This week, the House and Senate returned to Washington for one-day sessions, on Monday and Tuesday respectively, before officially adjourning until January 20, 2004.
On December 8, the House approved, by unanimous consent, a continuing resolution (H. J. Res. 82) to fund government programs at their FY2003 levels until January 31, 2004. The resolution also would increase the loan guarantee limit for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and authorize spending for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) security program. The Senate approved the resolution by unanimous consent on December 9. A continuing resolution passed by the House and Senate before Thanksgiving (see The Source, 11/26/03) will also expire on January 31, but does not contain the FHA and FAA provisions.
To date, only six of the thirteen spending bills have been enacted into law: Department of Defense; Energy and Water Development; Department of Homeland Security; Department of the Interior and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and Military Construction.
On December 8, the House also approved, 242-176, the conference report for the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2673). The Senate began its consideration of the conference report on December 9, but postponed the vote on passage until January of next year.
The measure incorporates the following seven spending bills that were still pending when Congress recessed for Thanksgiving: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies; District of Columbia; Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs; Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies; Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies; and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies.
The conference report includes language detailing a number of programs affecting women and their families. Although report language is not binding, federal agencies give careful consideration to such language as it indicates programs or initiatives that are particularly important for appropriators.
Agriculture
The measure would allocate $16.943 billion in FY2004, $934 million less than FY2003 and $198 million less than the President’s request.
H.R. 2673 would provide $4.639 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a $57 million decrease below FY2003 and $130 million less than the President’s request. Reductions in this program are based on new information from the Agriculture Department detailing declining program participation, and lower food costs than originally estimated in the President’s FY04 budget request. The recommended funding level for WIC would include $15 million for a breastfeeding peer counselor program and $4 million for pilot projects to combat obesity in children.
Child nutrition programs would receive $11.417 billion in FY2004, an $837 million increase above FY2003 and $1 million below the President’s request. Of the total amount, $6.7 billion would be provided for the School Lunch Program, $1.8 billion for the School Breakfast Program, $2 billion for the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and additional funding for the School Meals Initiative. H.R. 2673 would provide $5 million for an assessment of the national school lunch and school breakfast programs.
$1.387 billion would be allocated to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in FY2004, $13.2 million more than FY2003, but $7.7 million below the President’s request.
A provision in the Senate bill that would have made it easier to import prescription drugs from foreign countries was not included in H.R. 2673.
The Food Stamp Program would be funded at $30.9 billion, $4.6 billion above FY2003 and $3.2 billion more than the President’s request.
Finally, $1.192 billion would be provided for the Food for Peace Program, $376 million less than the FY2003 level and $7 million more than the level requested by the President. In addition, the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program would receive $50 million in FY2004.
Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary
The measure would provide $37.8 billion in FY2004, $600 million less than FY2003 and $100 million less than the President’s request.
Department of Justice
Under the bill, the Department of Justice would receive $19.7 billion, $316 million more than FY2003 and $937 million more than the level requested by the President.
Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
In FY2004, the National Institute of Justice would receive $10 million, a decrease of $9.87 million below FY2003. The Local Law Enforcement Block Grant would receive $225 million, $172.4 million less than last year. Neither of these programs would have been funded under the President’s budget.
H.R. 2673 also would include $80 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs, $52,000 more than the FY2003 level.
The Missing Children program would receive $36 million in FY2004 to “combat crimes against children, particularly kidnapping and sexual exploitation.” This amount is $3.367 million more than FY2003 and $5.331 million more than the President’s request. The total would include $12.5 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, $15 million for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and $4 million for AMBER Alert grants.
According to the conference report, “OJP shall utilize the AMBER program funds in accordance with the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003. Within the funding provided, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shall continue the successful CyberTipline program, continue the Police Technology Project, and expand the NetSmartz Workshop.”
Programs under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would receive $388 million in FY2004, a $2.2 million increase over FY2003 and $14.7 million above the level requested by the President.
VAWA programs would receive the following grants:
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H.R. 2673 would provide $100 million for a DNA initiative. This amount is $19 million more than FY2003, but $74 million less than the President’s request. The total would include $55 million for eliminating the DNA sample backlog, $30 million for strengthening crime lab capacity, $5 million for training the criminal justice community, and $5 million for using DNA to identify missing persons.
The measure also would provide $37.175 million for implementation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-79). This amount is approximately $24 million more than the FY2003 level.
The bill would allocate $10 million for victim services programs to assist victims of trafficking. Of this total, $1 million would be provided for a national conference on domestic trafficking and prostitution. Report language states, “This conference, to be led by the Department of Justice, shall include participation from federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement, as well as nongovernmental organizations and community leaders. Over the past several years, the conferees have provided a significant level of resources to the Department of State to combat international human trafficking. This national conference shall begin to address the problem of trafficking and prostitution within the United States.” The bill also notes that the Office of Victims of Crime is expected to work with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on child exploitation issues.
