Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, January 23rd, the Senate passed the FY 2003 omnibus spending package by a vote of 69-29. At the end of the 107th Congress, legislators failed to enact eleven of the thirteen appropriations bills for FY03. This has left much of the government operating on a continuing resolution until Congress completes work on the remaining appropriations bills. Among the unresolved funding measures contained in the omnibus is the FY03 Veterans Administration, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies (VA/HUD) Appropriations Act, containing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) budget and the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (FIRE Grant) program. The Senate measure contains $900 million for the FIRE Grant program, the fully authorized amount for FY 2003 and an amount greatly exceeding the $360 million appropriated for FY 2002. The measure also contains funding for several emergency management planning and assistance programs.
The measure will now proceed to a conference committee comprising House and Senate appropriators. Once the conferees reach an agreement on the measure, it will return to the full House for a vote. House members will not have the opportunity to amend the measure but rather vote on the conference committee agreement.
