Once the budget resolution has been passed by both the House and Senate, and 302(a) spending allocations have been established for each committee, the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate further divide their spending allocation up among subcommittees. Currently, there are 12 Appropriations Subcommittees in both the House and Senate. These suballocations, called 302(b) allocations, limit the total spending on each of the 12 appropriations bills and are enforced through points of order established in budget laws and the budget resolution.

The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee has jurisdiction over spending for the Department of Education. For fiscal year 2010, the allocation in the House is $160.7 billion. It is $163.1 billion in the Senate. The establishment of 302(a) and 302(b) spending limits represent the two most crucial decision points in determining aggregate federal education funding for any given year.

Customarily, the House considers Appropriations acts first and then passes them on to the Senate for consideration. During the fall, the House-Senate conference committees meet to resolve the differences and agree on final versions of the Subcommittee bills which include individual program funding levels for the upcoming fiscal year. Appropriations bills can be passed individually, or in some years they may be combined into an omnibus appropriations measure. Congress must pass appropriations bills to fund discretionary spending programs by October 1st for the federal government to continue operation. If Congress fails to pass Appropriations bills by October 1st, however, it can provide interim funding through a continuing resolution (CR). CRs have been used frequently in recent years while House-Senate negotiations dragged on into the winter.

Status and Timeline: Fiscal Year 2010 Education Appropriations

April 29, 2009: The House and Senate adopt the fiscal year 2010 congressional budget resolution. The budget resolution establishes a 302(a) allocation of $1.082 trillion for all programs subject to appropriations for fiscal year 2010.

Mid June 2009: The Appropriations Committees divide the 302(a) allocation and adopt the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittees' 302(b) suballocations of $160.7 billion in the House and $163.1 billion in the Senate.

Mid July 2009: The House Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee and Committee pass the House version of the fiscal year 2010 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, sending the bill to the full House for a vote.

July 24, 2009: The full House passes the fiscal year 2010 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill.

July 31, 2009: The Senate Appropriations Committee passes its version of the fiscal year 2010 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, sending it to the full Senate for consideration.

September 30, 2009: Congress passes and the President signs into law a continuing resolution (CR) that temporarily provides federal education programs with fiscal year 2010 funding at fiscal year 2009 levels. The CR expires October 31st, 2009. It was signed into law as part of the 2010 Legislative Branch appropriations bill.

October 1, 2009: Fiscal year 2010 begins. Congress has not yet completed appropriations legislation funding education programs for fiscal year 2010. Education programs will either receive 2010 funding through a continuing resolution until October 31st, 2009, or whenever the fiscal year 2010 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill is passed by Congress and signed into law by the President.

October 30, 2009: Congress has not yet completed appropriations legislation funding education programs for fiscal year 2010. A second continuing resolution is signed into law as part of the Department of Interior funding bill and will provide temporary education funding through December 18th, 2009.