This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved, 29-0, a package of four FY2003 spending bills—Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies, District of Columbia, Transportation, and Veterans Administration, and Housing and Urban Development.
The following is a brief summary of the funding levels in each of the four bills. A more detailed summary will be available next week.
Agriculture: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2003 agriculture appropriations bill (S. 2801) on July 25, and on July 23, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies approved the bill by voice vote. The agriculture spending measure would provide $74.21 billion in FY2003, a $750 million increase over the FY2002 level.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) would receive $4.75 billion in FY2003. This level is equivalent to the President’s request and $403 million more than the FY2002 allocation. In addition, the committee recommends $125 million for a reserve fund in the event that WIC costs or participation in the program exceed the funding levels. The House bill would allocate $150 million for this fund.
The WIC Farmers Market program would receive $25 million in FY2003. Congress allocated $4.348 billion for WIC in FY2002. Committee language states that the committee “directs the Secretary to obligate these funds within 45 days” since the WIC Farmers Market program provides fresh fruits and vegetables to low-income mothers and children.
Additionally, the committee recommends $14 million for infrastructure funding and $2 million for a study of WIC vendor practices. The bill includes a non-requested provision that would make the WIC reserve funds available until expended, to prevent WIC funds from lapsing at the end of fiscal years.
S. 2801 would fund child nutrition programs at $5.83 million, an increase of $492 million over last year’s funding and $4 million more than the President’s request. The bill also would provide $46 million in non-requested funding for the Summer Feeding Program and the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program.
In addition, the bill would fund the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at $1.4 billion, a $209 million increase over FY2002 and $23.4 million over the President’s request. Of this amount, $16.1 million would be provided for the Mammography Quality Standards Act user fees.
S. 2801 would provide $3 million for the FDA’s Office of Women’s Health. Committee report language states that the committee believes that “it is imperative for the FDA to pay sufficient attention to gender-based research, ensuring that products approved by the FDA are safe and effective for women as well as men.”
District of Columbia: The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the District of Columbia approved, 4-1, the FY2003 District of Columbia appropriations bill (as-yet-unnumbered) on July 23. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill on July 25. The District of Columbia spending bill would level-fund discretionary spending for FY2003 at $517 million. However, this funding level is $138.25 million more than the President’s request.
The bill would provide $20 million to promote school choice in the District. This funding also would be used to provide direct loans and credit leverage to charter schools. In addition, the bill would set the per-pupil allocation to charter schools at $1,500 per year.
Also, the bill would provide $173.2 million for the operation of the D.C. Courts. This funding amount is $14.2 million more than the President’s request. Of this amount, $29.7 million would be allocated for the new Family Court that handles all cases in the District pertaining to child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, adoption, and foster care. This allocation would fully fund the President’s request. Additionally, the bill would provide $1.5 million above the President’s request to begin a new Guardian Ad Litem Program in the Family Court. The program would provide guardian ad litems, citizens who volunteer to represent children, and training for lawyers representing children.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) indicated that she will offer an amendment on the Senate floor that would place a cap of approximately $195 per hour on the fees lawyers could receive for representing disadvantaged children in special education cases against the D.C. school system. Her amendment failed, 4-1, during the subcommittee’s consideration of the bill.
The measure would maintain current law prohibiting the use of federal funds to implement needle exchange programs. However, the Senate measure would alter the provision to allow the District to use its own funds for these programs.
Also included in the bill is a provision that would maintain current law allowing the use of local funds to implement a D.C. law that permits municipal employees to purchase health insurance benefits for their domestic partners, regardless of gender or marital status.
The bill also would maintain current law with respect to the prohibition on the use of local and federal funds for abortion coverage for low-income women on Medicaid and implementation of a voter referendum approving the medical use of marijuana. Exceptions for abortion coverage are made in the cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.
Transportation: On July 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2003 transportation and related agencies appropriations bill (as-yet-unnumbered), one day after the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation approved the measure by voice vote. The legislation would provide $64 billion in FY2003, a $3.7 billion increase over the FY2002 allocation and $9.2 billion more than the President’s request.
VA-HUD: On July 25, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2003 Veterans Administration and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill (S. 2797). On July 23, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Administration, Housing, and Urban Development approved the measure by voice vote. The bill would provide $91.43 billion in discretionary funding in FY2003, $2.07 billion less than the President’s request and $1.1 billion less than the FY2002 level.
Although the President requested a $417 million cut to the public housing capital fund, which makes grants for physical repairs to public housing, the committee maintained $360 million for the fund. Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) included a proposal that would allow public housing agencies to use private financing to renovate public housing units.
In addition, homeless assistance grants would receive an additional $100 million to fund expiring contracts for the disabled homeless. Last year, Congress provided $1.1 billion for homeless assistance grants. The President did not request funding for the Shelter Plus Care grants.
The Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS program would receive a $14.568 million increase to $292 million, the same amount requested by the President.
