Capitol Hill In Brief

Omnibus stalls: Congress March 6 extends a continuing resolution to fund most federal agencies through March 11 at fiscal 2008 levels while the House and Senate continue deliberating an omnibus package covering the rest of fiscal 2009. The previous continuing resolution expired March 6 (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 6, 2008, p. 9). The House Feb. 25 passed a $410 billion dollar omnibus package, H.R. 1105, including $2.6 billion for FDA, but the bill has stalled in the Senate (2"The Tan Sheet" March 2, 2009, p. 9). Votes are expected March 9 on Republican amendments and March 10 on the Senate's version of the omnibus covering federal agencies other than the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, which were funded in separate legislation Congress enacted in 2008