The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 () is a $2.3trillion
spending bill that combines $900 billion in
stimulus relief for the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...
with a $1.4trillion
omnibus spending bill
An omnibus spending bill is a type of bill in the United States that packages many of the smaller ordinary appropriations bills into one larger single bill that can be passed with only one vote in each house of Congress. There are twelve differen ...
for the
2021 federal fiscal year (combining 12 separate annual appropriations bills) and prevents a
government shutdown
A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government.
Government shutdowns in the U ...
.
[Caitlin Emma & Marianne LeVine]
Breaking down the $900B stimulus package and $1.4T omnibus bill
''Politico'' (December 20, 2020). The bill is one of the largest spending measures ever enacted, surpassing the $2.2trillion
CARES Act, enacted in March 2020.
The legislation is the first bill to address the pandemic since April 2020.
According to the
Senate Historical Office, at 5,593 pages, the legislation is the longest bill ever passed by Congress.
The bill was passed by both houses of Congress on December 21, 2020, with large bipartisan majorities in support. The bill was the product of weeks of intense negotiations and compromise between Democrats and Republicans during the
lame-duck session
A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a ''sine die'' ...
.
After initially criticizing the bill, President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
signed it into law on December 27.
Legislative history
Background
Following the approval of some $2.5trillion in stimulus in March and April, Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
cautioned against any further spending. From then until mid-October, Republicans and Democrats proposed a series of prospective bills, with support mostly along party lines, and each side voicing criticism of the other party's inclusion of special interests.
In September, a non-pandemic-related spending bill was passed to avoid a
government shutdown
A government shutdown occurs when the legislative branch does not pass key bills which fund or authorize the operations of the executive branch, resulting in the cessation of some or all operations of a government.
Government shutdowns in the U ...
, allowing Congress to focus on a separate relief bill. On November 4, McConnell spoke in favor of passing stimulus during the
lame-duck session in November and December. Two days later,
Larry Kudlow, the director of President Donald Trump's
National Economic Council, indicated that, like McConnell, the
Trump administration was interested in a targeted package smaller than $2–3trillion.
Negotiations
On December 1, McConnell implied that some form of relief would come in the spending bill for the fiscal year of 2021.
The next day, House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...
and Senate Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...
endorsed a $908billion bipartisan plan.
A number of Republican senators subsequently endorsed it, with
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
(R-SC) saying he had discussed it "extensively" with Trump.
On December 8, Mnuchin presented a $916billion counter-proposal, which Pelosi and Schumer called "unacceptable" because it reduced funding for unemployment insurance from $180billion to $40billion, in exchange for a one-time $600 direct payment for adults and children.
On December 11, a one-week stopgap spending bill was signed into law to allow more time to negotiate stimulus.
The next week, two controversial measures from both parties were moved into a separate $160billion bill called the Bipartisan State and Local Support and Small Business Protection Act of 2020. This bill included the Democrat's request for more state and local government aid, and the Republican's request for a strong COVID lawsuit liability shield for businesses.
Senator
Josh Hawley
Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...
and Senator
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
planned to bring to vote on December 18 a proposal for direct payments of the same amount provided by the CARES Act ($1,200 per adult making less than $75,000 annually and $500 per child), but this was blocked by Senator
Ron Johnson
Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...
.
On December 18, a 48-hour stopgap bill was passed to keep the government funded through the weekend,
with a one-day stopgap bill passed to prolong voting until that Monday, December 21.
At the request of Senator
Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. represen ...
(R-PA), the bill was modified to require congressional approval of future emergency lending through the Fed, and to rescind about $429billion in unused
CARES Act funding.
In order to pass the bill more quickly, Congress used H.R. 133, previously the ''United States-Mexico Economic Partnership Act'', as a
legislative vehicle, amending the bill to contain its current text.
Challenges
During the last few days, logistical challenges arose as the bill, which consisted of some 5,500 pages of text, proved difficult to physically assemble due to printer malfunctions and a corrupted computer file.
The file, representing the education portion of the bill, posed a problem in that all portions had to be combined into one overall file. Senator
John Thune (R-SD) remarked, "Unfortunately, it's a bad time to have a computer glitch."
The delays meant that the two votes in Congress were delayed late into the evening of December 21.
Several members of both parties voiced unhappiness with such a large bill being presented to them with little time to understand what was inside it.
