The Pacific Northwest may see one of it’s own join the Obama Administration. The media is reporting this afternoon that former Governor Gary Locke is being vetted for the position of Commerce Secretary. This would be good news for the UW and the region! Stay tuned for more.
Month: February 2009
Federal Agency Spending Plans on Recovery Act Funding Due Out
Several federal agencies are working quickly to develop spending plans for funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Last week, NIH provided a sketch of its planned use of $10.4 billion in Recovery Act spending (details provided under the Federal Agency Developments link). Additionally, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a reorganization of the Department of Energy that will lead to expedited disbursement of agency funding. The Department of Education and National Science Foundations are expected to release their spending plans in the coming days -possibly this week. The Department of Education has prepared a website with initial information on its portion of Recovery Act funding.
FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill to Move Forward this Week
The House and Senate will likely advance the remaining 9 fiscal year 2009 spending bills this week, as part of an omnibus appropriations package that will fund much of the government through September 30, 2009. Only 3 of 12 appropriations bills have been completed to date: defense, homeland security, and veterans affairs. At an earlier stage of the FY09 appropriations process, former President George W. Bush indicated that he would veto spending bills that exceeded his domestic discretionary spending caps. As a result, in order to advance desired increases, Congress decided to wait for a new administration to take office in order to closeout the FY09 appropriations process. The omnibus appropriations bill will contain an estimated $410 billion in spending for mostly domestic programs.
Congressional aides have indicated that the omnibus FY09 appropriations bill is not likely to contain significant changes from the draft created during the 110th (last) Congress. The omnibus package will increase government spending approximately 6.7% over the FY08 budget. For a recap of key health and education funding levels in the draft FY09 appropriations bills, see the budget section of this website or contact Jonathan in the UW Office of Federal Relations. The Office of Federal Relations will repost key FY09 appropriations figures as bill moves towards finalization. In a Tuesday speech to a joint-session of Congress and the nation, President Obama will provide some details on his FY10 budget request, which will be presented in outline form later this week and in full in the spring.
**UPDATE**
The House Appropriations Committee has released fact sheets on each of the remaining 9 FY09 spending bills (see below):
Omnibus FY09 Appropriations Bill (Conference Agreement)
Commerce/Justice/Science Appropriations
Energy and Water Appropriations
Financial Services Appropriations
Interior and the Environment Appropriations
Labor/Health/Education Appropriations
Legislative Branch Appropriations
The Week at a Glance: February 23-27
The Senate reconvenes Monday for a reading of President George Washington’s farewell address. Freshman Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., will do the reading.
On Tuesday, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress. The Senate will also consider the nomination of Rep. Hilda L. Solis , D-Calif., to be secretary of Labor.
For the remainder of the week the Senate is expected to work on a bill that would permanently expand the House to 437 members by adding one representative from the District of Columbia and one from Utah.
Later in the week, the House is scheduled to take up an omnibus fiscal 2009 appropriations package.
The chamber also might consider a bill that would mitigate foreclosures for homeowners filing for bankruptcy.
Source: CQ
State of Washington Recovery Act Funding Figures Available
Below please find a link to estimated figures on funding to the state of Washington from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. According to the figures provided, the state of Washington will receive approximately $4.73 billion.
Recovery Act Funding for the State of Washington (click here)