Contents

• Administration and Congressional Action
• Continuing Resolution
• Financial Regulatory Agencies and FSGG Appropriations
• Committee Structure and Scope
• CRS FSGG Appropriations Experts

Summary

The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury, the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the judiciary, the District of Columbia, and more than two dozen independent agencies. The House and Senate FSGG bills fund the same agenciesagencies, with one exception. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is funded through the Agriculture appropriations bill in the House and the FSGG bill in the Senate. This structure has existed since the 2007 reorganization of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

President Trump submitted his FY2018 budget request on May 23, 2017. The request included a total of $45.2 billion for agencies funded through the FSGG appropriations bill, including $250 million for the CFTC.

The House Committee on Appropriations reported a Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 3280, H.Rept. 115-234) on July 17, 2017. Total FY2018 funding in the reported bill would behave been $42.5 billion, with another $248 million for the CFTC included in the Agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 3268, H.Rept. 115-232). The combined total of $42.7 billion would behave been about $2.5 billion below the President's FY2018 request, with the largest difference in the funding for the General Services Administration (GSA).

The text of nearlyNearly all of H.R. 3280's text was included as Division D of H.R. 3354, an omnibus appropriations bill, when it was considered by the House of Representatives beginning on September 6, 2017. The bill was amended numerous times, shifting funding among FSGG agencies but not changing the FSGG totals. H.R. 3354 passed on September 14, 2017.

The full Senate Committee on Appropriations hasdid not actedact on an FY2018 FSGG appropriations bill. A draft FY2018 chairmen's recommended FSGG bill along with an explanatory statement was released on November 20, 2017. Funding in the draft bill would totalhave totaled $43.3 billion, about $1.9 billion below the President's FY2018 request, with most of this difference in funding for the GSA.

With the end of FY2017 approaching and no FY2018 appropriations bills enacted, a continuing resolution (CR) was enacted on September 8, 2017, to provide funding for most of the government until December 8, 2017 (P.L. 115-56). The CR provided funding for most FSGG agencies at the FY2017 funding rate subject to an across-the-board decrease of 0.6791% (pursuant to Section 101(b) of Division D). Additional CRs have provided funding through December 22, 2017 (P.L. 115-90), January 19, 2018 (P.L. 115-96), February 8, 2018 (P.L. 115-120), and March 23, 2018 (P.L. 115-123). TheseNo appropriations bills were passed prior to the start of FY2018. Five separate continuing resolutions (CR) were enacted—on September 8, 2017 (P.L. 115-56), December 8, 2017 (P.L. 115-90), December 22, 2017 (P.L. 115-96), January 22, 2018 (P.L. 115-120), and February 8, 2018 (P.L. 115-123). The CRs generally maintained FSGG funding based on FY2017 levels, with P.L. 115-123 also adding supplemental emergency funding for the GSA ($127 million) and the Small Business Administration (SBA; $1.66 billion) largely to address natural disasters. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625, P.L. 115-141) was enacted on March 23, 2018. FSGG appropriations were included as Division E, with the CFTC funded in the Agriculture appropriations in Division A. FY2018 enacted appropriations in P.L. 115-141 and P.L. 115-123 combined totaled $47.7 billion for the FSGG agencies, $2.5 billion above the original request with much of this difference resulting from the emergency funding for the SBAand the Small Business Administration.

Although financial services are a major focus of the FSGG appropriations bills, these bills do not include funding for many financial regulatory agencies, which are funded outside of the appropriations process. The FSGG bills do, however, often contain additional legislative provisions relating to such agencies, as iswas the case with H.R. 3280 and H.R. 3354, which containcontained several provisions in Title IX and Title X that also appear in H.R. 10, a broad financial regulatory bill passed by the House on June 8, 2017. The Senate draft bill includes fewer legislative provisions, notably one to bring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding under the appropriations process.

