On March 1, the House passed, 335-91, H. J. Res. 44/P.L. 112-4, a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through March 18. The Senate approved the measure, 91-9, on March 2, thus avoiding a government shutdown when the previous CR (P.L. 111-322) was set to expire on March 4. The president signed the measure into law on March 2.
None of the twelve spending bills for FY2011 passed the House or Senate during the 111th Congress. On February 19, the House passed a continuing resolution (H.R. 1) that would cut domestic, non-defense spending by $61 billion and fund the government through the end of FY2011 (see The Source, 2/18/11). Senate Democrats oppose the funding cuts in H.R. 1 and are unlikely to consider that bill.
H. J. Res. 44 would reduce or eliminate altogether funding for programs and earmarks, totaling $4 billion compared to FY2010, according to the House Appropriations Committee summary. The measure would reduce funding for programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, such as:
Training and Employment Services at the Department of Labor would be reduced by $48.889 million while funding for Career, Technical, and Adult Education at the Department of Education would be reduced by $88 million.
