This week in Congress: Members weigh FY 2013 spending

With Congress out of session Monday and Tuesday to observe Rosh Hashanah and next week for Yom Kippur, only eight days remain in the legislative session before the November election.

This week the Senate is expected to pass a temporary spending measure to keep government operating for six months, that at press time last week was expected to pass the House.

The measure encompasses 12 spending bills Congress failed to pass this year to fund fiscal year 2013 spending at $1.047 trillion, and includes (in millions):

Agriculture $20,318

Commerce, Justice, Science $50,422

Defense $519,867

Energy, Water $33,007

Financial Services $21,381

Homeland Security $40,114

Interior $30,239

Labor, HHS, Education $157,476

Legislative Branch $4,329

Military Construction, VA $75,704

State-Foreign Operations $42,313

Transportation-HUD $51,830

Meanwhile, the House will hold a hearing Thursday on the anticipated report by the Justice Department’s inspector general into the Obama administration’s failures in the Fast and Furious “gun walking” operation.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will discuss domestic threats and agency responses during a Wednesday hearing.

On Thursday, the House Homeland Security Committee will examine the BioWatch program and a recently released report by the Government Accountability Office.

Additionally, the Senate Special Committee on Aging will examine waste and fraud in Medicare during a Wednesday hearing.