The Congress will not be passing an Omnibus appropriations bill for 2011 and will likely pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) trough March. The immediate outcome of this decision not to pass the Omnibus means that the earmarks that were in the bill for WSU will not be funded. CR’s do not include earmarks, they traditional maintain operational funding levels. For planning purposes I recommend those of you who were planning on earmark funding in FY2011 to make other financial plans. If by some chance the earmarks included in the final appropriations bill you can adjust your budget. This includes our earmarks in the Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Transportation, Labor& Health and Interior appropriations bills.
The information below that is provided by Cornerstone who represents the APLU Agriculture community is very informative and I hope will answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to call me if you have questions.
Cornerstone Report from Washington
Vol. 8, No. 8 – Dec. 17, 2010
Congress Postpones Final FY 2011 Appropriations Decisions Until Early 2011
Unable to agree upon an approach to fund federal departments and agencies during the fiscal year that began on October 1 (FY 2011), Congress will likely pass a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) which runs through February or March 2011. These are the implications, in our opinion, for the organizations represented on the Board on Agriculture Assembly’s (BAA) Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC):
§ Funding for programs at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will likely continue through the duration of the CR at their FY 2010 levels.
§ Congressional designated projects (earmarks) contained within NIFA’s Special Research Grants and Federal Administration Grants (both Research and Extension) will not be funding during (at least) the duration of the CR.
§ The incoming House Republican Caucus has voted for a comprehensive moratorium on earmarks. While the Senate — which will continue to be controlled by Democrats in 2011 — has made no such pronouncement, the outlook for earmarks in FY 2011 (and beyond) appears problematic.
§ Moreover, many Republican members in both the House and Senate have expressed support for the concept of rolling-back discretionary domestic spending to FY 2008 levels.
§ We had expected the rollback discussion to begin during the FY 2012 budget/appropriations process. However, the debate is now likely to occur in February 2011 over FY 2011 funding.
§ Therefore, everyone with a stake in NIFA’s research, extension, and higher education funding should be prepared to join together in early 2011 to educate the members of the 112th Congress about the many benefits that flow to America from strong NIFA funding.
The information below that is provided by Cornerstone who represents the APLU Agriculture community is very informative and I hope will answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to call me if you have questions.
Cornerstone Report from Washington
Vol. 8, No. 8 – Dec. 17, 2010
Congress Postpones Final FY 2011 Appropriations Decisions Until Early 2011
Unable to agree upon an approach to fund federal departments and agencies during the fiscal year that began on October 1 (FY 2011), Congress will likely pass a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) which runs through February or March 2011. These are the implications, in our opinion, for the organizations represented on the Board on Agriculture Assembly’s (BAA) Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC):
§ Funding for programs at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will likely continue through the duration of the CR at their FY 2010 levels.
§ Congressional designated projects (earmarks) contained within NIFA’s Special Research Grants and Federal Administration Grants (both Research and Extension) will not be funding during (at least) the duration of the CR.
§ The incoming House Republican Caucus has voted for a comprehensive moratorium on earmarks. While the Senate — which will continue to be controlled by Democrats in 2011 — has made no such pronouncement, the outlook for earmarks in FY 2011 (and beyond) appears problematic.
§ Moreover, many Republican members in both the House and Senate have expressed support for the concept of rolling-back discretionary domestic spending to FY 2008 levels.
§ We had expected the rollback discussion to begin during the FY 2012 budget/appropriations process. However, the debate is now likely to occur in February 2011 over FY 2011 funding.
§ Therefore, everyone with a stake in NIFA’s research, extension, and higher education funding should be prepared to join together in early 2011 to educate the members of the 112th Congress about the many benefits that flow to America from strong NIFA funding.