June 30th, 2010
The House of Representatives will act on the 2010 supplemental appropriations bill for efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Haiti and pressing domestic needs this week. The Appropriations Committee is proposing an amendment to H.R. 4899 to add additional, fully offset, investments to meet domestic needs, such as education jobs and border security.
The Senate bill provides a total of $45.5 billion in discretionary funding for FY 2010, of which $37.12 billion is provided for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also provides $5.1 billion for FEMA disaster relief, $2.9 billion for Haiti, $162 million for the Gulf Coast oil spill, and over $600 million for other domestic needs in discretionary appropriations. Additionally, the bill includes $13 billion in mandatory funding for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange as requested by the President.
The House amendment adds $10 billion for an Education Jobs Fund, $4.95 billion for Pell Grants, $701 million for border security, $180 million for innovative technology energy loans, $163 million for schools on military installations, $142 million in additional Gulf Coast oil spill funding, $50 million in emergency food assistance, and $16.5 million to build a new solider processing center at Fort Hood.
In order to hold the total amount to the President’s requested level over a ten-year period, the bill includes $11.7 billion in rescissions from programs that no longer require the funding, have sufficient funds on hand, or do not need the funding this year or next and $4.7 billion in savings from changes to mandatory programs. In total, the amendment saves the Federal Government $493 million over ten years compared to the President’s request.
The amendment also provides $538 million for program integrity investments that are proven to produce 1½ times that in savings.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
