Senate Passes Supplemental Bill
Last night, the Senate passed a $59 billion war, disaster assistance and Haiti supplemental for FY10 by a 67-28 vote. The bill includes $6.1 billion in funding for the International Affairs Budget, mostly for Haiti and the “Frontline States” of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, which matches the President’s request. The Senate defeated an amendment that would have capped voluntary U.S. payments to the United Nations at $1 billion annually and cut off funding for a $500 million State Department counter-terrorism training facility. The House Appropriations Committee canceled its scheduled Thursday markup of its $84 billion version of the supplemental due to concerns over the $24 billion in additional domestic programs. The bill closely matches the Senate’s $6.1 billion allocation for the International Affairs Budget. Action by the House will now not occur until the week of June 7th, at the earliest.
