March 11, 2013
Diane Cohen
Washington DC – This past week the House passed H.R. 988 to continue fiscal year 2013 funding beyond its scheduled expiration on March 27 through the September 30 the end of fiscal year. While it is essential to avoid a harmful, disruptive government shutdown, this bill fails to responsibly address the "sequester" cut of $85 billion.
H.R. 988 does, however, release the Pentagon from its full share of cuts and allows greater flexibility within accounts, but doesn't lessen the cuts to critical public services. The bill passed 267 to 151, with 53 Democrats crossing over to support the bill.
The Senate is expected to consider the funding bill next but restoring the across-the-board cuts will be difficult as attention now turns to funding decisions for FY 2014.
