We know all of our friends and clients are clamoring for programmatic and project specific information contained in the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill. We are in close contact with House and Senate Appropriations Committee staff and the bill is still being put together and, at this juncture, the details we are all looking for are not available. It is expected the conference report on this massive bill will be filed late today (Friday).

However, staff tells us its distribution will be severely limited. For example, members of the House and Senate may only have access to the full conference report by viewing in person one of a very limited number of copies. As a result, it is likely that most members will vote on the bill without having reviewed anything more than summary information. Some members may receive information on projects in their districts or states, so fragmentary information may begin to come out shortly.

We anticipate that voting on the House and Senate floors will take place over the weekend. It may well be Monday or Tuesday before detailed project earmark information is available.

We will be monitoring the process closely today, over the weekend and into next week and will be reporting details as they become available.