The bill would provide $4.6 million for programs aimed at preventing violence in public schools, and to support the assignment of officers to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations to address the threat of terrorism, crime, disorder, gangs, and drug activities.
Juvenile Justice Programs: H.R. 2673 would provide $352.7 million for Juvenile Justice programs, $77.7 million above FY2003 and $85.5 million over the amount requested by the President. The total would include $13 million for the Victims of Child Abuse Act, $10.4 million more than the President’s request. Of this amount, no less than $9 million shall be available for Child Advocacy Centers.
The State Department
Under the bill, the State Department would receive $8.13 billion in FY2004, $417.1 million above FY2003, but $380 million below the President’s request.
H.R. 2673 would provide $4.581 million for the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office), $800,000 above the President’s request. The report adopts language in the House bill noting, “The increase shall provide nine additional positions for the TIP Office, including six country analyst positions to further strengthen the annual reporting process and three positions to support the Department-led Senior Policy Operating Group to coordinate interagency activities to implement the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. In the event that hiring lapses result in the inability of the TIP Office to fully obligate the American salaries portion of the recommended funding level, the same amount shall be available for alternate temporary or part-time staffing arrangements during FY2004 to ensure that reporting and coordination activities are accomplished.”
The measure also includes language clarifying the responsibilities of the Senior Policy Operating Group on Trafficking in Persons. “…The Senior Policy Operating Group and its chairman are the coordinating body (and official) accountable for federal anti-trafficking policies, grants and grant policies…the Operating Group is, and was intended to serve as, the forum for interagency coordination of anti-trafficking policies, even as final decisions regarding any such policies are necessarily vested with the President and the senior officials who comprise the Task Force [to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons].”
The conference committee expects the State Department and the Bureau of International Organization Affairs “to place top priority on international human rights protection and advocacy, and to submit a report to the [Appropriations] Committees…presenting an international human rights agenda and work plan for the coming year.” In addition, the conferees expect the State Department “to continue the effort begun last year to make funds available to each U.S. Embassy to translate into the official language of the host country the report for the host country from the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, and the Trafficking in Persons Report…and post those documents on the embassy Web site along with the English version.”
According to the conference report, “The conferees remain concerned about the adequacy of the [State] Department’s efforts to counter the serious problem of international child abductions. The conferees direct that the Department use the authorities in existing law to prohibit the issuance of visas to international child abductors. The conferees also direct that, henceforward, the Department require that children over the age of one year and under the age of 14 be physically present at the time of application for a United States passport, or renewal thereof.” H.R. 2763 also would include up to $1.3 million to promote international information sharing to combat child pornography.
The report adopts language in the Senate bill stating, “…The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Exchange has designed a 1-year, non-degree Fulbright program in the United States for graduating university seniors and for academically qualified women who were deprived of the opportunity for formal study during the Taliban era.” The conference committee “encourages the Department to reprogram additional funds for this program during FY2004,” and “encourages the Department to start up a Fulbright Program in Iraq as soon as practicable.”
The report also adopts language in the Senate bill commending the National Endowment for Democracy “for developing programs to promote the education of women in predominately Muslim countries.” It further states, “Women’s rights in Afghanistan have been greatly enhanced by NED’s creation of a women’s library and resource center, its leadership partnerships with media, and its development of E-learning resources. Within available funds, $2 million is for grants to expand these and other similar programs through the International Center for Muslim-Western Dialogue.”
Independent Agencies
The Legal Services Corporation would receive $339 million, $2.2 million more than FY2003 and $9.748 million above the President’s request. The measure would appropriate $328 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, $21.6 million more than FY2003, but $6.2 million less than the President’s request. In addition, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights would be level-funded at $9.1 million, as requested by the President.
Several programs related to women-owned businesses would be level-funded. Women’s Business Centers would receive $12.5 million in FY2004 and the National Women’s Business Council would receive $750,000.
H.R. 2673 includes a new provision prohibiting the use of funds to issue patents on human organisms, including human embryos.
District of Columbia
The measure would provide $545 million to the District of Columbia in FY2004, $36 million more than FY2003 and $124 million more than the President’s request.
The bill would provide $167.8 million for the operation of the D.C. Courts, a $6.9 million increase over FY2003 and $4 million more than the amount requested by the President. This total would include funding for the Family Court, which handles all cases in the District pertaining to child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, adoption, and foster care.
With the goal of expanding school choice in the District of Columbia, H.R. 2673 would provide $13 million for private school vouchers, $13 million in new funds to public schools, $13 million in new funds to charter schools, and $1 million to cover administrative costs.