Representative
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born October 13, 1989), also known as AOC, is an American politician and activist who has served since 2019 as the United States House of Representatives, US representative for New York's 14th congressional distric ...
wrote, "It's not good enough to hear about what's in the bill. Members of Congress need to see & read the bills we are expected to vote on,"
and compared the process to "hostage-taking",
while Representative
Michael Burgess said, "This is a tough way to legislate, to save everything til the very end and then pass a very large bill."
Senator
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
tweeted that the whole process was "ABSURD".
Congress passes the bill
On the evening of December 21 the votes were held, with large, bipartisan majorities supporting them.
The bill was split into two parts in the House, with one portion passing 327–85 and another portion 359–53.
The first vote, which included funding for federal agencies, was opposed by 41 Democrats and 43 Republicans.
The stimulus portion was in the latter vote, and was supported by Democrats by a 230–2 margin and Republicans by a 128–50 margin (two independents made up the rest). Following that, there was a single vote in the Senate, which passed 92–6.
Also on the night of December 21, Trump signed a weeklong stopgap bill through December 28, avoiding a shutdown while the 5,593-page legislation was being processed. It was the biggest bill ever passed by Congress in terms of length of text.
On December 24, Congress began the official process of sending the bill to Trump.
Presidential dispute and signing
Trump was largely absent from the final series of negotiations on the pandemic relief and omnibus legislation,
as he had been focusing almost exclusively on promoting his
claims that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him.
Trump's Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin and other Trump administration officials were involved in the negotiations at each stage and expressed support for the final deal.
In a video released on the evening of December 22, a day after the bill's passage, Trump indicated his dissatisfaction with the bill, calling it a "disgrace" and criticizing it for including what he called "wasteful and unnecessary" spending (Trump complained about the inclusion of funds for foreign aid, the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, and the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
) and not enough pandemic relief, calling the $600 individual payments "ridiculously low".
Trump's last-minute statement shocked Congress
and surprised administration officials, including Mnuchin, who was heavily involved in the negotiations.
In the video, Trump complained about various spending line items in the bill for not being related to COVID-19, but these expenditures were part of the regular annual (fiscal year 2021) appropriations, not the COVID-19 stimulus portion of the bill.
Moreover, the budget items that Trump complained about were part of Trump's own budget proposal for the year,
[ and were similar to budget provisions in previous budgets signed by Trump.]
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that, if Trump vetoed the bill, the Senate was prepared to convene on December 29 for an override vote.
On the night of December 22, Trump asked Congress to send him a version of the bill with $2,000 rather than $600 individual payments. House Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
Steny Hamilton Hoyer ( ; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 20 ...
signaled Democratic support of this change, while Senate Minority Leader Schumer encouraged Trump to sign the current bill, stating that "we're glad to pass more aid" at a later date. If no agreement can be reached, the government may shut down, and according to Trump, "the next administration will have to deliver a COVID relief package and maybe that administration will be me". It was speculated that Trump might use a pocket veto.
The president left for his Mar-a-Lago
Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...
estate on December 23, leaving his intentions unclear. On December 24, House Democrats tried to pass, by unanimous consent
In parliamentary procedure, unanimous consent, also known as general consent, or in the case of the parliaments under the Westminster system, leave of the house (or leave of the senate), is a situation in which no member present objects to a propo ...
, legislation to increase the size of the stimulus checks to $2,000, but House Republicans blocked the proposed increase. Many figures in both parties urged Trump to sign the bill, and planned fallback strategies to keep the government open in case he did not.
Two kinds of pandemic relief payments, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, expired on the morning of December 27. On the evening of December 27, after coming under heavy pressure from Democrats and Republicans, Trump signed the bill into law without his demands being met. Upon signing the bill, Trump released a statement containing various false statements and grievances.[ Trump indicated that he would create "a redlined version" of the bill accompanied by a "formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill." Congress is not expected to act on this request.][ Trump's delay of nearly a week in signing the bill held up $900billion in emergency relief funds,][ and because he did not sign the bill a day earlier, millions of Americans enrolled in unemployment programs were unlikely to receive a payment for the final week of 2020.][
]
CASH Act
On December 28, the House passed the Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act (CASH Act), a standalone bill to increase direct payments to $2,000 for those who make under $75,000 annually. It would phase out for those who make up to $115,000. Projected to cost $464billion, the House passed the bill by just over the two-thirds majority vote necessary, under a suspension of the rules
In United States parliamentary procedure, a suspension of the rules allows a deliberative assembly to set aside its normal rules to do something that it could not do otherwise. However, there are rules that cannot be suspended.
