Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Transmitting Budget Amendments for Fiscal Year 2017

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I ask the Congress to consider the enclosed Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Budget amendments for the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Homeland Security, State and Other International Programs, and Transportation, as well as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, the Surface Transportation Board, and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Also included is an amendment to a general provision included in Title VI of the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2016, that would affect the Federal Trade Commission. These amendments are necessary to reflect correctly policies assumed in my FY 2017 Budget. These amendments would increase by $4 million the overall discretionary budget authority in my FY 2017 Budget.

This transmittal also includes FY 2017 Budget amendments for the Legislative Branch. As a matter of comity and tradition, these appropriations requests for the Legislative Branch are transmitted without change. These amendments would decrease by $25 million the overall discretionary budget authority in my FY 2017 Budget.

Moreover, provided for your consideration are FY 2017 amendments for the Department of Energy. Included is an amendment that would initiate modernization of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) infrastructure, which is at the end of its design life, as well as fund SPR marine terminal distribution capacity enhancements. Consistent with authorities provided in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, these initiatives would be funded by the sale of crude oil from the Reserve in FY 2017. Also included are two offsetting amendments that would provide an increased amount to fund a portion of settlement costs related to the February 2014 incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, including the associated activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The FY 2017 budget authority totals would not be affected by these amendments.

Taken together, the transmitted amendments would decrease by $21 million the overall discretionary budget authority in the FY 2017 Budget.

The details of these amendments are set forth in the enclosure from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Sincerely,

BARACK OBAMA