Rescissions and mandatory savings both offset or reduce the amount of new Budget Authority (BA) required to finance spending. Savings in mandatory programs reduce the amount needed for new direct spending. In the final version, Congress did not include additional domestic funding to prevent teacher layoffs, provide more Pell grants, fund summer jobs, or provide agricultural and energy grants funding that was not requested by the Administration, but which was included in an earlier version of the bill that the House passed on July 1, 2010, and then receded from (withdrew its support) on July 27, 2010. 4899 on March 24, 2010 (no House report) with $5.1 billion in spending for the Disaster Relief Fund in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and $600 million for the Department of Labor's summer jobs program, to be funded by $5.1 billion in new Budget Authority (BA) and $600 million in offsetting rescissions; The Senate passed H.R. 111-188 ) with $59.2 billion in spending, for disaster relief, war funding, war-related foreign assistance, Haiti relief and reconstruction, additional benefits for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange; other disaster relief, other foreign assistance, and oil spill recovery funding, funded with $58.9 billion in new BA and $380 million in offsetting rescissions; The House adopted the Senate's May 25, 2010, version of H.R. 4899 and added funds for the Education Jobs Fund, Pell Grants, summer youth employment, funding for the Cobell and Pigford II court cases on July 1, 2010, with a total of $81.8 billion in spending, funded with $65.1 billion in new BA and $16.7 billion in rescissions and mandatory savings; The Senate failed to invoke cloture on the House's July 1, 2010, amended version, and sent a message of disagreement with that version to the House on July 22, 2010; The House receded from (withdrew its support of) the July 1, 2010, version of H.R. 4899 that it had passed, and adopted the Senate May 27 version by a vote of 308-114 (two-thirds of those present required under suspension of the rules) on July 27, 2010; and The President signed the bill on July 29, 2010, P.L. Specifically, the FY2010 supplemental requests included:
$5.1 billion to replenish the U.S. Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; $33.0 billion for the Defense Department, primarily to deploy 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan; $4.5 billion in foreign assistance for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan; $2.8 billion for Haiti reconstruction and foreign aid in the wake of January's earthquake; $13.4 billion to compensate veterans exposed to Agent Orange; $243 million for appropriations-related responses to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; $600 million primarily for additional border security personnel; and $3.4 billion to settle land trust claims of American Indians in the long-standing Cobell case and $1.2 billion to settle the discrimination claims of 70,000 black farmers in the Pigford II case (see Table 1 ). 4899 was the effect of this supplemental spending on the federal deficit. 4899 included $12.2 billion in rescissions and $4.5 billion in mandatory savings to offset the $81.8 billion in proposed spending (see Table 1 ). 4899 passed on May 27, 2010. The Administration requested that the remainder be designated as emergency requirements. 4899 by a vote of 67 to 28 H.R. 111-212 .
The Administration requested $64.3 billion in FY2010 supplemental appropriations:
$5.1 billion to replenish the U.S. Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); $33 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) primarily for deploying 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan; $4.5 billion in war-related foreign aid; and $2.8 billion for Haiti earthquake-related relief and reconstruction aid; $243 million for activities related to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; $600 million for border security, and $129 million to reduce backlogs in patent requests; and $13.4 billion to compensate veterans exposed to Agent Orange, and $3.4 billion to settle court cases about trust claims of American Indians (Cobell) and $1.2 billion for discrimination claims of black farmers (Pigford II).
Much of the debate about this year's supplemental focused on the effect on the deficit of additional spending and, particularly, whether certain spending should be designated as emergency spending that Congress is not required to offset under congressional rules. Offsets can come from either rescissions, which cancel prior year budget authority (BA), and then apply that BA to new spending, thus reducing the amount of new budget authority required, or from savings in direct spending or mandatory programs.
On March 24, 2010, the House passed H.R. 4899, the Disaster Relief and Summer Jobs Act, by a vote of 239 to 175, with $5.7 billion in funding, including $5.1 billion to replenish FEMA's Disaster Assistance Fund and $600 million for a Labor Department summer jobs program. Taking the bill's $600 million in offsetting rescissions into account, the bill required $5.1 billion in new budget authority (BA). A House Appropriations Committee (HAC) markup of an $84.8 billion draft bill with additional domestic spending scheduled for May 26, 2010, was cancelled.
On May 27, the Senate passed its version of H.R. 4899 by a vote of 67-28, with $59.2 billion in funding for disaster assistance, war funding, Haiti relief, and new VA benefits, but without funding for the two court cases. Including its $380 million in rescissions, the Senate version required $58.8 billion in new budget authority.
On July 1, 2010, the House passed an amended version of H.R. 4899 totaling $81.8 billion for disaster assistance, wars, Haiti relief, and new VA benefits, and additional domestic spending to prevent teacher layoffs, provide agricultural and energy loans, and Pell Grants, in discretionary spending and funding to settle the two court cases. With its $12.2 billion in rescissions and $4.5 billion in 10-year mandatory savings from lower government drug prices, this bill would have required $65.1 billion in new BA. On July 22, 2010, the Senate sent a message to the House disagreeing with the earlier version passed by the House on July 1, 2010. On July 27th, the House passed the Senate's May 27 version, which was signed by the President on July 29, 2010, and became P.L. 111-212.
Part of the debate and timing of congressional action was driven by funding deadlines cited by the Department of Defense, FEMA, and the Coast Guard, some which proved to be somewhat flexible.