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The article reports that the U.S. Congress has sent President George W. Bush the fiscal 2008 Defense spending bill, which he is expected to sign, and the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education bill, which he is expected to veto. It cites the reasons why Bush has threatened to veto the bill. The Labor-HHS conference report would provide $606.4 billion and contains over 2,200 earmarks totaling more than $1 billion. Senator Jim DeMint opposes the provisions that would make it easier for lawmakers to unofficially request special projects.

The article focuses on the strategy of U.S. Congressional Democrats to combine the Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS)-Education bill and the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (VA) measure to support spending that are higher than the request of President George W. Bush. It cites that the president criticized the Democrats for linking defense spending with domestic funding increases. Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd stated that the president wants to veto domestic bills because they total $22 billion more than his budget request.

The article reports on a $124.2 billion war spending bill that has been proposed by U.S. Congressional Democrats on which U.S. President George W. Bush is certain to veto. It states that Bush opposes the bill due to a troop withdrawal language and a $21 billion in spending that exceeds his initial request. It mentions that independent Junior Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut also opposed the measure.

The article focuses on the fate of must-pass bills in the U.S. and stresses that the familiar must-pass strategy is not effective in the political environment, as of July 2010. It says that legislation once considered as must-pass in this environment has to overcome a new fiscal test. According to some House lawmakers who supported President Barack Obama's early stimulus plan and then voted against the December jobs bill, there is no longer widespread consensus that the country faces an economic emergency.

The article reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has submitted a $410 billion discretionary omnibus spending measure. This measure include all the domestic spending that Democrats were unable to enact in 2008. It offers $31 billion more than the total discretionary funding in 2008 versions of the nine bills in the package. The spending bill would also provide increases for several programs in education, infrastructure and scientific research.

The article reports on the economic stimulus bill passed by the House to U.S. President Barack Obama. The Senate stimulus package was approved by the Senate Finance and Appropriations committees due to the inclusion of a patch to prevent the alternative minimum tax (AMT) from hitting millions of taxpayers in 2009. A comparison between the bills passed by the House and the Senate is offered.

The article reports that the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a stopgap spending legislation for fiscal year 2009 that is designed to finance the federal government until March 6, 2009. HR 2638 also includes provisions for three appropriations bills for fiscal 2009 that would fund Homeland Security, Defense and Veterans Affairs. The Senate is likely to approve the measure for the approval of U.S. President George W. Bush.

The article reports on the approval of the annual Defense appropriations bill by the U.S. Congress on November 6, 2007 after attaching a stopgap measure to keep the remainder of the government operating for another month. The Democrats decided to keep funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan out of the bill. It cites the compromises on weapons systems made by House-Senate conferees in negotiating details of the Defense measure. It notes the mixed initial reaction to the proposed bridge fund among Democrats.

The article discusses the U.S. Senate passing of a $459.6 billion fiscal 2008 Defense spending bill while allegedly avoiding Iraq-related policies. Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Daniel K. Inouye initiated the passing of the bill (HR 3222) by opposing an amendment that would have set a timeframe for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. It says that the U.S. government has threatened to reject the appropriations bill if it will limit the war policies of President George W. Bush.

The article reports on the issues regarding the Baucus-Grassley package. It states that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accepted only the four elements of Baucus-Grassley package such as the payroll tax relief and Highway Trust Fund extensions for a smaller bill. Accordingly, U.S. President Barack Obama suggests that having a small bill package could be an initiating point for other jobs bill. Moreover, it cites that the Liberals stated that Baucus-Grassley package favors the tax cuts.

The article reports that the Democrats create a six-bill omnibus spending package which reflects the priorities determined by U.S. President Barack Obama's administration. It states that the left spending bill for the Defense Department would be excluded from the omnibus. It mentions that the omnibus with more than 2,400 pages provides 446.8 billion in discretionary funds. Moreover, five bills would fund domestic programs like the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (House Rule 3082).

The article announces that the Senate has delayed the passage of the omnibus bill in the U.S. The $410 billion omnibus spending measure would fund most domestic discretionary programs through the end of fiscal 2009. Thus, the delay forced the House and Senate to pass another continuing resolution to keep the government operating.

