The Senate confirmed former Washington State Governor Gary Locke as Commerce Secretary yesterday. As Secretary, Locke will oversee National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, as well as the census, some international trade issues, and the switch to digital TV. Read more
Author: Christy Gullion
FY09 Omnibus Delayed
The Senate was unable to pass the FY’09 Omnibus bill last night and now plans to approve a short-term continuing resolution (CR) sometime today. The current CR expires midnight tonight (March 6). The new CR is expected to run through midnight Tuesday, by which time Democratic leaders hope to clear the nine-bill, $410 billion spending package. Republican leaders say they are trying to whittle down their amendments to 10 or 12, and Reid said votes on amendments are expected to resume Monday evening. A series of Republican amendments this week to cut the bill’s spending and eliminate or reduce earmarks were all rejected, and Republicans are now focusing on policy amendments intended to force Democrats to take politically difficult votes.
Meanwhile, House Leadership on Thursday reiterated that the House would not accept any amendments from the Senate. No amendments have yet been approved in the Senate, and Senate Democrats have been vigorously opposing all amendments. House Leadership also vowed to work with President Obama to examine and improve the congressional earmarking process.
Education Stimulus Funds Scrutinized
A leading Congressional Republican is asking Education Secretary Arne Duncan for significantly more information about how the department plans to spend $100 billion in new funds from the economic stimulus package and to monitor how the money is used. Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon wrote to Duncan last week to ask how the department will oversee the flow of funds to states and the effectiveness with which states spend the money.
FY09 Budget in the Senate
The Senate will begin voting today on amendments to the FY’09 omnibus spending bill. One amendment, offered by Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), would simply extend the current continuing resolution (CR) for the remainder of the year. The current CR, which funds most all domestic agencies and the State Department at 2008 levels, expires midnight Friday, March 6th. Congress would likely need to enact a short-term extension if it can’t clear the bill by Friday. Senate leadership has not yet decided on how many amendments to allow but they have indicated that they want to conclude work on the omnibus by Thursday.
CBO Says Stimulus Will Create Jobs
The economic recovery law enacted last month could create up to 3.6 million jobs by the end of 2010, equaling the Obama administration’s claim the measure will create 3.5 million jobs in that time, according to a final cost estimate of the legislation released Monday by CBO. For job creation, CBO estimates the bill could create from 0.9 million to 2.3 million jobs by the end of 2009 and from 1.2 million to 3.6 million jobs by the end of 2010, with more jobs created than declining. On economic growth, CBO estimates a boost in GDP of 1.4 percent to 3.8 percent by the end of 2009, 1.1 percent to 3.4 percent by the end of 2010, and 0.4 percent to 1.2 percent by the end of 2011 — with a small possible decline beginning in 2015.