Senate Passes 2007 Funding Bill; USF Gets ADA Exemption
The Senate Wed. passed 81-15 a continuing resolution (HJRes-20) providing $463.5 billion to keep several agencies running through Sept. 30; the House passed it in Jan. 286- 140. The bill was the only way to fund nearly a dozen agencies that didn’t get an appropriations bill enacted; it allows Congress to focus now on the fiscal 2008 budget. The current funding resolution was set to expire midnight Thurs.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Some Republicans opposed the resolution and threatened to stall the debate. They were angry about a ban on amendments. But the measure’s elimination of some earmarks, a popular appropriation bill funding tool, won it bipartisan support. “I assure you, we will be watching” to make sure President Bush signs and abides by the resolution, said presidential contender Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.)
The resolution includes a one-year exemption from Anti- Deficiency Act rules for the Universal Service Program, until Dec. 31. The measure also requires NASA, the Corporation for Public Bcstg., Patent & Trademark Office and National Science Foundation to submit detailed spending plans for fiscal 2007 to the House and Senate Appropriations committees within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
Under a section devoted to eliminating earmarks is a measure that wraps up the liquidation plans for the Rural Telephone Bank, which the President proposed eliminating in 2005. The resolution provides no money for the bank, set up in 1971 to help rural areas get phone service. The first phase of liquidation was completed last Sept. when 737 shareholders were paid more than $1.43 billion. The process is expected to end in Nov., when any remaining money would be distributed to class A and class B shareholders in proportion to their holdings.
The resolution calls for rescinding nearly $39 million for DoJ’s Telecom Carrier Compliance Fund, which reimburses telecom carriers for costs they incur when installing wiretaps for law enforcement. NASA would get $10 billion, with $3.4 billion dedicated to explorations systems. The National Science Foundation would get $4.6 billion. The measure also includes $636.3 million for international broadcasting operations under the Bcstg. Board of Governors.