Senate Democrats and Republicans have reached an agreement over a continuing resolution bill that would fund the federal government through March 4, 2011. The Senate is set to vote on the resolution Dec. 21. If approved by the House and President Obama, it would be the latest in a series of short term measures that have kept the government funded since the current federal fiscal year started Oct. 1.

Congress approved the current continuing resolution Dec. 18 just as a previous stop-gap spending measure was set to expire and Senate Democrat efforts to pass an omnibus spending bill fell apart over Republican objections. Congress failed to pass any of the individual spending bills it theoretically approves every year after passing a budget resolution by April 1, holding appropriations committee hearings and otherwise arranging an orderly legislative process.

Speaking Dec. 19 on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday morning talk show, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) emphasized distance between the two parties, despite agreement over the March continuing resolution.

"All we agreed to was the top line, the total amount that was going to be spent in all the discretionary accounts," he said. "What we did not agree to is not taking a single bill across the Senate floor. What we did not agree to is adding up 2,000-page bill, putting in there funding of the health care provisions that were passed last year, which we overwhelmingly opposed, and passing it right before Christmas."

According to a Senate Appropriations Committee press release, the resolution would fund the government at approximately $1.16 billion more than the fiscal 2010 level. It would also freeze the pay of federal civil servants for two calendar years starting in 2011.

The House approved Dec. 8 a continuing resolution that would fund the government through the remainder of the fiscal year, but some Republican members say that the new Congress set to convene on Jan. 5 should have a chance to cut spending from the bill.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates had urged Congress mid last week to pass the Senate omnibus, stating he preferred it to the House year-long continuing resolution. "To do otherwise would leave the department without the resources and flexibility needed to meet vital military requirements," he said. However, even a year-long continuing resolution might be difficult to achieve at this point.

Meanwhile, congressional efforts to approve a stripped-down Defense authorization bill took a step forward Dec. 17 when the House approved it 341 to 48. The bill would allow DoD agency heads to exclude companies from consideration in certain national security competitions based on their supply chain practices. However, the bill does not include language approved by the House in an earlier version of the authorization bill that would have instituted reforms to the Federal Information Security Management Act.

For more:
- go to the Senate Appropriations Committee press release on the March continuing resolution
- go to the THOMAS webpage for appropriations bills
- read a statement from Gates on the omnibus

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