http://www.webcpa.com/article.cfm?articleid=30951
Washington, D.C. (March 12, 2009)
By WebCPA staff
The $410 billion spending bill approved Tuesday evening by the Senate to help fund the federal government for the rest of the year includes funding for some nine federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service.
The controversial measure, which had been come under fire for roughly 8,500 earmarks, includes $428 million for the IRS, a 4 percent increase.
The bill will provide double-digit budget increases to some regulatory agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which will each receive funding increases of 31 percent, while the Food and Drug Administration will receive a 19 percent boost.
The spending bill is exclusive of the already approved $700 billion financial bailout and the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
The bill passed by a 62-35 margin. The measure passed in the House February 25.
President Obama acknowledged the spending bill’s pet projects, calling the measure “imperfect,” but vowed to sign it. He pledged to eliminate the measure’s projects that contained “no legitimate public purpose.”
