Newsletter For 6/4/07

Letter

Newsletter For 6/4/07

Dear Bryan,

As a new member of the Appropriations Committee, June will be a very busy month for me. During this month the Committee will consider 11 of the 12 major funding bills that must be approved by Congress and the President each year in order to fund the government's operations. These discretionary spending measures add up to just under one trillion dollars, or one third of annual federal spending (most of the rest is "mandatory spending" required by long-term programs like Social Security).

Last year, Congress failed to pass nine of their 11 appropriations bills. This year, we plan to do things differently, completing our appropriations work on time by October 1 - the start of the 2008 fiscal year. Below is a list of the funding bills the Appropriations Committee will consider in June, along with the amount of discretionary spending that has been authorized for each category:
Homeland Security

$36.2 million
Military Construction, Veteran's Affairs

$64.7 million
Energy and Water Development

$31.6 million
Interior, Environment

$27.5 million
Financial Services and General Government

$21 million
Legislative Branch

$4 million
State, Foreign Operations

$43.2 million
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education

$151.1 million
Commerce, Justice, Science

$53.5 million
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development

$50.7 million
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug

$18.8 million

As you can see, we face a serious task in the month ahead. As we consider these bills, our top responsibility is to make wise investments with your money that will keep our country strong, safe, and prosperous.

Sincerely,

Betty McCollum Signature
Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Serving Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District

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