December 11, 2009 - The House passed a conference report yesterday for an omnibus spending measure (H3288) that combines six of the seven appropriations bills remaining unfinished for fiscal year (FY) 2010.  The agreement negotiated by House and Senate leaders this week approves $447 billion in discretionary spending.  The only bill not included in the package was Defense, which may be used as a vehicle to move Democratic priorities before Congress adjourns for the year.

 

To date, only five of the twelve annual appropriations bills have been enacted for the current federal fiscal year (FY 2010) that began on October 1, 2009.  The Senate has not yet voted on the omnibus agreement, and may need to pass another short-term CR if the clock runs out before it can act, and the measure is reviewed and signed into law by President Obama.  Government programs covered by the unfinished bills are currently operating on a temporary basis through a continuing resolution (CR) that expires December 18.  The most recent CR was enacted on October 30 as part of the FY 2010 Interior/Environment appropriations bill (PL 111-88).

 

The FY 2010 omnibus package incorporates the following spending bills: Commerce/Justice/Science, Financial Services, Labor/HHS/Education, Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, State/Foreign Operations, and Transportation/HUD.  The measure will determine final spending levels for agencies with varying degrees of funding for humanities research and education, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of State.