The article reports that United States Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke has told members of Congress that he endorses the idea of another economic stimulus bill. According to the author, House Democrats have revived the idea of a broad stimulus that would focus on spending for infrastructure projects, aid for states and energy assistance for the poor.

The article reports on the appropriations bills that are worked by the House Appropriations subcommittees for fiscal 2009 in the U.S. On June 13, 2008, House Appropriation chairman David R. Obey made public the spending allocations which would allow the appropriators to recommend up to $1 million in discretionary spending. The House Appropriations Committee is expected to finish marking up all its bills by July 23 of the same year.

The article reports on the plan of U.S. Democrat legislators to introduce a single omnibus spending bill in the week of December 3, 3007. Democrats are expected to assemble another omnibus package that adheres to President George W. Bush's overall spending request if he vetoes the plan. Among those that will possibly be included in the spending package are $30 billion in war funding, $7 billion in emergency spending, and more than $2 billion for federal aid programs.

The article focuses on the implications of the move of U.S. President George W. Bush to veto the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education Bill. The Democrats in both chambers of the Congress are considering sending Bush a multi-bill omnibus appropriations package that would split the difference between what Congress and the administration are seeking in discretionary spending totals. It cites the reasons of Bush for vetoing the Labor-HHS measure.

The article reports that the U.S. Congress has cleared resolution H J Res 52 to fund federal government programs through November 16, 2007. The House has passed all 12 of its annual spending bills but the Senate has passed only four. The Democrats want to spend additional $23 billion apart from the $933 billion that U.S. President George W. Bush has requested for the 12 spending bills. Bush has threatened that he will veto seven bills due to their funding levels.

The article reports on the plan of U.S. Republican lawmakers to enact a short-term continuing resolution or stopgap spending bill. Republican leaders have withdrawn approval of the annual spending bills during the post-election session under pressure from Conservatives. The move would push the unfinished fiscal 2007 spending bills to the 110th Congress led by the Democrats in 2007. The decision to delay the completion of the bills results from a year of inaction on budget and appropriations issues.

The article explores the continuing conflicts on pay-as-you-go budget rules in the U.S. A contingent of House Democrats has refused to clear the Senate-passed bill 2847 that will provide tax breaks to encourage job creation. Democrats have argued that tax cut extensions should be offset. Republicans were critical of the rule as they have noted that the rule has been waived.

The article reports on the debt limit increase that the U.S. Senate has passed on January 28, 2010. It states that the legislation passed by a vote of 60-39 and in effect it would raise the Treasury Department's borrowing limit up to 14.29 trillion. It notes that the figure is an increase of about 1.9 trillion dollars from the previous which was enacted in December 2009.

The article reports that the U.S. Congress passed the HR 4314 to raise federal debt limit. It notes that Congress authorized a short-term increase to give the Treasury an additional 290 billion dollars. It states that the House passed a legislation that allows the limit to increase from 925 billion dollars to 13.029 trillion dollars. Moreover, a bipartisan group of senators wanted to attach legislation that will allow them to create a bipartisan task force who will review the federal debt.

The article reports on the move of the U.S. House to pass the pass-as-you-go legislation which is intended to implement fiscal discipline in the increasing deficits by writing a version of the budget rule into law. According to the article, House Democrats cited the bill as an attempt to deal with the increase deficit and debt. Meanwhile, Republicans indicate that the bill would not do enough to lessen the spending.

The article reports on the developments regarding the HR 3170, Financial Services bill for education, abortion and auto industry, in the U.S. It states that the Senate Committee would adopt and amendment to ease trade restrictions with Cuba and defeating Republicans attempts to change education and abortion provisions. It infers that the House Committee adopted by voice vote an amendment by Representative Steven C. LaTourette on the bailout of automakers.

The article reports on the enactment of a House bill that addresses the eligibility for mortgage assistance by U.S. President Barack Obama. It states that the bill was signed into law on May 20, 2009 and aims to provide ease on borrowers seeking mortgage modification until December 31, 2013 as well as increases insurance coverage. It also notes that the bill supports the funding allocation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and National Credit Union Administration.