Explanation of use ...
.
On December 29, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer moved to pass the bill by unanimous consent, but was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.[Dareh Gregorian]
McConnell blocks Senate Democrats' move to pass $2,000 coronavirus checks
NBC News (December 29, 2020). Later that day, McConnell introduced legislation combining increased payments with two other Trump demands: a repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
The Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) was the United States Congress's first notable attempt to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In the 1997 landmark case '' Reno v. ACLU'', the United States Supreme Court unanimously stru ...
(which the president had wanted to include in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021), and the establishment of a voter fraud study commission. McConnell later claimed that Trump had requested these items to be tied to the stimulus checks, but there is no record of this. Senator Chris Murphy has cautioned against sinking the $2,000 stimulus checks with " poison pills". On December 31, Schumer again tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent, which was again blocked by McConnell. Schumer suggested voting on the president's other two requests separately.
On December 30, McConnell criticized the CASH Act for failing to adequately phase out higher-income earners. Bernie Sanders (with Josh Hawley's backing) tried to force a roll-call vote on the law by filibustering a vote to override Trump's veto of the 2021 defense bill. On January 1, 2021, Schumer again called for a vote on $2,000 stimulus checks but was blocked by a Republican senator—ending prospects for the act to be approved by the 116th Congress
The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...
. On January 6, after Democrats won control of the Senate by winning two Senate seats in Georgia the night before, Schumer said the $2,000 payments were a top priority for him in the 117th Congress. President-elect Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
also supported increasing the payments to $2,000.
Provisions
Coronavirus relief
The ''Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021'' (CRRSAA) is Division M of the legislation, and Division N contains additional coronavirus provisions. It is a follow-on to such actions as the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the First presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and ...
passed in March 2020, and comes after eight months of mostly little progress in negotiations between the different parties and houses of Congress. Many of the negotiations made little progress due to strongly held policy differences being contested. The incumbent president, having lost his bid for re-election, generally played little role in the later stages of the discussions.
The pandemic relief portion of the bill was estimated at about $900billion by the Associated Press. On January 14, the Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
I ...
released its scoring with Division M as $184billion and Division N as $682billion, for a total of $866billion with their breakdowns. The Associated Press' estimates were:
* $325billion for small businesses
** $284billion in forgivable loans via the Paycheck Protection Program
** $20billion for businesses in low-income communities
** $15billion for economically endangered live venues, movie theaters and museums
** Expanded employee retention tax credit: gross receipts threshold reduced to 20%; small employer cap raised to 500; PPP borrowers eligible; worth up to $7,000 per employee per quarter.[Expansion of ERTC](_blank)
/ref>
* $166billion for a $600 stimulus check, for most Americans with an adjusted gross income
In the United States income tax system, adjusted gross income (AGI) is an individual's total gross income minus specific deductions. It is used to calculate taxable income, which is AGI minus allowances for personal exemptions and itemized d ...
lower than $75,000
* $120billion for an extension of increased federal unemployment benefits ($300 per week until March 14, 2021)
* $82billion for schools and universities, including $54billion to public K-12
K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii.
Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the world. ...
schools, $23billion for higher education; $4billion to a Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund; and slightly under $1billion for Native American schools
* $69billion for vaccines
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious or malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verified. A vaccine typically contains an ag ...
, testing, and health providers
** Vaccine and treatment procurement and distribution, as well as a strategic stockpile, received over $30billion
** Testing, contact tracing
In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying people who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...
, and mitigation received $22billion
** Health care providers received $9billion
** Mental health
Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
received $4.5billion
* $25billion for a federal aid to state and local governments for rental assistance programs (also covering rent arrears, utilities, and home energy costs)[
Diana Olick]
Rental assistance in new Covid relief plan is not enough, experts warn
CNBC (December 21, 2020).
* $13billion to increase the monthly Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income persons to help them maintai ...