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The Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill includes funding for the Department of the Treasury (Title I), the Executive Office of the President (EOP; Title II), the judiciary (Title III), the District of Columbia (Title IV), and more than two dozen independent agencies (Title V). The bill typically funds mandatory retirement accounts in Title VI, which also contains additional general provisions applying to the funding provided to agencies through the FSGG bill. Title VII typically contains general provisions applying government-wide. The FSGG bills have often also contained provisions relating to U.S. policy toward Cuba.¹

The House and Senate FSGG bills fund the same agencies, with one exception. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is funded through the Agriculture appropriations bill in the House and the FSGG bill in the Senate. This structure has existed in its current form since the 2007 reorganization of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. Although financial services are a major focus of the bills, FSGG appropriations bills do not include funding for many financial regulatory agencies, which are instead funded outside of the appropriations process.

Administration and Congressional Action

President Trump submitted his FY2018 budget request on May 23, 2017. The request included a total of $45.2 billion for agencies funded through the FSGG appropriations bill, including $250 million for the CFTC.²

On July 17, 2017, the House Committee on Appropriations reported a Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 3280, H.Rept. 115-234).³ Total FY2018 funding in the reported bill would behave been $42.5 billion, with another $248 million for the CFTC included in the Agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 3268, H.Rept. 115-232).⁴ The combined total of $42.7 billion would behave been about $2.5 billion below the President's FY2018 request, with most of this difference in the funding for the General Services Administration (GSA).

The text of nearlyNearly all of H.R. 3280's text was included as Division D of H.R. 3354 when it was considered by the House of Representatives beginning on September 6, 2017. The bill was amended numerous times, shifting funding among FSGG agencies but not changing the FSGG totals.⁵ H.R. 3354 passed on September 14, 2017.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations released an FY2018 chairmen's recommended FSGG draft bill along with an explanatory statement on November 20, 2017.⁶ Funding in the recommended bill would totaltotaled $43.3 billion, about $1.9 billion below the President's FY2018 request with most of this difference in funding for the GSA.

Continuing Resolution⁷

With the end of FY2017 approaching and no permanent FY2018 appropriations bills enacted, Congress passed, and the President signed, H.R. 601/P.L. 115-56. Division D of this act provided for continuing appropriations through December 8, 2017, generally termed a continuing resolution (CR). The CR providesP.L. 115-556 provided funding for most FSGG agencies at the FY2017 funding rate subject to an across-the-board reduction of 0.6791% (pursuant to Section 101(b) of Division D). It also included separate divisions establishing a program to provide foreign assistance concerning basic education (Division A—Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act), providing supplemental appropriations for disaster relief requirements for FY2017 (Division B), and temporarily suspending the public debt limit (Division C). In addition to the funding for FSGG agencies as described, the CR containsbased on the FY2017 funding rate. In addition, the CR contained a number of deviations or "anomalies" from the general formula. The FSGG anomalies focused on decreasing funding related to the presidential transition, which had been increased in FY2017.

Additional CRs have provided funding through December 22 Four additional CRs were enacted—on December 8, 2017 (P.L. 115-90), January 19, 2018December 22, 2017 (P.L. 115-96), February 8January 22, 2018 (P.L. 115-120), and March 23February 8, 2018 (P.L. 115-123). P.L. 115-123 also included an additional $127 million for the GSA and $1.66 billion for the Small Business Administration (SBA), largely to address disaster costs from hurricanes in 2017.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (H.R. 1625, P.L. 115-141) was enacted on March 23, 2018. The bill, originally focused on eradication of human trafficking, was amended with the appropriations measure, passed in the House on March 22, 2018, and passed in the Senate on March 23, 2018. The Congressional Record for March 22, 2018, includes an Explanatory Statement which is to have the same effect as a joint explanatory statement of a conference committee.⁷ FSGG appropriations are included in Division E, with the CFTC funded in the Agriculture appropriations in Division A. Additional legislative language affecting financial regulation is in Division S, Titles VIII and IX. FY2018 enacted appropriations in both P.L. 115-141 and P.L. 115-123 totaled $47.7 billion for the FSGG agencies, $2.5 billion above the original request with much of this difference resulting from the emergency funding for the SBA. The GSA, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) also had substantial funding differences between requested and enacted amounts. Most of the EAC funding was for grants to states for the election reform program.