$2 million would be allocated for the Family Literacy Program, $2 million less than FY2003. Report language indicates that the funds are to be used to address the needs of literacy-challenged parents and would be available only if the District provides 100 percent in matching funds. Under the President’s budget, this program would not have been funded.
The bill would provide $400,000 for the implementation of an abstinence program in the District that would provide technical training and resource materials to promote effective intervention strategies.
The measure also would provide $14 million for improvements to the District’s foster care system.
Included in the bill is a provision that would prohibit the use of federal 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.
H.R. 2673 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. Exceptions for abortion coverage would be made in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.
Finally, the measure would maintain current law prohibiting the use of local and federal funds for a needle exchange program.
Foreign Operations
The measure would allocate $17.2 billion in FY2004, a $1 million increase over FY2003, but $1.7 million below the President’s request.
$1.8 billion would be earmarked for the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund, an increase of $118.5 million over FY2003 and $340 million above the President’s request. The managers expect that these funds will “be used to fund child survival, health, and family planning activities of integrated population-health-environment programs, including in areas where biodiversity and endangered species are threatened.” Of that amount, $330 million would be provided for child survival and maternal health programs and $120 million would be provided for a contribution to UNICEF. H.R. 2673 also would provide $250,000 for the monitoring and oversight of child survival, maternal and family planning/reproductive health, and infectious disease programs.
Under the measure, $1.646 billion would be provided for HIV/AIDS prevention activities, $302 million above the President’s request. The total includes $400 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB), and Malaria; $516.5 million in bilateral HIV/AIDS funding within the Child Survival and Health Programs Fund to finance ongoing programs; $491 million for the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative to fund new and expanded programs in fifteen focus countries; no less than $26 million for research and testing of HIV/AIDS vaccines; and no less than $26 million should be made available as a United States contribution to UNAIDS. In addition, $169 million would be provided for TB assistance and $193.5 million for malaria.
Report language states, “The managers recognize that the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic is moving from Africa and the Caribbean toward Asia, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. In order to help prevent these epidemics from exploding, the managers once again direct that funds from the Child Survival and Health Program Fund be made available for HIV/AIDS programs in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.”
In FY2004, $57 million would be provided to the independent states of the former Soviet Union for child survival, environmental and other health activities, and programs to reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. The total would include no less than $15 million for reproductive health and family planning.
The conference committee urges the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) “to implement programs that address the combination of the HIV/AIDS and hunger, including programs to enhance nutrition among HIV/AIDS-affected households and communities and [programs] that strengthen the ability of HIV/AIDS-affected individuals and households to meet current and future needs. Particular attention needs to be given to dealing with orphans and other vulnerable children and to promoting overall agriculture development and food production, including through school and hospital gardens as appropriate.”
H.R. 2673 would provide $22 million for USAID for microbicide research and development. The conference report includes language in the Senate bill stating that the Appropriations Committee “is aware that women comprise half of the HIV infections in the world, and that the typical woman who is infected has only one partner, her husband. Microbicides that are under development could play a major role in protecting women from HIV. USAID’s role in the development of microbicides is especially important in the preclinical and clinical evaluation of potential new products.”
According to the conference report, “The managers note that the United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-25) provides that in FY2004 it is the ‘sense of Congress’ that 55 percent of all global HIV/AIDS fund should go for treatment, 20 percent for prevention, of which no less than 33 percent be reserved for ‘abstinence until marriage’ programs, 15 percent for palliative care, and 10 percent for orphans and vulnerable children…the managers continue to request a satisfactory explanation of how the Administration selected its Global HIV/AIDS Initiative focus countries, including selection criteria that takes into account the need to preemptively stem the tide of the disease in other parts of the world at high risk of developing full-blown pandemics.”
H.R. 2673 would allocate $1.4 billion in development assistance for USAID. Last year, Congress funded development assistance at $1.363 billion. The total funding for USAID in FY2004 would be $4.8 billion, $297 million above FY2003 and $177 million above the President’s request. The conference managers urge that the Office for Women in Development be funded at $11 million and “direct that USAID report…on activities planned for the office and measures to increase staffing in order to expand its relevance to USAID-wide operations.”
International family planning programs would receive $429 million in FY2004, $17 million less than FY2003 and $4 million more than the President’s request. $34 million would be provided for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in FY2004. $34 million withheld from UNFPA in FY2002 would be provided for family planning and maternal and reproductive health activities in Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Haiti, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Albania, Romania, and Kazakhstan. In addition, $25 million withheld from UNFPA in FY2003 would be made available for a new initiative to combat trafficking in women and children.
The conference committee is “aware that UNFPA has stated its opposition to the Chinese government’s one child policy and its social compensation fee.” Further, the managers “condemn all forms of coercion in China’s family planning policy and practice,” and “request the Department of State to report…on the steps it and UNFPA have taken to urge the government of China to end its birth limitation policy, including the social compensation fee, and the results of those efforts, nationally, and particularly in the countries in which UNFPA operates.”