(SNAP/food stamp) benefit by 15% through June 30, 2021[
* $13billion round of direct payments to the farming and ranching industry,][Chuck Abbott]
Coronavirus package allots $13 billion for crop and livestock producers
''Successful Farming'' (December 23, 2020). including
** About $5billion for payments of $20 per acre for row crop producers, which (according to an American Farm Bureau Federation
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), more informally called the American Farm Bureau (AFB) or simply the Farm Bureau, is a United States–based 501(c)(5) tax-exempt agricultural organization and lobbying group. Headquartered in Was ...
analysis) would go to producers of corn ($1.8billion), soybeans ($1.7billion), wheat ($890million), and cotton ($240million).[
** Up to $1billion for livestock and poultry farmers, plus certain "plus-up" payments for cattle producers][
** $470million for dairy producers, plus additional $400million for the USDA to purchase milk for processing into dairy products for donation to ]food bank
A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...
s[
** $60million for small meat and poultry processors][
* $10billion for child care (specifically, the Child Care Development Block Grant program)]
* $10billion for the U.S. Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
(in the form of forgiveness of a previous federal loan)
The legislation also extends the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
-imposed eviction
Eviction is the removal of a Tenement (law), tenant from leasehold estate, rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosure, foreclosed by a mortgagee (often ...
moratorium (halting evictions for failure to pay rent for tenants with annual incomes of less than $99,000) to January 31, 2021; the moratorium had initially been set to expire at the end of 2020.[
]
Regular appropriations
The regular annual appropriations bills comprise Divisions A through L of the bill, and totals about $1.4trillion.[FY 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill]
National Conference of State Legislatures. Among these provisions are:
* $1.375billion for the Mexico–United States border wall
* Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funds from being used for abortions
Division A – Agriculture, rural development, FDA
* $114billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income persons to help them maintai ...
(SNAP) and $25.118billion for Child Nutrition Programs, including $42 million for the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program (including an expansion to new states), and $30 million for school meal equipment grants, and $6billion in discretionary Women, Infants and Children funding
* $23.4billion for agriculture, rural development, the FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
, and related agencies (an increase of $217million from FY2020
* $7billion to expand broadband access for students, families and unemployed workers, including $300million for rural broadband and $250million for telehealth
Division B – Commerce, justice, science
* Justice spending, including:
** $33.8billion overall for the U.S. Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...
(an increase of $1.18billion from FY2020)
** $3.385billion in law enforcement grants (an increase of $107million from FY2020), including $513.5million for Violence Against Women Act programs, $484million for Byrne JAG, $386million for the Community Oriented Policing Services Program, $244million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, $189million for sexual assault kit and DNA evidence backlogs, $100million for Second Chance Act prisoner reentry programs, $526.5million for opioid crisis
The opioid epidemic, also referred to as the opioid crisis, is the rapid increase in the overuse, misuse or abuse, and Drug overdose, overdose deaths attributed either in part or in whole to the class of drugs called opiates or opioids since th ...
grant programs, $132million for the STOP School Violence Act, and $85million for National Instant Criminal Background Check improvement grants.
** $409.4million for First Step Act
The First Step Act, formally known as the Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act, is a bipartisan criminal justice bill passed by the 115th U.S. Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in ...
programs
** $5million for the creation of a database to track police misconduct
* $23.3billion for NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Division C – Defense
* $695.9billion for the Department of Defense (a decrease of $9.7billion from FY 2020)
** $68.7billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations fund
** A 3% rise in military pay[Nicole Ogrysko]
Congress unveils details of massive $1.4T omnibus spending package
Federal News Network (December 21, 2020).
** $2.3billion for a second ''Virginia''-class attack submarine, a key priority for certain legislators who have pressed for the construction of two attack subs per year
** $2billion for the Space Force
A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
Division D – Energy and water development
* $39.62billion for the U.S. Department of Energy (an increase of $1billion from FY2020)
Division E – Financial services, general government
* $13.49billion for the U.S. Department of the Treasury (an increase of $429.9million from FY2020), including
** $11.92billion to the Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
** $270million for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
** $175million for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
** $170million for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
** $127million for Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is a bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrori ...
** $41million for the Treasury Inspector General
** $25million for the digitization of savings bonds A savings bond is a government bond designed to provide funds for the issuer while also providing a relatively safe investment for the purchaser to save money, typically a retail investor. The earliest savings bonds were the war bond programs of Wor ...
records
** $20million for Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS, ) is an inter-agency committee in the United States government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments in the U.S. economy.
CFIUS, led by the U.S ...
programs and enforcement
Division F – Homeland security
* $51.88billion for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions involv ...
