Omnibus appropriations bill highlights

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - The $516 billion omnibus spending bill before Congress blends the budgets of 14 Cabinet departments with multiple policy changes. Highlights of the legislation include:

_$3.7 billion above President Bush's request for veterans programs.

_$6.2 billion shifted to domestic programs from defense, military base construction and State Department and foreign aid accounts.

_$395 million in cuts to clean water and waste water projects.

_$2 billion above 2007 for the Education Department.

_Just a 1 percent increase, to $29.2 billion, for research underwritten by the National Institutes of Health.

_$5 billion to combat AIDS around the world, $544 million more than Bush sought.

_$1 billion to address aging bridges, with an additional $195 million to replace the I-35 span in Minnesota.

_$1.3 billion in subsidies for Amtrak.

Policy changes in the legislation include:

_A 3.5 percent pay increase for federal civilian workers, matching raises recently passed for Pentagon employees.

_Language by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., allowing states to adopt tougher security rules for chemical plants than federal standards.

_Preventing the Transportation Department from proceeding with a pilot program giving up to 100 Mexican trucking companies greater access to U.S. highways.

_Delaying a new security rule requiring passports at all U.S. border crossings until no earlier than June 1, 2009, to avoid a repeat of last summer's passport crunch.

Policy changes dropped from the bill:

_Language passed by the Senate to bar the government from taking legal action against organizations with English-only work rules.

_A Senate provision to overturn longtime rules prohibiting U.S. assistance to organizations overseas that perform or promote abortion.

_Language to block enforcement of a Treasury Department rule requiring Cuba to pay for U.S. agricultural goods before a ship leaves port for Cuba. The rule has limited efforts to boost such trade.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_go_co/budget_battle_highlights [link]