On March 29, the Senate approved, 51-47, the FY2007 emergency supplemental spending bill (H.R. 1591) after approving, by unanimous consent, a substitute amendment by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV). The measure provides $122 billion for FY2007, with the majority of funds directed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House approved the measure on March 22 (see The Source, 3/23/07). A House and Senate conference committee will now meet to work out differences in the two bills.
During consideration of the bill, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, an amendment by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) that would incorporate the provisions of the Fair Minimum Wage and Tax Relief Act of 2007 (see The Source, 2/2/07 for more information on specific provisions).
An amendment by Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) to provide $25 million for the Adam Walsh Child Safety and Protection Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-248) to track and prosecute sex offenders was approved, 93-0. The increase would be offset by reducing funding for the State Department’s Education and Cultural Exchange program.
Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) withdrew an amendment that would have, among other provisions, appropriated an additional $15 million for Department of Defense health programs for women’s mental health services.