(an increase of $1.41billion from FY2020, if offsetting collections and major disaster funding are excluded)
* $21.67billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
(a decrease of $604.1million from FY2020, but $12.32billion more than Trump's budget request)
Division G – Interior, environment
* $13.7billion in discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of the Interior (an increase of $186million from FY2020), $3.12billion for the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
, $1.67billion for the Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it ...
(water resources and Western drought programs), $1.27billion for the Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...
; $222.6million for the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, $515million for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program; funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
The United States' Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a federal program that was established by Act of Congress in 1965 to provide funds and matching grants to federal, state and local governments for the acquisition of land and water, an ...
* $9.2billion to the Environmental Protection Agency (an increase of $180million from FY2020)
Division H – Labor, health, education
* Labor funding, including:
** $9.4billion for the U.S. Department of Labor
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for the administration of federal laws governing occupational safety and health, wage and hour standards, unem ...
Employment and Training Administration, including $2.85billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act training formula grants
** $592million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...
, $246million for the Wage and Hour Division
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor is the Federal government of the United States, federal office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws. The Division was formed with the enactment of the Fair Labor St ...
, $185million for the Registered Apprenticeship Program, $96million for the International Labor Affairs Bureau, $45million for the Strengthening Community College Training Grants program
* $97billion for "base discretionary funding" Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...
, plus $24.7billion in discretionary funding for the Administration for Children and Families
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is a division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It is headed by the assistant secretary of health and human services for children and families. It has a $49 bill ...
, $42.9billion for the National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
, $7.9billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...
, $5.9billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $2.8billion for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund, $6billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). SAMHSA is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitati ...
, $7.5billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland. It is the primary federal agency for improving access to health care service ...
, $2.4billion for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, $745million for the Community Services Block Grant, $551million to the Office of the HHS Secretary, and $62million for the Office of Minority Health
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) is an American federal agency created in 1986. It is one of the most significant outcomes of the 1985 Secretary's Task Force ''Report on Black and Minority Health'', also known as the " Heckler Report". The Heck ...
.
* Education spending, including:
** $73.5billion for the U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a United States Cabinet, cabinet-level department of the federal government of the United States, United States government, originating in 1980. The department began operating on May 4, 1980, havin ...
(an increase of $785million from FY2020).
** Funding for formula grants under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1965. Part of Johnson's "War on Poverty", the act has been one of the most far-rea ...
, including $16.5billion for Title I grants to low-income schools, $14.1billion for Individuals with Disabilities Education, $2.1billion for Title II teacher professional development state grants, $1.2billion for Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, $10.7billion for Head Start and $5.9billion for Child Care and Development Block Grant, $1.3billion for Career and Technical Education State Grants, and $1.1billion for Federal TRIO Programs. All the formula grant programs' appropriations represented an increase from FY2020.
Division I – Legislative branch
* $5.3billion for the legislative branch, including $757.3million for the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
, $675.1million for the Architect of the Capitol
The Architect of the Capitol is the Federal government of the United States, federal Government agency, agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of t ...
, $661.1million for the Government Accountability Office
The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan government agency within the legislative branch that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the s ...
, $515.5million for the Capitol Police, $117million for the Government Publishing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...
, $57.3million for the Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress.
I ...
, $5million for the Office of the Attending Physician, and $2million for the House Modernization Initiatives Account.[Chris Cioffi & Chris Marquette]
Legislative Branch bill includes new accountability measures for Capitol Police
''Roll Call'' (December 21, 2020). The bill does not include any pay increase for members of Congress.
Division J – Military construction and veterans affairs
* $243billion in mandatory and discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (including advance appropriations from the preceding year). VA funding increased by almost 12% from the previous fiscal year.[Leo Shane III]
VA gets big funding increase in final fiscal 2021 budget deal
''Military Times'' (December 22, 2020). VA appropriations include $10.3 billion for veterans' mental health (including $312 million specifically for suicide prevention),[ $3.2billion to address the ]Veterans Benefits Administration
The Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It is responsible for administering the department's programs that provide financial and other forms of assistance to veterans, their dependents, ...
backlog of disability claims, $16billion for MISSION Act community care, $2.6billion for VA electronic health record
An electronic health record (EHR) is the systematized collection of electronically stored patient and population health information in a digital format. These records can be shared across different health care settings. Records are shared thro ...
modernization,[ $1.9 billion for programs addressing veteran homelessness,][ and $1.2billion for the Caregivers Program.] The act also provides $130 billion in advance appropriations for fiscal year 2022 to ensure continuity of VA funding and prevent a future partial government shutdown from affecting the VA.[
* Appropriations for military construction declined 28% from the prior fiscal year.
