This week the House adopted the Budget Enforcement Resolution for FY 2011 clearing the way for the House appropriations subcommittees to begin action on the president’s FY2011 budget request.  House Budget Committee Chair Rep. John Spratt (D-SC) described the House resolution as the “functional equivalent of a traditional budget resolution,” even though it sets discretionary funding levels for only FY2011, rather than the customary five or six-year period.  The Senate had passed a resolution earlier in the year covering FY2011-FY2015.  The total federal budget level set by the House budget resolution for FY2011 is $1.121 trillion, $7 trillion below the president’s request and $3 trillion below the Senate level.  Many House appropriations subcommittees that had been waiting to mark up their bills responded immediately.  By the end of this week, six subcommittees had marked up bills (Homeland Security, Transportation/HUD, Legislative, State/Foreign Operations, Agriculture, and Commerce/Justice/Science).  A seventh subcommittee, Energy and Water, had scheduled a markup, but postponed it until after the July 4th recess.  The remaining five subcommittees (including DoD and Military Construction/VA) have not yet announced their markup schedules.