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This Week in Congress
Monday, October 12, 2009
6:15 PM

House and Senate lawmakers this week are expected to send President Obama the first round of appropriations bills that will fund federal departments in the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1, 2009 (FY 2010). The FY 2010 Defense authorization conference report could also be cleared for the White House by week's end. Both chambers return to session on Tuesday.

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Appropriations Scorecard

The House is scheduled to vote on the FY 2010 Homeland Security appropriations conference report (H.R. 2892) as early as Wednesday, followed by a Senate vote that could occur by week's end. Conferees signed off on $42.78 billion in total discretionary funding for the Department of Homeland Security, a $2.65 billion -- or 6.6 percent -- increase above the FY 2009 enacted level. Winners include Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which will receive a $447.7 million -- or 8.2 percent -- hike in funding. An additional $50 million above 2009 will go to a program that allows local law enforcement officials to check the fingerprints of individuals who have been booked on criminal charges for immigration and criminal records. Appropriators terminated several homeland security programs for a savings of $319 million, including advanced spectroscopic portal monitors, trucking industry security grants, and the commercial equipment direct assistance initiative.

Other bills on this week's House floor schedule include:

Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Expansion Act (H.R. 2442) - Authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to participate in six new water recycling projects and to increase the federal share of the costs for two existing projects in the San Francisco Bay area.
Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act (H.R. 3371) - Establishes several new procedural requirements and policies related to aviation safety.
Junior Duck Stamp Conservation and Design Program Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3537) - Authorizes $500,000 a year for the junior duck stamp program over fiscal years 2010 through 2015.
Iran Sanctions Enabling Act (H.R. 1327) - Allows state and local governments to divest themselves of investments in any organization that has an investment in Iran’s energy sector worth more than $20 million, any organization that provides specified equipment for transport of oil or liquefied natural gas from Iran, or any financial institution that for 45 days or more extends $20 million or more in credit to an organization that will use that credit to invest in Iran’s energy sector.
Girl Scouts USA Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 621) - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 350,000 $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
Maritime Workforce Development Act (H.R. 2651) - Authorizes $110 million over the 2010 to 2014 period, and $22 million in 2015, for the Maritime Administration to provide loans for students attending certain maritime training institutions.
Legislation providing for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center (H.R. 3689).

The Senate will continue debate on the FY 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2847) this week. A vote on whether to end debate -- or "invoke cloture" -- on the Senate's substitute amendment to the underlying House-passed version is scheduled for 5:30 PM. Assuming cloture is invoked, a final vote on the legislation could occur soon thereafter.

Once the Senate approves H.R. 2847, the body is scheduled to turn to the FY 2010 Energy and Water appropriations conference report (H.R. 3183). The House passed the final Energy and Water spending measure earlier this month on a 308 to 114 vote. The bill will be cleared for the president's desk following a vote by the Senate.

The Senate this week also could vote on the FY 2010 Defense authorization conference report (H.R. 2647), and subsequently clear the bill for the White House. The House passed the legislation last week on a 281 to 146 vote. Get a summary of the conference report here. A veto threat looms over the final bill due to language that authorizes funding to continue the development of an alternate engine for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Legislation extending unemployment benefits could see action on the Senate floor this week, although the timing remained unclear at press time.

On the committee front, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) intends to bring his health care reform bill to a final vote on Tuesday. The Baucus mark is expected to pass the committee with possible support from one Republican -- Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. The Baucus proposal, as amended by the Finance Committee, would reduce federal deficits by $81 billion over the next ten years, according to a joint analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation.