House Passes Supplemental Appropriations Bill

Last night, the House of Representative passed an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill, H.R. 4899, by a vote of 239-182, and one voting present. The amendment, which was offered by House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI), includes $10 billion for education jobs and $4.95 billion for the Pell Grant shortfall. With the passage of this new amendment, the bill will have to be sent back to the Senate for reconsideration. In total, the House added an additional $23 billion for domestics activities over the Senate passed bill. The Senate and House have adjourned for the July 4th recess. The Senate is not expected to take up the bill until later this month.

During House consideration, the White House threatened to veto the bill because $800 million in education-related rescissions were included to offset additional funding within the bill. The White House veto threat and additional Senate action raises concerns about whether the House provisions will be passed by the Senate. There is an expectation that the education rescissions will be removed during Senate consideration. The House also passed a budget resolution, but this resolution only applies to the House.

In other news, President Barack Obama called on Congress yesterday to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation. In his speech, President Obama renewed his support for the DREAM Act. ACCT, with the Act on the DREAM Coalition, is encouraging to Congress to start the process and pass DREAM this session of Congress.