On March 6, the House passed, 267-151, a continuing resolution (H.R. 933) to fund all government agencies and programs through September 30, 2013. Congress passed the Continuing Appropriations for FY2013 Resolution (H.J. Res. 117) in September, 2012 (see The Source, 9/21/12) to fund the government through March 27, 2013.
Sponsored by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), H.R. 933 would provide a total of $1.043 trillion in discretionary spending. However, total spending would be reduced to $982 billion as a result of sequestration, a series of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts included in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25) that began to take effect on March 1. While H.R. 933 would extend most funding levels from last year’s continuing resolution (H.J. Res. 117), the bill would include full-year appropriations bills to fund the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
The chart below compares funding levels in H.R. 933 for programs within the DoD and the VA to FY2012 spending levels; the funding levels below do not reflect cuts from sequestration. According to an Appropriations Committee summary, all programs below will be subject to sequestration, except funding for Military Personnel and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
| Program/Agency | FY2012 | H.R. 933 |
| Department of Defense* | $518.1 billion | $518.1 billion |
| Military Personnel | $131.091 billion | $127.5 billion |
| Defense Health Program | $32.483 billion | $32.7 billion |
| Military Construction | $13.05 billion | $10.6 billion |
| Family Housing | $1.683 billion | $1.65 billion |
| Department of Veterans’ Affairs** | $124.156 billion | $133.9 billion |
| Veterans Health Administration | $53.122 billion | $53.3 billion |
*Does not include funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO).
**Includes discretionary and mandatory funding.
