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OMB bill draft includes SIF one‑time requests, fund transfers and several statutory sections; committee asks for detail
Summary
OMB’s draft appropriation bill includes proposed transfers between special and general funds, one‑time Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) requests, and multiple statutory sections (mileage, carryovers, childcare/higher‑ed transfer). Committee members asked for breakdowns and put question marks on several policy items.
OMB staff walked the Appropriations Committee through statutory language and fund transfers in the agency’s draft bill, highlighting one‑time requests from the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), proposed switches between general and special funds for facility operations, and other bill sections.
OMB said the one‑time SIF requests it included amount to roughly $58.4 million in total for items such as a $40 million deferred‑maintenance pool, a $10 million placeholder tied to defined‑benefit to defined‑contribution incentive payments, $3.5 million for moving and rent assistance, space reconfiguration, and several smaller project amounts. Joel Morrissett explained the $58.4 million figure is a compilation of items included in the Armstrong recommendation and OMB’s draft; the Burgum proposal had a smaller SIF package of approximately $40.4 million. Morrissett said exact figures will be adjusted based on final committee decisions.
The committee also examined a request to change how facility management operations are funded: OMB proposed using rent revenue (special fund authority) to pay certain facility costs rather than drawing general fund dollars, and members asked for a spreadsheet showing per‑square‑foot rent rates and agency billings. Representative Fisher and others pressed for clarity on whether rent is uniform across buildings and whether OMB would take on procuring leased space on agencies’ behalf.
Other statutory items highlighted in OMB’s draft included (1) carryover authority for specific capital work (boilers and windows), (2) a provision to link a narrow out‑of‑state mileage reimbursement rate to the federal GSA rate for certain long‑term out‑of‑state assignments, (3) an ongoing internship cost‑share allocation that would be transferred to agencies, and (4) a proposal to move part of the higher‑education childcare stipend authority out of OMB into the higher‑education payroll office. Committee members placed a question mark next to a requested flexibility provision that would let agencies reassign vacant FTEs under limited circumstances; some members signaled skepticism about adding that authority broadly.
Ending: The committee asked OMB to return with line‑by‑line SIF and capital‑trust fund breakdowns and to verify whether provisions such as the proposed mileage change and childcare transfers are already addressed elsewhere in pending legislation.
