Senate Appropriations Completes all 12 Funding Bills
Yesterday, the Senate Appropriations Committee completed its final FY10 Appropriations bill – Defense Appropriations. With all 12 bills now passed out of committee, the full Senate will now turn its attention to passing the remaining 8 bills. The $48.7 billion FY10 State, Foreign Operations bill, the largest component of the International Affairs Budget, is not expected to be considered until the end of the month or in early October.
Currently, The FY10 International Affairs Budget is on track to be funded at $51 billion, $2.9 billion or 5.4% below the Administration’s request. With only 11 legislative days remaining until the end of the fiscal year, Congress will most likely have to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the federal government open until it finishes the appropriations process. Earlier this week, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) indicated he would like to wrap up the process by the end of October.
