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Written by SHARLA TORRE MONTVEL-COHEN
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Wednesday, October 05, 2011
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GUAM – The nation's new fiscal year started Oct. 1, but instead of delivering a 2012 national budget, Congress on Tuesday managed only to pass a temporary spending measure, leaving Guam military buildup appropriations and all federal spending for the island this year in limbo.
The House passed Tuesday a Senate-approved measure to keep the government open – but only through mid-November. The continuing resolution, now with President Obama for signature, is symptomatic of a Congress that has increasingly resorted to short-term fixes to sidestep the deep partisan divide dominating Washington.
The measure is an indecisive proxy for the national budget, a comprehensive package of 12 regular spending bills needed to fund every aspect of the government. Of the 12 pending bills, two contain the year's appropriations for Guam projects inside and outside the fence related to the military buildup and the planned transfer of thousands of Marines from Okinawa.
HR 2055 for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs programs and HR 2219, also known as the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, still are pending review in bicameral conference where the House and Senate must reconcile their respective versions of the bills.
The Senate has voted to defer $155 million for Marine Corps military construction projects in HR 2055. Meanwhile, another $33 million for buildup-related civilian infrastructure projects in HR 2219 remains contested by several influential members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
As fiscal year 2012 gets underway, the Navy has awarded a total of only $320 million in Marine relocation contracts yet. Funds appropriated since fiscal year 2008 for the Guam military buildup total $1.32 billion, not including over $690 million more that the Japan Parliament this year voted to finance.
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Image used in this article courtesy Renjith Krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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