Congress to Pass Week-Long
CR
October 31, 2003 - Congress Oct. 30 passed a second
continuing resolution (CR) to keep many federal programs -
including NIH and the rest of the Public Health Service -
operating through Nov. 7. The House passed the measure by
a 406-13 vote; the Senate approved it under unanimous consent.
The funding extension is necessary because only three of the
13 regular FY 2004 appropriations bills have been enacted,
and the current CR (P.L.
108-84) expires Oct. 31.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) had hoped for
a longer CR, extending to Nov. 14 or 21. But House Speaker
Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) insisted on the week-long CR to keep
pressure on the Senate to move forward with the five spending
bills it has not considered, including the VA-HUD bill.
The House Oct. 21 had passed another CR (H.J.Res.
73) to use as a vehicle for an omnibus spending package
incorporating the spending bills not passed by the Senate,
but the Senate leadership rejected that strategy, preferring
to consider the bills individually.
Meanwhile, congressional staff report little progress on
negotiations over the FY 2004 Labor-HHS-Education spending
bill (H.R.
2660) and suggest the longer the conference takes, the
higher the probability the Labor-HHS bill will get wrapped
into some type of omnibus spending package.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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