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Agency Funding for FY 2012 a Mixed Bag of Cuts, Increases

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Photo by Dmitry Yatsenko

The risk of a government shutdown is off the table until next fall after nine-month fiscal year 2012 spending bill became law over the weekend.

The omnibus bill passed in the Senate on Saturday with a 67-32 vote and was signed into law later that afternoon. The total funding for the bill including war funds exceeds $1 trillion.

The released summary of the spending bill showed that certain departments received overall cuts, but certain agencies within departments actually received more funding than fiscal 2011.

The Defense Department received $5.1 billion more than last year and included a 1.6 percent pay raise for the department, increases to TRICARE premiums capped at the cost-of-living and the addition of the chief of National Guard to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to a Federal News Radio report.

The State Department received $13.2 billion for operations, which is $2.6 billion less than last year and USAID received $258 million less, rounding out at $1.3 billion.

While the Department of Homeland Security will receive $2 billion less than last year, certain parts received increased funds such as the $11.7 billion Customs and Border Protection received, which is $362 million more than fiscal 2011.

In fact, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard saw increased appropriations from last year.

The Labor Department‘s budget with $14.5 billion was up $145 million from last year, but Health and Human Services gets $700 million less than its 2011 level, with $69.7 billion.

HHS saw an overall decrease, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention saw an increase of $38 million from last year to $6.1 billion. The National Institutes of Health was allotted $30.7 billion, an increase of $299 million and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services received $3.9 billion, an increase of $241 million.

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