House Passes Appropriations Minibus

The House passed, on a 217 to 197 vote, a package of fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills. The package consists of six bills that fund federal departments including Defense, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Treasury Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The $1.3 trillion package, H.R. 7617, consists of the FY 2021 Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water Development, Financial Services and General Government, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills. The Financial Services and General Government funding bill, among other things, provides $376.1 million for the Federal Communications Commission and includes funding to implement new broadband mapping legislation. The bill also includes $61 billion in funding for the FCC to expand availability of broadband to unserved areas, and for broadband mapping and replacement of telecommunications equipment deemed to pose a national security threat to the United States.