House Action on Appropriations Stalled

After failed attempts to bring two non-controversial spending bills to a vote on the House floor, the leadership decided to suspend further consideration of FY 2025 appropriations bills, cancel votes for the week of July 29, and start the August recess a week early.

As a result, the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, with almost 200 amendments filed with the Rules Committee, is now stalled. For student aid, the bill keeps the Pell Grant at last year’s level and cuts funding in half for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work-Study programs.

Regardless of what party is in the majority, the Labor-HHS appropriations bill is always controversial, either because of funding levels or policy riders, so floor consideration was always in question this year. When the non-controversial Legislative Branch and Energy and Water bills were pulled, it became evident that Labor-HHS-Education would not reach the House floor.

The Senate Appropriations Committee could still act on its version of the education spending bill before its recess begins on August 5, but a markup has not yet been scheduled.

When Congress returns on September 9, it will have three weeks to coordinate the next steps on FY 2025 funding, which will most likely include a continuing resolution to keep the government funded through the November elections.