Today, the House will begin debate on H.R. 3081, the $48.8 billion FY10 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations bill. Yesterday, A total of 89 amendments were pre-filed by House Members for consideration by the Rules Committee, which approved the rules of debate for consideration of the bill. Only eight amendments were made in order, including four that would either make across-the-board cuts to overall spending or reduce funding for specific programs. Under the rule, each amendment will be considered for 10 minutes, equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. The House is expected to complete consideration of the bill by the end of the day.

At 2:00 p.m. today, the Senate Appropriations Committee will mark-up its version of the $48.7 billion FY10 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations bill. The Senate funding level is $100 million below the House level of $48.8 billion.