President Obama has signed a $410-billion spending measure that will carry many federal agencies through the end of fiscal year 2009. The legislation, which Obama signed March 11, funds most of the major federal construction programs, increasing spending for some accounts from 2008 levels, but trimming funding for others.
The appropriations bill moved quickly through the House, but had a bumpy path in the Senate, as critics complained about the overall size of the measure and its estimated $7.7 billion billion in "earmarks," specifying funds for individual projects or activities. With such criticism in the air, Obama and House Democratic leaders endorsed further restrictions on earmarked funding.