Updated: January 4, 2008
On Dec. 26, President Bush signed the $555 billion omnibus package that included the 11 remaining FY08 spending bills, Congressional Quarterly reported. The package (H.R. 2764) was closer to the president’s requested levels of funding; however, the omnibus package funds Democratic domestic priorities at higher levels than the president’s budget proposed while lowering the level of funding for the president’s priorities. While Inside Higher Ed said that the bill disappointed college officials who had hoped for more funding on education programs, Democratic leaders pointed to increases in elementary and secondary education, vocational education, and student aid in the current bill over the president’s proposed budget. See the Coalition on Human Needs’ website for a full comparison of the president’s proposal, the House proposal, and the Senate proposal for FY08 and the actual FY07 budget, and visit the House Appropriations Committee’s website for full bill information.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for January 4, 2008.
Congress this week passed (272-142 in the House, 76-17 in the Senate) a $555 billion omnibus package that included the 11 remaining FY08 spending bills, Congressional Quarterly reported. The package (H.R. 2764) was closer to the president’s requested levels of funding, as Democrats’ proposal to spend $23 billion over that had drawn repeated veto threats from the White House. However, the omnibus package funds Democratic domestic priorities at higher levels than the president’s budget proposed while lowering the level of funding for the president’s priorities. With the fiscal year almost a quarter of the way over, only the Defense appropriations bill has yet to be signed into law, although the president is expected to sign the omnibus bill. While Inside Higher Ed said that the bill disappointed college officials who had hoped for more funding on education programs, Democratic leaders pointed to increases in elementary and secondary education, vocational education, and student aid in the current bill over the president’s proposed budget. See the Coalition on Human Needs’ website for a full comparison of the president’s proposal, the House proposal, and the Senate proposal for FY08 and the actual FY07 budget, and visit the House Appropriations Committee’s website for full bill information.
The House and Senate also passed (voice vote in the House, unanimous consent in the Senate) another continuing resolution (H.J. Res. 72) on Wednesday to keep the government running through Dec. 31. The president signed the legislation on Friday, which will give his advisors time to review the omnibus bill. The previous continuing resolution (H.J. Res 69) passed last week funds the government through Dec. 21.
- from AAUW's Washington Update for December 21, 2007.