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Various Federal Programs Set to
Expire as End of Fiscal Year Looms
Monday, September 28, 2009
7:45 AM
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The House and Senate return to session on Tuesday facing a
number of federal programs set to expire at midnight on
Wednesday, the close of fiscal year (FY) 2009. To prevent a
government-wide shutdown, the House on Friday approved a
continuing resolution (CR) that will keep all
cabinet-level departments operating until Oct. 31, 2009.
Several
month-long extensions of authorizations also have been wrapped
into the CR, including child nutrition programs, Guantanamo
Bay restrictions, certain housing programs, stop-loss payments
to U.S. troops, and surface and aviation transportation
programs.
The Senate is expected to vote on the CR Tuesday evening or
Wednesday morning, leaving President Obama with little
breathing room to sign the bill into law.
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None of the twelve
FY 2010 appropriations bills have been enacted thus far,
and a dispute between the House and Senate over how to
deal with earmarks directed to for-profit entities has stalled movement on four
spending measures awaiting conference action. House
appropriators have included language in their appropriations
bills requiring agencies to competitively bid earmarks
awarded to for-profits, while the Senate's appropriations
bills contain no such provisions. A deal was
struck Thursday night that requires House earmarks to be
competitively bid, but leaves the Senate earmarks as-is, clearing the way for appropriators to
finalize the Energy and Water, Agriculture, Homeland Security,
and Transportation-HUD spending bills. The Senate passed the
Interior and Environment appropriations legislation on Friday,
adding another bill to appropriators' conference to-do list.
"There is still one small area of disagreement that remains,"
said House Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI) on
Friday. "There are a small number of for-profit projects --
approximately 5 percent -- that have been included in both
the House and Senate bills... Under the agreement we’ve reached, this year
and this year only those projects will be dealt with
according to Senate policy." Obey added that all House earmarks to
for-profit firms will be subject to competition in FY 2011
and beyond without exception. |
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A 13-week
extension of unemployment benefits
(H.R.
3548),
passed
by the House last week, could also see a Senate vote this
week. The legislation as currently drafted would
provide extensions
for states with unemployment rates at or exceeding 8.5
percent.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has not indicated a
timeframe for moving H.R. 3548 or a similar bill, or if an amendment will
be offered to the House measure that strikes the 8.5 percent requirement. The
Associated Press has
reported that 18 states are asking for immediate
extensions of unemployment benefits, including Reid's home
state of Nevada. An estimated
300,000 jobless
workers are expected to run out of unemployment compensation
by Wednesday, according to House Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer's (D-MD) office.
In addition, look
for Congress this week to send the White House a bill (H.R. 3614)
containing a monthlong extension of programs under the Small
Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.
After passing the House last week, the Senate cleared the
measure with an amendment that strikes language covering the
Business Stabilization Program and the investment limitations of
the New Markets Venture Capital company. |
© Copyright
Capitol Hill Reports, Inc. (2009). No claim to original government
works.
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