Congress moving forward on '03 spending bills

After several months of delay, both the House and Senate are moving toward resolving key spending bills for the rest of fiscal year (FY) 2003.

The Senate recently approved an omnibus spending package that contains funding for the remaining appropriations bills that were not approved in the last Congress, which adjourned in December. Since last October, agencies such as the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health have operated on continuing funding, which leaves spending at 2002 levels. That has left many research agencies reluctant to initiate new grants and has caused delays in determining the level of Pell Grant funding that will be available for students in the fall.

Also in the omnibus, the Senate broadened the definition of universities that could qualify to become homeland security university centers for research.

Negotiators from the Senate and House now are meeting to resolve differences between the Senate-passed legislation and various bills passed by the House Appropriations Committee last year. It is hoped that final action on the FY '03 spending legislation can occur prior to Congress's break for the President's Day holiday in mid-February, or immediately after that.

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