Stopgap Funding Bill Slated For President's Signature

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 23 Dec 2010 - 3:00 PDT


Congress on Tuesday approved a revised short-term spending measure (HR 3082) that would fund the government through March 4, 2011, hours before government programs and agencies would have been forced to shut down, the Washington Post reports. The House voted 193-165 to pass the bill, shortly after the Senate cleared the measure by a 79-16 vote (Sonmez, Washington Post, 12/21). President Obama has promised to sign the legislation (Carter, CQ Today, 12/21).

The Senate withdrew a substantial portion of a House-approved continuing resolution because it included more than $8 billion in earmarks that Republicans opposed (Washington Post, 12/21). Senate Democrats agreed to eliminate the earmarks to secure broader bipartisan support for the bill's passage (Carter, CQ Today, 12/21).

Critics of the revised bill noted that about $152 million in additional funding for CMS included in the original bill was omitted from the revised version, CQ Today reports. According to CQ Today, the loss of the funding could complicate the Obama administration's efforts to secure important resources to implement the federal health reform law.

Another $750 million that was removed from the bill had been allocated under the reform law to establish preventive health care programs, which Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) -- a vocal opponent of earmarks -- called "a prevention and public health slush fund," according to CQ Today. The extra CMS funding and money for the preventive health programs was part of nearly $1 billion that was excised from the bill that Coburn described as "Trojan horse" money.

CQ Today reports that the loss of those funds likely will not affect or delay fundamental portions of the overhaul. Observers said the Obama administration can shift funds around to continue implementation of the law's provisions (Reichard, CQ Today, 12/21).

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