Table 1 reflects the status of FSGG appropriations measures at key points in the appropriations process. Table 2 lists the broad amounts requested by the President and included in the various FSGG bills, largely by title, and Table 3 details the amounts for the independent agencies. Specific columns in Table 2 and Table 3 are FSGG agencies' enacted amounts for FY2017, the President's FY2018 request, and the FY2018 amounts from H.R. 3554 as passed by the House, fromas reported by the House Appropriations Committee and as included in the Senate Appropriations chairmen's draft bill, and the enacted amounts combined from P.L. 115-141 and P.L. 115-123.

Financial Regulatory Agencies and FSGG Appropriations

Although financial services are a focus of the FSGG bill, the bill does not actually include funding for the regulation of much of the financial services industry.⁸ Financial services as an industry is often subdivided into banking, insurance, and securities.⁸ Federal regulation of the banking industry is divided among the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (generally known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB).⁹ In addition, credit unions, which operate similarly to many banks, are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). None of these agencies receives its primary funding through the appropriations process, with only the FDIC inspector general and a small program operated by the NCUA currently funded in the FSGG bill.

Insurance generally is regulated at the state level, with some oversight at the holding company level by the Federal Reserve. There is a relatively small Federal Insurance Office (FIO) inside the Treasury, which is funded through the Departmental Offices account, but FIO has no regulatory authority.⁹

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Federal securities regulation is divided between the SEC and the CFTC, both of which are funded through appropriations.¹¹ The CFTC funding is a relatively straightforward appropriation from the general fund, whereas the SEC funding is provided by the FSGG bill, but then offset through fees collected by the SEC.

Although funding for many financial regulatory agencies may not be provided by the FSGG bill, legislative provisions affecting financial regulation in general and some of these agencies specifically have often been included in FSGG bills. H.R. 3280 and H.R. 3354 as passed by the House include many provisions, particularly in Title IX and Title X, that would amend the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act¹⁰12 and other statutes relating to the regulation of financial institutions and the authority and funding of financial regulators. Many of these provisions were included in other legislation, notably H.R. 10,¹¹13 which passed the House on June 8, 2017. Of particular interest from the appropriations perspective, H.R. 3280 and H.R. 3354 as passed by the House would bring several financial regulators under the FSGG bill instead of receiving funding from outside of the appropriations process, as is currently the case.¹² Table 4 below lists the provisions in common between H.R. 10 and H.R. 3354 as passed. Previous FSGG bills that addressed the Dodd-Frank Act and other financial regulatory changes proved controversial.

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P.L. 115-141 included the texts of H.R. 4267 and H.R. 4792, both of which address small business access to capital. H.R. 4267 was also included in H.R. 10, but had not been originally included in H.R. 3280 or H.R. 3354. The texts of H.R. 4267 and H.R. 4792, however, were not included in the FSGG portion of the bill. Instead they were in Titles VIII and IX in a separate Division S. None of the language bringing financial regulators under the appropriations process was included in the law as enacted.

Committee Structure and Scope

The House and Senate Committees on Appropriations reorganized their subcommittee structures in early 2007. Each chamber created a new Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee. In the House, the jurisdiction of the FSGG Subcommittee is composed primarily of agencies that had been under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies, commonly referred to as TTHUD.¹³15 In addition, the House FSGG Subcommittee was assigned four independent agencies that had been under the jurisdiction of the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Subcommittee: the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Small Business Administration (SBA).

In the Senate, the jurisdiction of the new FSGG Subcommittee is a combination of agencies from the jurisdiction of three previously existing subcommittees. Most of the agencies that had been under the jurisdiction of the Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee were assigned to the FSGG subcommittee.¹⁴16 In addition, the District of Columbia, which had its own subcommittee in the 109^th Congress, was placed under the purview of the FSGG Subcommittee, as were four independent agencies that had been under the jurisdiction of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee: the FCC, FTC, SEC, and SBA. As a result of this reorganization, the House and Senate FSGG Subcommittees have nearly identical jurisdictions, except that the CFTC is under the jurisdiction of the FSGG Subcommittee in the Senate and the Agriculture Subcommittee in the House.

