On December 8, more than two months into fiscal year (fy) 2005, President Bush signed into law legislation (H.R. 4818) consolidating 9 of the federal government's 13 annual appropriations bills. Containing $388.4 billion in discretionary spending, the so-called omnibus appropriations bill offers modest increases in funding for some federal programs of interest to civil engineers. However, funding for other efforts remained steady or was cut, in some instances severely. With the federal government expected to continue to invest heavily in programs related to security over the next few years and with budget deficits continuing to be a problem, those programs experiencing little or no growth today may be a portent of things to come for a broader array of federal efforts unrelated to defense and homeland security.
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