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Long Term Continuing Resolution Approved by the House

On January 31, the House approved, 286-140, a resolution (H.J. Res. 20) to fund government programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. The current continuing resolution (P.L. 109-383) expires February 15. Prior to the vote on H.J. Res. 20, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) offered a motion to recommit the bill that would have increased funding for the Drug Enforcement Agency, and military housing and construction. The motion failed, 196-228.

The measure would provide $463.5 billion to fund programs in the nine appropriations bills that were not enacted before the end of the 109th Congress. Under the resolution, most government programs would be funded at their FY2006 level, the FY2007 level set in the House-passed bill, or the FY2007 level set in the Senate-passed bill, whichever is lowest.

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) said, “Every Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be good stewards of the money given to it by the American people, but the last Congress failed to live up to this duty. Of the 11 appropriations bills it was supposed to pass in 2006, only two were completed. The others were abandoned, left for the incoming Democratic Congress to deal with. My fellow Democrats and I could have approached this responsibility in the way it was approached last year, but we promised to run the House differently, to run it responsibly, and that is exactly what we intend to do…This bill is not perfect, and cleaning up the mess we inherited required difficult choices between bad alternatives. But I am very pleased that despite it all the legislation does contain increases in funding for critical programs affecting the lives of millions of people at home and around the world.”

“Our constituents may remember that the budget that we passed in 2006 was the budget that made one percent across-the-board reductions in spending, one percent,” said Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). She continued, saying,” It was a $40 billion savings to the American people. Now, the budget, this omnibus budget, this 137 pages is going to end up spending about $17 billion more. So they are reducing and doing away with the savings that we worked hard to put in place. My constituents long ago said they did not want the activities of smoke-filled rooms. They wanted more transparency and the American people wanted to see greater accountability, and I think that we will continue to hear from our constituents…This is not our money. It is the taxpayers’ money. Government does not have a revenue problem…What government has is a spending problem. It has a priority problem, and this big, bloated budget that was passed today is a budget that will continue to fund a bloated bureaucracy that just cannot get enough of our constituents’ money.”

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

The Food and Drug Administration would receive $1.965 billion in FY2007, $465 million over FY2006.

Child Nutrition: The resolution would allocate $13.345 billion for child nutrition programs in FY2007, $645 million more than FY2006.

Department of Defense

The resolution would provide $21.217 billion for FY2007 Department of Defense health programs, $1.2 billion more than FY2006. Included in that amount is $217.5 million for cancer research programs, including level funding of $127.5 million for breast cancer research, and level funding of $10 million for ovarian cancer research.

Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Agencies

The Export-Import Bank of the United States would receive $26.382 million in FY2007.

The resolution would provide $50 million for peacekeeping operations in Sudan in FY2007. In FY2006, the Sudan received $70 million in humanitarian assistance.

Department of State

The resolution would allocate $832.9 million for refugee and migration assistance in FY2007, $41.9 million more than FY2006.

The Global HIV/AIDS Initiative would receive $3.247 billion in FY2007, $447 million more than FY2006. Of that amount, $377.5 million would be allocated as a contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The resolution would provide $1.718 billion for child health and survival programs in FY2007, $138 million over FY2006. Included in that amount is $248 million for programs to combat malaria.

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies

Department of Health and Human Services

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): HRSA would receive $6.884 billion in FY2007, $324 million over FY2006. Included in that amount is $1.988 for public health centers, $188 million above FY2006. Also included is $184.746 million for health service professional programs in FY2007, including $31.548 million for geriatric medicine, $5 million for pediatric dentistry, and $24.614 million for family medicine programs.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):The resolution would allocate $5.829 billion in FY2007 for the CDC, $51 million less than FY2006.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH would receive $28.9 billion in FY2007, $619.5 million above FY2006.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development would receive $1.254 billion in FY2007.

The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities would receive $199.405 million in FY2007.

The Office of the Director would receive $1.095 billion in FY2007. Included in that amount is $69 million for the National Children’s Study.

Ryan White: Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act grants would be funded at $1.195 billion in FY2007, $76 million more than FY2006.

Global Health: International HIV/AIDS/Tuberculosis prevention and treatment programs would receive $4.5 billion in FY2007, $1.3 billion more than FY2006.

Administration for Children and Families

Child Support Enforcement: The resolution would allocate $1 billion for child support enforcement and family support programs as an advance payment for the first quarter of FY2008.

Children and Family Services Programs: Head Start would receive $6.889 billion in FY2007, $103.7 million more than FY2006 level.

Refugees: The resolution would provide $587.823 million for refugee assistance programs. Included in that amount is $95.302 million for costs associated with the care and placement of unaccompanied children, $17.202 million more than FY2006.

Administration on Aging (AoA): The resolution would allocate $1.383 billion in FY2007, including $398.919 for nutrition services and $188.305 million for home-delivered nutrition services.

Department of Education

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): NCLB would receive $12.8 billion, $125 million more than FY2006. The Title I School Improvement Fund, a new program, would receive $125 million.

Pell Grants: Pell grants would receive $13.6 billion in FY2007, $615.4 million more than FY2006. It also would increase the maximum Pell Grant to $4,310, an increase of $260.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): IDEA would receive $10.7 billion in FY2007, $200 million more than FY2006.

Special Education: The resolution would allocate a total of $11.803 billion for special education programs in FY2007.

Department of Labor

Education and training services would receive $1.673 billion for July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008. Included in that amount is $878.538 million for Job Corps operations; $49.5 million for the Youthbuild program; $49.104 million for the Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offenders program; and, $1 million for grants under the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Act.

Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs

The resolution would provide $4.036 billion for the construction and maintenance of military family housing in FY2007, $16 million over FY2006.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

The resolution would provide $32.3 billion in FY2007 for veterans’ health care in FY2007, $3.6 billion more than FY2006.

Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies

Department of Justice

Office on Violence Against Women: The resolution would provide $382.453 million in FY2007, $4.074 million less than FY2006.

Justice Assistance

The Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants program would receive $520 million in FY2007, $109 million above FY2006.

The National Science Foundation would receive $4.666 billion in FY2007, $984,000 less than FY2006.

The Legal Services Corporation would receive $348.578 million in FY2007, $17.587 million above FY2006.

The Small Business Administration would receive $539.098 million in FY2007, $83.098 million more than FY2006.

Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, Judiciary, District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Section 8 housing vouchers would be funded at $15.92 billion, $502 million more than FY2006. This funding would include $11.727 billion for FY2007 appropriations in FY2007 and $4.193 billion for FY2008.

Homeless assistance programs would receive $1.4 billion in FY2007, $115 million more than FY2006.

District of Columbia

The resolution would permit the District of Columbia to spend local funds at the rates in its proposed budget and financial plan for FY2007. It also would provide $210 million in federal payments to the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency in FY2007, $40 million over FY2006.