Partner Jon Bouker Discusses Appropriations Spending with Congressional Quarterly
Arent Fox Government Relations partner Jon S. Bouker was quoted by Congressional Quarterly (CQ) in a cover story highlighting a different tone on Capitol Hill that has seen appropriators encouraging administration officials to increase their spending requests after a half-decade of belt tightening and pitched budget battles.
CQ reported that the ability of appropriators to set spending levels remains a powerful tool and that there are two big changes for them this year: “They seem to have turned a corner after years of slashing spending for discretionary programs, and they appear confident they can pass at least some fully formed spending bills instead of the repeated stopgap measures that have kept many federal programs running on autopilot with make-do budget plans.”
“Yes, we spend a lot of time in the agencies, chasing largely competitive grants and opportunities for funding for our clients. But all that money starts somewhere, and it starts with the appropriators,” said Mr. Bouker. “We continue to work the appropriations committees unabated because we need to make sure that the money is there in those accounts for the agencies to be able to dole out the money. Also to show there is political support for those accounts and those agencies.”
To read the CQ article, click here.
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