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Here's where Uncle Sam's appropriations situation stands (AAU federal relations assessment):

The Senate on September 30 gave final congressional approval to the continuing resolution (CR) needed to keep the government running in the new fiscal year, which began yesterday. The measure, which lasts through the month of October, was attached to the FY10 Legislative Branch appropriations bill (H.R. 2918). Approval of the package makes Legislative Branch the only one of the 12 regular FY10 appropriations bills approved so far by Congress.

The CR funds most government programs at their FY09 levels but increases funding for the Veterans Health Administration and the Census Bureau. CongressDaily reports that the bill also extends authorizations for several programs, including child nutrition and surface and aviation transportation programs.

The House has completed action on all 12 FY10 appropriations bills; the Senate has completed work on six. In addition to the Legislative Branch bill, conference agreements have been completed for Agriculture (H.R. 2997) and Energy and Water (H.R. 3183). The House approved the Energy and Water conference report yesterday.

Conference deliberations were delayed last week by House and Senate differences over how to treat congressional earmarks to for-profit entities (which were not an issue in the Legislative Branch bill). House appropriators added provisions to their appropriations bills requiring that earmarks to for-profit entities undergo a competitive bidding process. The requirement did not apply to earmarks originating in the Senate, and Senate appropriators resisted its application to the five percent of earmarks that overlap in House and Senate bills. Negotiators reached an agreement last Friday under which the House requirement will not apply to those overlapping earmarks in FY10 bills but will apply to such earmarks beginning in FY11.