The article reports on the announcement of U.S. President Barack Obama and the House Democrats regarding the new procedures for publicizing and reviewing proposed projects. The announcement is a response to attempt to quell the continuing uproar over earmarks. Accordingly, Obama has signed the fiscal 2009 spending bill which covers $410 billion in discretionary funding, and reveals various principles for an overhaul of the earmarking process.

The article discusses the challenges ahead for the Senate Committee on Appropriations in the U.S. in 2009. It relates the selection of Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii as Senate Appropriations Chairman after West Virginia Democrat Robert C. Byrd step down for the position. Democrats expect President-elect Barack Obama to be more amenable to their priorities, particularly for domestic programs. Appropriators will decide whether to assemble an omnibus bill spending package or a pass a bill.

The article reports on the refusal of Republican to allow the Senate to move forward on bills that would revive or extend a series of tax breaks as part of their strategy to force floor votes on domestic oil and gas production in the U.S. The supporters of the bill fell well short of the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture on motions to proceed to the legislation. The Senate voted against a cloture on the bill.

The article reports that the United States Senate has passed a supplemental war spending measure. However, the bill is expected to face challenges in the House over domestic spending that Republicans want to remove and Democrats want to offset. The bill includes $165 billion in war funding but also contains about $10 billion in additional discretionary spending that President George W. Bush did not request.

The article reports that the United States Congress has delayed final action on the fiscal 2009 budget conference report to give Democratic leaders time to figure out how to solve a parliamentary error in the farm bill. According to the author, there were some concerns that adopting the budget before the enactment of the farm bill could raise further procedural hurdles.

The article reports on the move of U.S. House Democratic leaders to delay plans to address the war supplemental spending bill in May 2008 after conservative members of their caucus objected to domestic spending in the bill that was not paid for by budget cuts in other areas. It notes the parliamentary delaying tactics employed by House Republicans. Democrats aim to use the fiscal 2008 Military Construction-Veterans Affairs appropriations bill as the shell for the war spending measure.

The article discusses the refusal of U.S. Congress Democrats to proceed with a fiscal 2008 war spending bill (HR 3222) until President George W. Bush agrees to end combat operations in Iraq by January 2009. It states that the move is being pushed by Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey and it suggested that lawmakers writing the 2008 Defense appropriations bill allow the transfer of funds from other accounts to augment costs of military operations until a war-funding bill is enacted.

The article reports on the legislation sent by the U.S. Senate to President George W. Bush that would raise the government's debt limit to nearly $10 trillion. Lawmakers reacted after Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. warned congressional leaders that the existing debt limit would be reached by October 1, 2007. According to Democrats, the increase in the debt limit is an evidence that the fiscal policies of the government were reckless.

The article reports on the approval of legislation that would raise the federal debt limit from $850 billion to $9.815 trillion by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on September 12, 2007. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus explained that the debt limit increase must be passed promptly to prevent the Treasury from using extraordinary measures to avoid hitting the debt ceiling. The types of debt subject to statutory limit include publicly traded securities bought by Wall Street investors and savings bonds.

The article presents an overview of House Resolution (HR) 2642 passed by the U.S. Senate on September 6, 2007. The bill, which provides appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affair and related agencies for fiscal year 2008, includes amendments on funding for veterans' disability benefits and prohibition of fund allocation for any action that promotes the expansion of the boundaries of Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in Colorado. Details of the voting procedure and the future legislation of the bill are discussed.

Provides information on the legislative proposals of U.S. President George W. Bush that have not been included in House appropriations bills. Airline passenger security fees in the Homeland Security spending bill; Veterans' medical care in the spending bill for Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs; Food inspection fee in the draft Agriculture spending bill.

Presents news briefs on the development of several legislative bills in the U.S. as of May 2002. Plan of the House and Senate conferees to complete work on legislation to allocate fund to battle bio-terrorism; Approval of a bill that would crack down on unsolicited e-mail or spam; Sponsor of the bill aimed at protecting the credit records of victims of identity theft.