]
Division K – State and foreign operations
The act appropriated $55.5 billion for the Department of State, foreign operations, related programs, and the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds.[ This was an increase from the amount appropriated in the previous fiscal year, but lower than the bills approved by the House and Senate.][Adva Saldinger]
Budget bill includes small increase for foreign aid, but is it a win?
''Devex'' (December 20, 2019). The act also included funding for the U.S. contribution to the replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a goal of global health advocates.[ The foreign aid appropriations are an increase of about 1%.][
* $16.68 billion for State Department operations
* $8 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds
* $7.8 billion for humanitarian and disaster assistance
* $3.4 billion for the development assistance account
* $2.42 billion for democracy programs
** $33million for ]democracy promotion
Democracy promotion, also referred to as democracy building, can be domestic policy to increase the quality of already existing democracy or a strand of foreign policy adopted by governments and international organizations that seek to support t ...
programs for Venezuela
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
* $2.1 billion for multilateral assistance
* $1.66 billion for USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance.
Established in 19 ...
operating expenses and USAID Office of Inspector General
* $1.3 billion for the Foreign Military Financing program, including $1.3 billion for Egypt (with disbursement of those funds dependent on certain conditions)
* $1 billion for food security and agricultural development
* $906 million for the Millennium Challenge Corporation
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States foreign aid agency established by the U.S. Congress in 2004. It is an independent agency separate from the State Department and USAID. It provides grants to countries tha ...
* $875 million for education (including $100 million for Global Partnership for Education and $25 million for Education Cannot Wait)
* $500million for missile defense
Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception, and also the destruction of attacking missiles. Conceived as a defense against nuclear weapon, nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic mi ...
systems for Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
* $299 million for the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
Division L – Transportation, housing and urban development
* $86.7billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...
(an increase of $553 million from FY 2020).
** $49.1billion for the Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
, 94% of which is allocated to states and local governments as part of the federal-aid highway program
The U.S. federal-aid highway program was commenced in 1916, with milestones of Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 and Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.
Before the Interstate Highway System was established in 1956, the federal-aid highway system c ...
** $13billion for the Federal Transit Administration
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is an agency within the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) that provides financial and technical assistance to local public transportation systems. The FTA is one of ten modal administration ...
** $2.8billion for the Federal Railroad Administration
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...
, including the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements and Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair programs
** $2billion for Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
, of which $1.3billion is for National Network Grants and $700million is for Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...
Grants
** $7.8billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
* $60.3billion in budget authority for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ($49.6billion from discretionary appropriations, $10.7billion from offsetting receipts), representing "an increase of $3.8billion in programmatic funding" from FY2020 and $12.3billion more than Trump's budget request. Congress rejected Trump's proposal to eliminate all funding for the Public Housing Capital Fund, HOME
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...
, Community Development Block Grant
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing, anti- ...
, and Choice Neighborhoods programs.
Other provisions
Divisions O through Z and AA through FF contains additional legislation (called "authorizing matters") unrelated to coronavirus relief and annual appropriations. Additionally, the appropriations provisions of the bill contain various policy riders.[Jack Fitzpatrick]
Spending Deal Includes Border Wall Funds, Not Police Provisions
Bloomberg (December 21, 2020). The addition of such provisions to omnibus spending legislation ("loading up the Christmas tree") is common toward the end of a congressional session. Among these are:
* a directive to establish the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum
The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum is a future Smithsonian Institution museum dedicated to women's history, to be located in Washington, DC. The museum was established by Congress as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, ...
and the National Museum of the American Latino within the Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
, with locations on or near the National Mall
The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...
in Washington
* the re-authorization of intelligence programs
* copyright and trademark protections, including creation of a small-claims court in the United States Copyright Office
The United States Copyright Office (USCO), a part of the Library of Congress, is a United States government body that registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists ...
via the CASE Act, and creating felony penalties for mass-streaming of copyrighted material via the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act
* Incorporation of the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act, addressing aircraft safety issues in the wake of Boeing 737 MAX
The Boeing 737 MAX is a series of narrow-body aircraft developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes as the fourth generation of the Boeing 737. It succeeds the Boeing 737 Next Generation and incorporates more efficient CFM International LEAP engin ...
incidents
* Incorporation of the Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act, named after a man killed in the 2018 Merrimack Valley gas explosions
On September 13, 2018, excessive pressure in natural gas lines owned by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts caused a series of explosions and fires to occur in as many as 40 homes, with over 80 individual fires, in the towns of Lawrence, Massachusett ...
