Last week, the House passed (212-206) a third continuing resolution (CR) for FY 2011 appropriations. This third CR differs from the first two in that if passed by the Senate would be a long-term, full-year resolution. Like the first two CRs, the new CR would freeze most discretionary spending at FY 2010 levels.
Under the new House bill, Head Start/Early Head Star would receive a $7.5 billion base grant. This amount provides another $0.3 billion over FY 2010 levels (which did not include Head Start/Early Head Start expansion funds which came from ARRA) and is $0.6 billion less than the President’s request for FY 2011. The $0.3 billion increase provides half a year of funding for the recently expanded Head Start and Early Head Start slots and includes funding only for the actual enrolled expansion slots as of October 31, 2010 (meaning that if slots were not filled as of that date, they are not funded in the House-approved CR bill).
The Senate is taking-up FY 2011 Appropriations this week and has three options: 1) to approve the House version of the CR, 2) to create its own, medium-term CR (likely to February or March, 2011), or 3) try to pass an Omnibus spending bill.
