Congress Passes Omnibus FY 2008 Spending Bill
In late December, Congress wrapped up work on the fiscal year 2008 budget and headed for home. The current fiscal year began on October 1, 2007.
After months of contentious negotiations and veto threats, Congress finally acquiesced to the President’s insistence and passed an omnibus spending bill that does not exceed his requested overall discretionary spending level of $933 billion. Congress had earlier passed a budget resolution that called for $955 billion in overall discretionary spending.
Although Congress was forced to find $22 billion in cuts to their spending plan, the omnibus bill includes modest increases to federal programs that support local activities.
In the area of housing, the bill includes $3.6 billion for the Community Development Block Grant program. This is $1 billion less than the program received in the fiscal year 2007 budget but $600 million more than the President’s request. In earlier versions of spending bills passed during the session, the House and the Senate approved $4 billion for this program.
For the fifth year in a row, Congress restored funding for the HOPE VI public housing program, which the President proposed to eliminate. The measure sent to the President included $100 million for this program.
Recognizing the need to replace aging infrastructure, Congress fully funded the highway program at the previously authorized level of $40.2 billion, which is $600 million more than the President proposed.
In response to reports that show an increase in violent crime across the country, the House and the Senate had earlier rejected the President’s proposed 94-percent decrease for the popular Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. The omnibus bill included $587 million for the COPS program, which is $35 million more than the FY 2007 level.
In a statement released shortly after Congress completed its work on the omnibus bill, NLC President Cynthia McCollum, a councilmember from Madison, Alabama, said, “We recognize the tough political climate in which this bill was negotiated, but cities and towns had higher hopes.
“During the past year, we were heartened by congressional efforts to reverse recent trends of federal disinvestment in America’s cities and towns. My colleagues and I appreciated their efforts throughout the legislative session to restore and protect funding for federal programs for services important to everyday people in our cities and towns, programs like the Community Development Block Grant program, transportation and infrastructure, and public safety,” she said.
McCollum added, “Unfortunately for the seven out of 10 Americans who live in our cities and towns, we are disappointed that the omnibus bill does not truly reflect these efforts. We need the President and the Congress to recognize that we need a budget that reflects the commitment of the federal government to help us build stronger communities. The current climate of uncertainty and divisiveness that leads to outcomes such as the patchwork spending bill does none of us who must lead our communities any good.”