Senate

In Washington, preparations are underway for fireworks, parades, and other patriotic events to mark Independence Day on July 4. And Congress has been wrapping up work as legislators leave to observe the holiday back home.

© Architect of the Capital

Although Washington seems preoccupied with the health care debate, the annual appropriations process also is underway. The Budget Committees soon will set the guidelines for overall Federal spending and then the Appropriations Committees will determine their allocations for international foreign assistance. Later in the Spring, the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs will craft the funding bills that include the U.S.

© Architect of the Capital

As 2009 drew to a close, President Obama signed into law an appropriations bill to fund a variety of government activities. Included in this package was $132.25 million for the U.S. Government’s contribution to UNICEF.

With Senate climate legislation set to be introduced within a week, it’s gradually sinking in fully around the rest of the world that however loved-up we may all feel about President Obama and however welcome his commitment on climate change may be, it’s going to be the Senate that really determines the US’s negotiating position in the run-up to the Copenhagen su

Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Environment & Public Works Committee