Wrapping Up
With an FY12 continuing resolution now in effect until November 18, House and Senate leaders are working hard to reconcile the FY12 appropriations bills from both chambers and sign them into law. The goal is to finalize all the spending bills, potentially in the form of an omnibus FY12 appropriations measure, prior to the November 23 deadline for the Super Committee to report on its recommendations for deficit reduction.
In terms of the International Affairs Budget, congressional negotiators need to resolve a $5 billion discrepancy between House and Senate levels for the FY12 State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill, as well as a roughly $500 million difference between House and Senate levels for international food aid in the FY12 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. The Senate’s funding level of $44.64 billion for non-war related “base” programs in the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill is a significant improvement from the House’s level of $39.6 billion – which represents a devastating 20 percent cut from FY10 levels, with even deeper cuts to specific areas such as State and USAID operating expenses and multilateral development assistance. For international food aid in the FY12 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, the Senate provides $1.75 billion while the House provides $1.23 billion.
