The appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives today includes a package of six smaller bills totaling about $460 billion. The bills in the package are for Agriculture; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Energy and Water Development; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Interior and Environment; and Commerce, Justice and Science.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass, hopefully before Friday night when government funding is scheduled to end.
How will the appropriations bill affect Puerto Rico?
Many of the programs funded by this bill affect Puerto Rico along with the other territories and the states. The bill specifically mentions Puerto Rico, the other territories, and Washington, D.C., as well as the 50 states in listing the geographic regions covered under the many programs listed.
USDA Secretary: NAP to SNAP Transition “in the foreseeable future”
SNAP and the Emergency Food Assistance Program were fully funded, but Puerto Rico is not included in these programs. WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) and Commodity nutrition assistance programs were also fully funded, and both of these programs do operate in Puerto Rico. WIC saw a $1 billion increase over last year, and Puerto Rico receives the full available coverage under this program.
Funding for Puerto Rico’s Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP), which the island receives in lieu of the more generous SNAP benefits, was allocated close to $3 million of funding for the current fiscal year.
The Dept. of Justice reported partial funding for a courthouse construction project in San Juan to deal with a “judicial space emergency” there. Otherwise, the appropriations for Puerto Rico were the same programs at much the same levels as last year. Since there had been talk of severe cuts, this is generally good news.
Not the end?
This bill is not the end of the budget process which began five months ago. Six more bills remain to be discussed and another budget deadline looms on March 22. Current stop-gap funding for the federal departments covered in the House-passed bill expires on Saturday.
