September Will be Appropriations Month - August 11, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 16

August 11, 2003 Vol. 4 No. 16:

Published: 08/11/2003

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September Will be Appropriations Month

Looking foward to a hectic September...

Hopefully everyone will get a good rest in August, since September promises to be a hectic and contentious appropriations season. The Senate has only passed four of the 13 appropriations bills, and will likely consider what is always the most difficult -- Labor, HHS and Education -- first. There are sure to be fights over funding for education and the Labor Department overtime compensation rules. The House only has two more spending bills to complete. A prescription drug benefit, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) reauthorization, Head Start reauthorization (with the House having passed a bill allowing block granting to eight states), and supplemental requests for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Iraq, all remain unfinished business. With OMB’s mid-session report of a record budget deficit for 2003 and continued deficits for years to come (and the Congressional Budget Office report release due August 26) there will be lots of pressure to cut spending.