Appropriations remain on the agenda this week as Congress considers yet another short-term continuing resolution (CR). A new CR is necessary to prevent a government shutdown when the current one expires this Friday.
After the Senate last week rejected both a full-year funding resolution passed by the House and an alternative proposed by Senate Democrats, the House Appropriations Committee unveiled a new short-term measure. The proposal would fund agencies through April 8 and includes an additional $6 billion in cuts drawn from earmarks, and from savings proposals in the President’s budget and the House-passed CR.
Both the House and Senate are expected to act on the new proposal this week. If enacted, this would be the sixth CR for this fiscal year and will provide Congress with three more weeks to agree on 2011 appropriations. Policymakers should use this time to finally complete the 2011 process and end the irresponsible use of short-term resolutions to parcel out funding weeks at a time.
External links:
House Appropriations Committee Summary of Three Week CR (H.J. Res. 48)
Text of Three Week CR (H. J. Res. 48)
Status of FY 2011 Appropriations
