Even a supplemental
appropriations bill to provide emergency relief to flood victims nationwide this spring was polluted with pork: $21 million for, among other things, an alternative fuel shuttle bus fleet at Yosemite National Park; $12.6 million for completion of the William H.
To date, the House has passed six of the 12 annual FY12
appropriations bills, and House GOP leaders hope to get the Interior and environment
appropriations bill through the chamber this week.
Given that Congress has been unable to resolve their difference in approach to immigration reform, the House sought to repass the individual pieces of their original immigration bill and attach them to other legislation, such as these must-pass
appropriations bills, in the final days of activity last week.
(The table identifies these programs as "NEW.") The President's FY2008 budget was submitted to Congress, the House
Appropriations bills were passed, and relevant Senate
appropriations bills were reported before the America COMPETES Act became law on August 9, 2007.
Congress had intended to finish all FY 2006
appropriations bills by the September 30t deadline.
In addition to the
appropriations bills for every department except Defense, agenda items include the September 11 commission's proposals to overhaul U.S.
* Table 5 shows congressional action on the FY2008 defense and military construction
appropriations bills. The table does not show funding for defense-related activities of agencies other than the Defense Department, except for about $1.0 billion for the intelligence community.
Other
appropriations bills include various restrictions on competitions in the Justice, Energy and Interior Departments and the Agriculture Department's Forest Service.
Before vetoing the Treasury and Postal Service
appropriations bill, President Clinton had already vowed to veto the
appropriations bills for Labor-HHS-Education and Commerce-Justice-State, as well as the proposed tax package.
This is a proven path forward for the appropriations process, and it is the only path forward for the remaining
appropriations bills. I am hopeful that House Republicans will drop their remaining poison pills from the third minibus, so that we can complete nine of the 12
appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year.
Only two
appropriations bills slotted for early attention--the Legislation Branch spending bill (H.R.
Regular
appropriations bills provide most of the funding that is provided in all appropriations measures for a fiscal year, and must be enacted by October 1 of each year.