CRS FSGG Appropriations Experts

Table 5 4 below lists various departments and agencies funded through FSGG appropriations and the names and contact information of the CRS expert(s) on these departments and agencies.

Author Contact Information

Footnotes

P.L. 111-203. For more information, see CRS Report R41350, The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Background and Summary, coordinated by [author name scrubbed].

1.	These provisions typically appear in Title I due to the Department of the Treasury's role in sanctions enforcement. See CRS Report R44822, Cuba: U.S. Policy in the 115th Congress, by [author name scrubbed].
2.	The President's budget does not total the requested amounts according to the congressional appropriations structure. This total amount is as reported in H.Rept. 115-234 and H.Rept. 115-232.
3.	U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill, 2018, report to accompany H.R. 3280, 115th Cong., 1st sess., July 17, 2017, H.Rept. 115-234 (Washington: GPO, 2017).
4.	U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018, report to accompany H.R. 3268, 115th Cong., 1st sess., July 17, 2017, H.Rept. 115-232 (Washington: GPO, 2017).
5.	House-passed amendments to the FSGG portion of H.R. 3354 included H.Amdt. 429, H.Amdt. 430, H.Amdt. 432, H.Amdt. 439, H.Amdt. 441, H.Amdt. 443, and H.Amdt. 445.
6.	The bill was released by the chairs of both the full committee and the subcommittee. See U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, "FY2018 Financial Services & General Government Appropriations Bill Released," press release, November 20, 2017, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/fy2018-financial-services-and-general-government-appropriations-bill-released.
7.	For more information on the CR, see CRS Report R44978, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2018 (P.L. 115-56), coordinated by [author name scrubbed]. "Explanatory Statement Regarding the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment on H.R. 1625," Congressional Record, vol. 164, no. 50, Book II, March 22, 2018. It included summary tables and final committee recommendations. Any recommendations in the House Appropriations Committee report are to be considered in force unless specifically contradicted in the Explanatory Statement.
8.	For a more complete discussion regarding the funding of financial regulators see, CRS Report R43391, Independence of Federal Financial Regulators: Structure, Funding, and Other Issues, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed].
9.	For more information, see CRS Report R44958, Insurance Regulation: Legislation in the 115th Congress, by [author name scrubbed].
10.	P.L. 111-203. See on banking regulation, see CRS In Focus IF10035, Introduction to Financial Services: Banking, by [author name scrubbed].
10.	For more information, see CRS Report R44958, Insurance Regulation: Legislation in the 115th Congress, by [author name scrubbed].
11.	For more information, see CRS In Focus IF10032, Introduction to Financial Services: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by [author name scrubbed] and CRS In Focus IF10117, Introduction to Financial Services: Derivatives, by [author name scrubbed].
12.
1113.	For more information on H.R. 10, see CRS Insight IN10769, Financial Regulation: FY2018 Appropriations and the Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10), by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed]; CRS Insight IN10695, The Financial CHOICE Act (H.R. 10) and the Dodd-Frank Act, by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report R44839, The Financial CHOICE Act in the 115th Congress: Selected Policy Issues, by [author name scrubbed] et al.
1214.	These regulators include the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. H.R. 3280 included the National Credit Union Association in the group that would be brought under appropriations, but the NCUA language was removed in the floor consideration of H.R. 3354 with the passage of H.Amdt. 443. For more information on financial regulator funding, see CRS Report R43391, Independence of Federal Financial Regulators: Structure, Funding, and Other Issues, by [author name scrubbed], [author name scrubbed], and [author name scrubbed].
1315.	The agencies previously under the jurisdiction of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies (TTHUD) that did not become part of the FSGG Subcommittee were the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
1416.	The agencies that did not transfer from the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies to FSGG were DOT, HUD, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.