;['Leonel Rondon Pipeline Safety Act' included in massive COVID-19 bill]
WFXT/State House News Service (December 22, 2020). the bill strengthens pipeline safety requirements[
* Incorporation of the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, requiring in-person age verification when online purchases of e-cigarette and vaping products are delivered
* Incorporation of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, establishing national safety standards for the ]horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
industry, in a bid to combat horse doping—a subject of scandal in preceding years
Healthcare
* A ban on most surprise medical billing—unexpected, and sometimes large, bills from out-of-network providers that are charged to patients. The ban, which goes into effect in 2022, will require out-of-network providers to negotiate with insurers to obtain compensation, rather than billing insured patients directly. The ban on surprising billing will apply to physicians, hospitals, and air ambulance
Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...
s, but does not apply to ground ambulances. The ban on surprise billing had broad public support; a similar provision nearly passed in 2019, but was blocked amid concerns from health providers and the private-equity firms that own many of them.
* Reauthorizing funding for community health centers for three years
* Extension of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement rates for health care providers and procedures
* Requiring ERISA health plan sponsors to attest that fees are fair and reasonable for the services provided
Tax provisions
* Various "tax extenders" extending expiring tax breaks; including making permanent a previous reduction in the excise tax
file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
for producers of beer, wine, and distilled spirits (a measure advocated for by the alcohol industry
Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...
); extension of the wind production tax credit (advocated by the American Wind Energy Association
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) was a Washington, D.C.–based national trade association formed in 1974, representing wind power project developers, equipment suppliers, service providers, parts manufacturers, utilities, researchers ...
); a tax extender for the motorsports entertainment industry (benefiting NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
and others); and a tax extender for buyers of "two-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles" (electric motorcycles and scooters
Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery that drives one or more electric motors. Electric Scooter (motorcycle), scooters are distinguished from motor ...
)
* A tax deduction
A tax deduction or benefit is an amount deducted from taxable income, usually based on expenses such as those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The diff ...
for corporate meal expenses; inclusion of this provision was pushed by Trump and administration officials, but was criticized by many House Democrats who referred to it as a needless " three-martini lunch" tax break, as well as by economists across the political spectrum. During negotiations, Democrats ultimately agreed to include the deduction in exchange for Republicans' agreement to the expansion of tax credits for the working poor and low-income families.
Education
* increasing the maximum Pell Grant amount by $150 (bringing it to $6,495)[Chris Burt]
Congress approves $22.7 billion in relief for higher education
''University Business'' (December 22, 2020).
* allowing incarcerated students to receive Pell Grants
* forgiving $1.3billion in debt from federal loans made to 44 historically black colleges and universities
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
* simplifying the FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a form completed by current and prospective college students (undergraduate and Postgraduate education, graduate) in the United States to determine their eligibility for Student financial aid ...
form (reducing its size from 108 questions to 36 questions)[
* appropriating $28million to the ]Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. IES' stated mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practic ...
Foreign and human rights policy
* Incorporation of the Taiwan Assurance Act, directing the Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...
to review its guidance governing U.S.-Taiwan relations
* Incorporation of the Tibet Policy and Support Act, directing the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
and reaffirming U.S. policy on the succession or reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, stating that "Interference by the Government of the People's Republic of China or any other government in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...
and any future Dalai Lamas would represent a clear abuse of the right to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists and the Tibetan people."
* Incorporation of the Belarus Democracy, Human Rights, and Sovereignty Act, reauthorizing and expanding the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004, stating that it is U.S. policy to reject the allegedly fraudulent 2020 Belarusian presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August.
Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission of Belarus, Central Election Commissi ...
; refusing to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimately elected leader of Belarus; and strengthening the current human rights sanctions regime on Belarus
* Establishment, within the Department of State, of an Office of Sanctions Coordination to coordinatе sanctions policy both within the Department of State and externally with allies
Energy and environmental provisions
* A comprehensive update to clean energy research and development programs at the Department of Energy known as the Energy Act of 2020, authorizing over $35 billion in funding.[Geof Koss, Jeremy Dillon & Emma Dumain]
Year-end deal includes major energy, environment wins
E&E News (December 21, 2020). The legislation is based on the American Energy Innovation Act proposed by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Ann Murkowski ( ; born May 22, 1957) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Alaska, having held the seat since 2002. She is the first woman ...
