Congress Passes New Supplemental Appropriations Bill

On Thursday, Congress passed another emergency supplemental appropriations bill (ES) for spending in Iraq, Afghanistan, and numerous domestic projects. The current ES, H.R. 2206, does not contain the binding withdrawal language of the version that President Bush vetoed, but it still contains about $20 billion more then the President’s request, funding various domestic programs. The Senate passed the $120 billion ES last night, by a vote of 80-14. The House Democratic leaders decided to split the ES vote up by two amendments. One amendment focused solely on the $22.2 billion in domestic spending, which passed 348-73. The other amendment, which contained funding for military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other areas, passed by a vote of 280-142, with 140 Democrats and 2 Republicans voting in opposition.

Similar to the first ES, H.R. 2206 contains $425 million for a one-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) Act. The SRS program allocates funds to support more than 4,400 rural schools and to help maintain county road systems. The program expired in 2006, and many rural schools have operated with massive budget cuts, or have shut down altogether, due to the loss of funds. When the first ES, H.R. 1591, passed through the Senate in April, it contained an amendment that provided $5 billion for a five-year reauthorization of the program. That amendment did not make it into the conference report for H.R. 1591, and neither chamber made any significant push to add it to H.R. 2206.
The vote is considered a defeat for the new Democratic Congress because the Senate Democratic leadership could not establish enough bipartisan support to override Bush’s veto on troop withdrawal. Democratic leaders have vowed to continue the debate on the war in Iraq, but for now the President is getting his money with no stings attached.
Resources:
Liriel Higa and Josh Rogin, “Democrats Vow to Fight Another Day on Iraq,” CQ Today, May 24, 2007.
Author: SAS