On August 1, the U.S. Senate passed a “minibus” appropriations bill that includes the fiscal 2019 spending bills for Interior/EPA, Agriculture, Transportation/Housing and Urban Development, and Financial Services/General Government. The chambers will proceed to conference on this appropriations package as the House passed its version of the individual bills earlier in the summer. It is the first time since the 2010 fiscal year that the Senate has passed bills before the new federal fiscal year starts on October 1; the progress is due in part to a bipartisan agreement in the Senate to not include policy riders on the bills. This agreement, however, scuttled efforts to attach legislation to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund before its authorization sunsets at the end of September. The House and the Senate will be working through the month of August on negotiating a compromise spending package and there will likely be significant disagreements as House bills do include a number of policy riders.