Signed by President George Bush

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with House amendments to Senate amendments and pass a bill that continues funding at mostly the same levels as authorized in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (HR 2764) and appropriates and additional $668.3 billion with $5.6 billion in rescissions for an additional net cost of $662.68 billion.

Highlights:

• Appropriates funds necessary to continue until March 6, 2009 projects or activities that were conducted in fiscal year 2008 and for which funds or other authority were made available in divisions A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, and K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (HR 2764) at the same rate for operations provided in those divisions of that Act, with the exception of some minor changes (Div. A, Sec. 101).

• Appropriates $22.88 billion for disaster relief and recovery, $480.25 billion for the Department of Defense, $43.48 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, and $119.92 billion for military construction and veterans affairs (Divs. B-E).

• Specifies that the funds appropriated in this act are not subject to a prohibition on use for offshore oil and natural gas preleasing and leasing (Div. A, Sec. 152).

• Maintains funding levels at $7.51 billion for 2009 to fund loans of up to $25 billion in total principal for automobile manufacturers and component suppliers to pay for up to 30 percent of the cost of equipping themselves to produce vehicles or components which meet specified emissions and fuel economy standards (Div. A, Sec. 129).

• Appropriates $5.1 billion for low-income home energy assistance instead of the previous amount of $2.6 billion (Div. A, Sec. 155).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and further amend a bill that continues funding at mostly the same levels as authorized in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (HR 2764) and appropriates and additional $668.3 billion with $5.6 billion in rescissions for an additional net cost of $662.68 billion.

Highlights:

• Appropriates funds necessary to continue until March 6, 2009 projects or activities that were conducted in fiscal year 2008 and for which funds or other authority were made available in divisions A, B, C, D, F, G, H, J, and K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (HR 2764) at the same rate for operations provided in those divisions of that Act, with the exception of some minor changes (Div. A, Sec. 101).

• Appropriates $22.88 billion for disaster relief and recovery, $480.25 billion for the Department of Defense, $43.48 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, and $119.92 billion for military construction and veterans affairs (Divs. B-E).

• Specifies that the funds appropriated in this act are not subject to a prohibition on use for offshore oil and natural gas preleasing and leasing (Div. A, Sec. 152).

• Maintains funding levels at $7.51 billion for 2009 to fund loans of up to $25 billion in total principal for automobile manufacturers and component suppliers to pay for up to 30 percent of the cost of equipping themselves to produce vehicles or components which meet specified emissions and fuel economy standards (Div. A, Sec. 129).

• Appropriates $5.1 billion for low-income home energy assistance instead of the previous amount of $2.6 billion (Div. A, Sec. 155).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that appropriates $40.42 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2008.

Highlights:

• Appropriates $50 million for competitive grants to law enforcement agencies in border communities with populations totaling less than 50,000 to provide additional resources to address criminal activity along the border (Sec. 602).

• Appropriates $3 billion for the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish operational control of 100 percent of the international land border between the United States and Mexico, including the hiring of 23,000 full-time border agents and the construction of 300 miles of vehicle barriers, the 700 linear miles of fencing required by the Secure Fence Act of 2006, the establishment of 105 ground-based radar and camera towers, and the deployment of four unmanned aerial vehicles (Sec. 1002).

• Appropriates the following funds:
• $8.84 billion for United States Customs and Border Protection, including $1 billion for border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology;
• $4.43 billion for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
• $6.39 billion for the Transportation Security Administration;
• $8.32 billion for the Coast Guard;
• $1.40 billion for the U.S. Secret Service; and
• $7.21 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including $3.13 billion for state and local programs and $1.70 billion for disaster relief.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that appropriates $40.19 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008.

Highlights:

• Holds an employer civilly liable to the government by an amount not to exceed $10,000 if they do not make a reasonable effort to collect an employee's airport security badge upon the employee's termination (Sec. 542).

• Appropriates the following funds:
• $8.92 billion for United States Customs and Border Protection, including $1 billion for border security fencing, infrastructure, and technology;
• $4.19 billion for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
• $6.55 billion for the Transportation Security Administration;
• $8.17 billion for the Coast Guard;
• $1.40 billion for the U.S. Secret Service; and
• $7.41 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including $3.20 billion for state and local programs and $1.70 billion for disaster relief.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text