None of the regular
appropriations bills have been enacted as of the date of this report.
The House Appropriations Committee released a draft Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
appropriations bill in late September that would fund the NIH at $31.
Despite assurances the bill would be completed prior to the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, due to political wrangling in the Senate over total federal discretionary spending, it was reported the full Senate might not take up any
appropriations bills prior to October 1.
Each year, federal funding for education is bundled with two other federal agencies in the form of a Labor/Health and Human Services/Education
appropriations bill.
A presidential veto of the Labor-HHS bill would leave the Congress with three choices: to attempt to override his veto; to pass a massive omnibus
appropriations bill that includes Labor-HHS funding; or to reduce overall spending by $27 billion to match the President's recommended funding levels.
The House passed the Katrina
appropriations bill on September 8, 2005 by a vote of 410-11 (Roll Call 460).
Another CR will be passed by 18 Nov 05 for the appropriations that remain unfinished, including the FY06 Defense
Appropriations bill.
The Congress did not complete action on the Omnibus
Appropriations Bill, which included full FY 2004 funding for HAVA implementation.
Congress' debate over the FY 2003 Omnibus
Appropriations bill covered all
appropriations bills for federal programs, including the Interior
Appropriations bill that funds the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and other natural resource management programs.
If those 11
appropriations bills are not completed quickly, Congress may opt to roll them into funding bills for fiscal 2004.
That is, is the item veto a restraint on the use of
appropriations bills for the purpose of legislating rather than just appropriating?
