defense Authorization Act, as amended. The House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel approved the bill on April 26 (see The Source, 4/27/18).
Veterans— On May 8, the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee approved several bills, including H.R. 3642, the Military Sexual Assault Victims Empowerment Act, H.R. 4334, the Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act, and H.R. 4635, a bill to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of peer-to-peer counselors providing counseling for women veterans, as amended.
