The House of Representatives passed its version of the Fiscal Year 2027 Agriculture funding bill on Thursday, June 4, by a vote of 213-210. This follows its passage of the Military Construction/VA appropriations bill last month, making it the second of the 12 appropriations bills to be approved by either chamber of Congress, needed to fund the coming fiscal year. Including today, June 5, there are 36 legislative days scheduled before the start of Fiscal Year 2027.

In addition to the full House action on Agriculture and MilCon/VA, the House Appropriations Committee has passed FY27 funding bills for Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Financial Services and General Workforce, the Legislative Branch, and National Security-State. Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD appropriations have advanced from their respective subcommittees.

As we’ve reported previously, President Trump did not include a pay raise for federal employees in 2027 as part of his budget request, although he proposed a 5%-7% raise for the uniformed military. The Financial Services funding bill, typically where a pay raise or pay freeze would be included, stayed silent on a pay raise and the House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to include a 3.6 percent pay raise offered by Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) by a party-line vote, with 28 Democrats supporting and 32 Republicans in opposition. Subcommittee Chairman David Joyce (R-OH) referenced President Trump’s ability to use an alternative pay plan, calling the committee’s rejection of a pay raise, “the reality of politics, and exactly why we have elections every four years.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee has delayed initial consideration of its version of several appropriations bills, including Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and the Legislative Branch. Its mark-up is expected to be rescheduled for sometime later in June.

Meanwhile, the Senate passed its $69.5 billion immigration enforcement reconciliation bill on Friday, June 5, by a vote of 52-47, following a “vote-a-rama.” The measure (S. 2) would fund immigration enforcement for the remainder of President Trump’s term in office, including funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

"It's a simple bill," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday. "It will do nothing more than fund Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for three years.”

Consideration of the bill – which could not be filibustered – was delayed due to concerns many Senators have with the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund proposed by the Department of Justice (DOJ). While acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recently testified the administration is not moving forward with the fund, many Senators worked to use the reconciliation process to legislatively and expressly prohibit its creation. Those efforts ultimately failed, and the bill does not contain language to block the fund.

The House needs to approve the measure before it can be sent to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.