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PA Legal Aid Network e-News
Monday, October 06, 2008
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution until March 6, 2009: Maintains Funding for LSC at Current Level
The National Legal Aid and Defender Association has reported that Congress has passed a massive stopgap spending bill to fund federal agencies at the fiscal year (FY) 2008 levels through the presidential election and until March 6, 2009.
The Continuing Resolution (CR) includes FY 2009 Commerce Justice, Science and Related Agencies bills which contain annual funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
The House approved the CR (HR 2638) by a vote of 370-58 on September 24, and the Senate voted 78-12 over the next weekend, only days before the start of the new fiscal year beginning October 1. The President has signed the bill that could avoid a lame duck session following the November election.
The summer brought the 12 annual appropriations bills to a virtual standstill with ongoing disputes over offshore drilling. In order to reach a compromise, Democrats dropped their opposition to an extension of the moratorium on drilling and included three security-related FY 2009 bills in the CR package.
The bill also includes $22.9 billion for disaster relief funding for states recovering from recent hurricanes and other natural disasters and a doubling of funds (from $2.5 to $5 billion) for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
After the 111th Congress convenes in January, legislators will face the task of returning to the nine FY 2009 appropriations bills. The full appropriations committees have both recommended an increase of 11%, from $350 to $390 million, in FY 2009 funding for LSC.
The Continuing Resolution (CR) includes FY 2009 Commerce Justice, Science and Related Agencies bills which contain annual funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC).
The House approved the CR (HR 2638) by a vote of 370-58 on September 24, and the Senate voted 78-12 over the next weekend, only days before the start of the new fiscal year beginning October 1. The President has signed the bill that could avoid a lame duck session following the November election.
The summer brought the 12 annual appropriations bills to a virtual standstill with ongoing disputes over offshore drilling. In order to reach a compromise, Democrats dropped their opposition to an extension of the moratorium on drilling and included three security-related FY 2009 bills in the CR package.
The bill also includes $22.9 billion for disaster relief funding for states recovering from recent hurricanes and other natural disasters and a doubling of funds (from $2.5 to $5 billion) for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
After the 111th Congress convenes in January, legislators will face the task of returning to the nine FY 2009 appropriations bills. The full appropriations committees have both recommended an increase of 11%, from $350 to $390 million, in FY 2009 funding for LSC.
