As expected, the Senate also passed yet another continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded at FY02 levels through January 11. Because the 108th Congress begins on the 7th, a sixth CR will probably have to be paseed to keep the government in working order, as only two of the 13 spending bills (Defense & Military Construction) have been finished. The remaining 11 bills may be rounded up into an omnibus package in January, but the size alone would likely prevent Congress from acting before the 11th. A host of smaller legislation also cleared the Senate early Wednesday morning. A water package including the California Federal Bay Delta project (CALFED) was passed by voice vote, as was an authorization to spend up to $150 million on diabetes research and treatment. And finally, a bill to construct a visitor center at American Fork Canyon, in Utah, managed to bring along a friend: $15 million for a natural history museum at the University of Utah.

Those left behind by the 107th included a jobless benefit extension to the 800,000 people currently receiving assistance. The current package will expire 3 days after Christmas, but the House and Senate passed different versions to extend the coverage, the House until February, the Senate until April. A failure to compromise resulted in the bill's demise. And finally, emergency drought assistance for farmers and ranchers didn't garner enough support to push through, despite Majority Leader Daschle's (D-SD) strong support.

In Florida, meanwhile, plans are still on track to continue to push for high speed rail despite Governor Bush's opposition and an expensive school size measure passed in the latest election. Read the AP story here. The Florida state consitution was amended (article X, section 19) to support a high-speed rail system, so legislators are required to keep things moving, even though the amendment's start date of November 2003 is still too early for action to likely be taken.

The Homeland Security Bill meanwhile, is quickly becoming a neck and neck battle over a few riders that the House attached quickly before leaving DC. The post article is here. At issue are the following provisions:

1. Liability limits on vaccine makers
2. Liability limits on airport security devices
3. Liability limits on anit-terrorism technology providers
4. Waivers allowing federal contracts with companies that have reincorporated overseas for tax purposes
5. Exemptions allowing closed-door meetings with industry advisors
6. Restrictions on which universities homeland security research centers can be assigned to
7. Time limits on implementing safety regulations

From the lastest CQ, it appears that the Senate may finally overcome the current block placed on the Bus Security Bill by Senator Ensign (R-Nev). The bill has been held up because of Ensign's opposition to the $99 million program's cost, which is being paid from general revenue, not a user fee, as he'd like. Representative Young (R-Alaska), who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, is said to be interested in speaking to Ensign to get the bill moving again. The bill itself will be used to fund security improvements such as new security officers and terminal upgrades. Amtrak, originally slated to receive money as well for improving security, found itself dropped from the final compromise version, at a loss of over one billion dollars.

From buses to rail to air: CQ is also reporting that Boeing Corporation's controversial leasing arrangement plan with the Air Force may be edging closer to reality, after backers trimmed the overall price by $9 billion. The plan itself costs $17 billion dollars and involves the Air Force leasing a fleet of 100 airplanes modified from standard 767s to become mid-air refueling tankers. The Air Force and the plan's proponents contend it will save the government much more money than purchasing new tanker planes from scratch, mainly because the cost could be spread out over several years, instead of hitting all at once. The lease arrangement would allow the Air Force to purchase the planes at the end of the siz-year lease for an additional $4 billion dollars. White House OMB director Mitch Daniels has consistently opposed the deal, along with Senator McCain (R-Ariz) as being a costly ploy to circumvent budget limits. McCain, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has derided the plan as corporate welfare.

Okay, the first two pieces of analysis are up now, one an article from Peter himself about the makeup of the new-congress (located right here) and another from Caroline about the passage of the new Homeland Security bill. They're both worth a look, and if you can't see them just be sure to e-mail us and ask if we can make an arrangement.

This marks yet another occasion that the bankruptcy measure, despite having been agreed to in both the House and Senate, has failed to garner enough votes to pass.