Last night, the House Appropriations Committee released the text of a FY 2013 Continuing Resolution (CR) that, if passed, will provide the government with spending authority through March 27th, 2013. A CR is necessary to keep the government functioning past September 30th, the end of the current fiscal year, because Congress has yet to reach agreement on its annual appropriations bills. The legislation unveiled yesterday is the product of months of bipartisan and bicameral talks between House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the White House. The House is planning a vote on the CR this Thursday and the bipartisan bill is expected to pass through the House, Senate, and end with the President’s signature before September 30th to prevent a government shutdown.
The CR adheres to the spending caps set by last year’s Budget Control Act, by slightly increasing federal spending to $1.047 trillion. In order to speed its passage, the CR does not address the issue of the coming funding sequestration, generally maintains FY 2012 spending levels, and avoids the controversial “policy riders” that have hindered the passage of several appropriations bills. However, the bill does include a few new provisions to accommodate pressing needs, including:
- $800 million in funding for federal wild land and firefighting costs;
- $145 million increase for the processing of backlogged veterans’ benefit applications;
- $282 million for the purchase of new cyber security software to protect government computers;
- A provision that continues the pay freeze for federal employees; and
- $88.5 billion for the Department of Defense’s Overseas Contingency Operations fund, the full amount requested by the Obama Administration.
With the CR expected to pass in the coming weeks and postpone the threat of a government shutdown until next March, the 113th Congress will likely be charged with finalizing FY 2013 funding once it convenes early next year.
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