* $10 billion for water projects, such as coastal protection, flood control
Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...
, and environmental projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
. The legislation, which incorporated language from the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (passed by the House earlier in the session) authorizes a record number of water projects
* A phase-out of hydrochlorofluorocarbon
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are fully or partly halogenated hydrocarbons that contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F). They are produced as volatile derivatives of methane, ethane, ...
s (HFCs), a powerful greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
that contributes to climate change; the measure will decrease HFC usage by 85% over 15 years, to avert what would otherwise be an additional 0.5 °C of global warming. This aligns with the goals of the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 ...
, which the United States had not ratified at the time of passage.
* Extending various energy efficiency tax incentives through 2021
* Making the 179D commercial building tax deduction for improvements to building energy efficiency
* Extending, through the end of 2021, the underground and surface-mine coal excise tax, which funds the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund
* Extending, through the end of 2025, the 9-cent-per-barrel excise tax
file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
on crude oil, which funds the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund
* Reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is a United States Department of Transportation agency created in 2004, responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound trans ...
(PHMSA), of the U.S. Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...
, for five years. The PHMSA reauthorization was the result of a compromise, and did not include ambitious climate change mitigation and methane-control provisions initially proposed by House Democrats.
* Blocked the greater sage grouse from being listed under the Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting and conserving imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
[
* Limiting oil and gas extraction in the area of ]Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in the American Southwest hosting a large concentration of pre-Columbian indigenous ruins of pueblos. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, betwee ...
, New Mexico[
* Small additions to the area of ]Saguaro National Park
Saguaro National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in southeastern Arizona. The park consists of two separate areas—the Tucson Mountain District (TMD), about west of Tucson, Arizona, T ...
* Redesignation of New River Gorge National River to New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
The New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is a United States national park and preserve designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia in the Appalachian Mountains. Established in 1978 as a national river ...
Economic analyses
Economists projected that the relief act (in conjunction with the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines) would have a stimulative effect and would strengthen U.S. economic recovery in the second half of 2021, but came too late to avert a struggling economy in the first half of 2021.[Heather Long]
$900 billion stimulus is second-biggest in U.S. history, but it won't last long enough
''Washington Post'' (December 21, 2020).[Paul Kiernan]
Stimulus Deal Likely to Spur Faster Economic Growth Later Next Year
''Wall Street Journal'' (December 22, 2020).[Emily Stewart]
What it would really take to save the economy: About four times what Congress is currently proposing, according to one estimate.
''Vox'' (December 8, 2020). An analysis by economists Adam Hersh and Mark Paul, commissioned by the Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive think tank
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...
, concluded that Congress would need to enact a near-term stimulus about four times larger in order to obtain a full recovery.[
The bill's omission of grants to state and local governments, which are struggling with budget shortfalls, was criticized by economists, who noted that the lack of revenue would lead to state and local governments eliminating jobs and raising taxes.][
Economists stated that the $25billion in rental assistance programs allocated by the bill were insufficient to prevent a looming eviction crisis.][
]
See also
* Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
* List of COVID-19 pandemic legislation
* U.S. federal government response to the COVID-19 pandemic
Further reading
* Lee, Frances; Poirier, Bettina; Bertram, Christopher (2024), " High Stakes Negotiation: Reaching Agreement on Pandemic Aid in 2020." in ''Disruption? The Senate During the Trump Era'', Oxford University Press, pp. 87–113.
References
Footnotes
Citations
External links
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
as amended
PDFdetails
in the GPObr>Statute Compilations collection
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
as enacted
PDFdetails
in the US Statutes at Large
H.R.133 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
on Congress.gov
Congress.gov is the online database of United States Congress legislative information. Congress.gov is a joint project of the Library of Congress, the House, the Senate and the Government Publishing Office.
Congress.gov was in beta in 2012, and ...
{{First presidency of Donald Trump
Acts of the 116th United States Congress
Law associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
United States federal appropriations legislation
Omnibus legislation
Economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
First presidency of Donald Trump
United States government responses to UFOs