August 2008
The Senate Appropriations Committee report released last week to accompany the State, Foreign Operations appropriations legislation for FY 2009, outlines spending for the foreign operations accounts of the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including an increase for development assistance programs and a cut in Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) spending.
Earlier this week, Senate Democrats failed in an attempt to enact a package of pending bills with strong bipartisan support, including the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007. The bills have been blocked by the opposition of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK), who regularly opposes legislation authorizing new federal programs and funding. The omnibus package failed to win sufficient support on the floor to limit Senate debate and bring the entire package to a vote.
