Aiming for an Omnibus
With an FY12 continuing resolution now in effect until December 16, House and Senate leaders are working hard to reconcile the FY12 appropriations bills from both chambers and sign them into law. After passing one “minibus” measure of three appropriations bills, the goal is to finalize the remaining nine spending bills in the form of an omnibus FY12 appropriations measure before the December recess.
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. 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. The final FY12 allocation for international food aid in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill, passed as part of the minibus, provides $1.65 billion for international food aid programs, a slight decrease from current spending but a significant improvement over the 28% cut from FY11 levels in the House bill.
