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September 19, 2005

Washington, D.C. — With the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court and Hurricane Katrina's aftermath competing for its attention, Congress has yet to approve most of the spending legislation for Fiscal Year 2006, which begins on October 1st.

Only two of eleven appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2006 have been passed so far. The remaining bills, according to WashingtonWatch.com, amount to more than $14,000.00 in spending per U.S. family. At this late date, Congress is likely to pass these important bills hurriedly and without careful consideration, perhaps in an omnibus package.

"The Supreme Court confirmation hearings and Hurricane Katrina are very important," said Jim Harper, Webmaster of WashingtonWatch.com, "but important decisions are made in Washington, D.C. all the time without much public awareness." WashingtonWatch.com is designed to help people stay more aware of all those decisions by revealing their costs or savings in concrete terms.

WashingtonWatch.com uses government predictions about the costs or savings from proposed laws to calculate the significance to average Americans – in dollars and cents – of proposed changes to the nation's policies. More information about these calculations is available on the "about" page of the Web site.

Listed below are the costs today of proposed spending for Fiscal Year 2006 per U.S. family, based on population figures and interest rates as of September 19, 2005. The spending bills already passed are listed with their Public Law number.

• The Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $710.10
• The Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $513.68
• The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $3,860.61
• The Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $322.95
• The Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $363.22
• The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $342.23
• P. L. 109-054, The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $283.96
• The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $5,672.01
• P. L. 109-055, The Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $40.96
• The Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $1,216.39
• The Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, the District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006: Costs: $1,463.74