House adopts stopgap spending measure

The House adopted a stopgap measure Friday, Sept. 25, that will keep government agencies funded through the end of October and buy Congress time to finish its annual spending work.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, but Congress has not yet cleared any of the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills. The legislation passed Friday — known as a continuing resolution (CR) — would prevent a government shutdown. The CR, which will last through Oct. 31, was added to the conference agreement on the fiscal 2010 Legislative Branch spending bill.

The conference report was adopted on a 217-190 vote. The Senate probably will take up the legislation Sept. 29.

The bill also would prevent the nation’s highway programs from expiring, and it would free up funds for the Postal Service by lowering the payment it must make into a trust fund intended for future retiree health benefits, to $1.4 billion from $5.4 billion in fiscal 2009.

Republicans were critical of Democrats’ decision to include the CR in the Legislative Branch bill because it prevents them from being able to offer amendments to the stopgap bill.

They also seized on the somewhat ironic fact that the first fiscal 2010 spending bill to be enacted will be the one funding Congress’ own budget while the rest of the government is still waiting for its funding.

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