Gov't Expected to be Funded at "Old" FY 2010 Levels for Most Programs due to CRs
On December 17, 2010, Senator Inouye (D), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, issued a statement regarding the withdrawal of the fiscal year 2011 Omnibus Appropriations Act in the Senate that would have provided FY 2011 appropriations for all federal government agencies. Instead, the Senate passed a short-term Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government through December 21, 2010.
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(On December 8, 2010, the House passed a bill that would have provided fiscal year 2011 appropriations for federal government agencies. H.R. 3082 would freeze FY 2011 discretionary appropriations at the FY 2010 level, providing $45.9 billion less than the President requested in his FY 2011 budget.)
Senate is Preparing to Consider CR to Fund Government Through March 4
The Senate is now preparing to consider another Continuing Resolution (CR) which would provide federal government agencies with funding through March 4, 2011.
According to a Senate Appropriations Committee press release, under the March 4, 2011 CR, funding would continue at FY 2010 enacted levels for most programs. In total, the CR would provide funding at a rate approximately $1.16 billion over the FY 2010 level.
The CR would extend authorizations or allow for continuous normal operations through March 4, 2011, for certain programs that would otherwise expire or be severely disrupted, including:
- Allowing the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to maintain the level of CBP personnel in place in the final quarter of FY 2010.
- Providing transfer authority for the Transportation Security Administration to sustain efforts to improve defenses against terrorist attacks, such as the attack on Northwest Flight 253 last December and the recent attempts against all-cargo aircraft.
- Extending authority for current surface transportation programs to ensure that State departments of transportation and local transit agencies will be able to continue their ongoing infrastructure investments.
Continuing Resolution Generally Holds Funding to Previous Year’s Levels
According to Senator Inouye, by choosing to pass the CR, Homeland Security would receive $800 million less in funding than under the Omnibus Appropriations Act. He noted that the CR mandates that programs are to be held at the amounts provided last year regardless of merit or need.
Inouye also noted that a CR would not provide the Transportation Security Administration with the resources necessary to enhance defenses against terrorist attacks and that his Omnibus Appropriations Act would have provided $375 million above the CR for TSA to acquire 800 explosives trace detection units, 275 additional canine teams, hire 31 additional intelligence officers, and strengthen international aviation security.
According to Inouye, the Omnibus Appropriations Act would also have provided $52 million above a CR to deploy radiation portal monitors where vulnerabilities exist, such as airports and ports, and for radiation detection pagers and backpacks used to detect and identify nuclear materials.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/20/10 news, 10122005, for previous BP summary of House and Senate passage of a short-term CR.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/09/10 news, 10120915, for BP summary of H.R. 3082 as passed by the House.)
Senator Inouye’s statement is available here.
Press release on March 4, 2011 CR available here.