The measure would provide no less than $405 million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Afghanistan. Of this amount, $21 million would be allocated for child survival and health programs, $150 million for developmental assistance, and $72 million for migration and refugee assistance.
According to the conference report, “The managers note that women in Afghanistan continue to struggle to achieve the most basic rights despite the efforts of the new government. The managers urge that women be carefully integrated into activities related to development and reconstruction, and also believe that there should be a specific focus on strengthening women-led institutions and organizations.”
Under H.R. 2673, $5 million would be provided “for programs aimed at addressing the needs of Afghan women through training and equipment to improve the capacity of women-led Afghan nongovernmental organizations, and to support the activities of such organizations.” The conference committee urges USAID “to establish a contracting mechanism for the disbursal and monitoring of small grants to women-led nongovernmental organizations to accomplish this goal.”
The measure would provide $11.5 million for programs and activities to foster democracy, human rights, civic education, women’s development, press freedom, and the rule of law in countries with a significant Muslim population, and where such programs and activities would be important to United States efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of terrorism.
The bill also would provide $650 million for the Millennium Challenge assistance program, a new program aimed at granting foreign assistance based on a country’s commitment to democratic rule and capitalism. The amount is $650 million less than the President’s budget request.
The Peace Corps would receive $325 million in FY2004, $30 million more than FY2003, but $30 million less than the President’s request. In addition, the Peace Corps would receive $15 million from the Global HIV/AIDS Initiative for HIV/AIDS activities.
The conference committee supports “expansion of the Peace Corps, however, the managers are concerned about recent attacks on volunteers, especially on female volunteers,” and recommends “that the Peace Corps continue consulting with the Committees on Appropriations to examine the current security issues to ensure that increasing the number of volunteers occurs simultaneously with better security and emergency procedures.”
The conference report states, “The managers are greatly concerned by continued reports of violence against women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico. The managers consider this a bi-national issue, as U.S. citizens are among the victims and among those accused of committing these acts. The managers urge the State Department to work with the Mexican government to set up a DNA database, under international auspices, which would enable the positive identification of the victims by collecting DNA samples from the victims and from the families of the disappeared women.”
The conference committee supports “projects in Central America that provide safe, nutritious, and affordable food to pre-school and school aged populations.” The managers “are aware of a nutritional drink that has achieved results in reducing malnutrition among Guatemalan pre-school children, and encourages USAID to determine the feasibility of establishing a long-term child nutrition program targeted toward reducing severe malnutrition rates among Central American children.”
H.R. 2673 includes a new “Code of Conduct” section that “prohibits refugee and humanitarian assistance funding…to an organization that has not adopted a code of conduct consistent with the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Protection From Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Humanitarian Crises six core principles.” The Code of Conduct provision “advises the Administrator of USAID to incorporate policies and programs to identify the needs of, and threats to, women and children at the various stages of a humanitarian emergency.”
The conference report does not include a provision in the Senate bill that would have required the Global AIDS Coordinator to make publicly available prices paid to purchase HIV/AIDS medication in developing countries. However, the conference committee directs the Coordinator to make this publicly available on a Web site maintained by the Coordinator.
The bill also does not include a provision in the Senate bill that would have overturned the Mexico City policy, which bars overseas nongovernmental organizations that receive U.S. aid from using their own money to perform abortions or to lobby foreign governments on abortion policy.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
The measure would allocate $139.76 billion in FY2004, $7.4 billion above FY2003 and $1.77 billion more than the President’s request.
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau would receive $9.267 million in FY2004, $341,000 less than FY2003 and $641,000 more than the President’s request.
Dislocated workers assistance would receive $1.456 billion, $4.3 million less than FY2003 and $74 million above the President’s budget request.
The bill would include $110.6 million for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). This amount is $36.4 million below FY2003 and $98.4 million above the President’s request. Within the total provided, $82 million is earmarked to assist developing countries with the elimination of child labor. Of this amount, $45 million would be provided for the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor. In addition, $37 million would be provided for bilateral assistance to improve access to basic education in international areas with a high rate of abusive and exploitative child labor.
H.R. 2673 also would include $10 million to assist the ILO in implementing a program to address HIV/AIDS in the workplace. Conference report language indicates that the purpose of the program “shall be to promote workplace policies which combat HIV-related stigma and discrimination, and promote prevention on the basis of tripartite partnerships among workers, employers and governments around the world.”
As requested by the President, the bill would not provide any funds for the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program. This program was funded at $993,000 in FY2003.
Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): Under the bill, HRSA would receive $6.72 billion in FY2004, $270 million above FY2003 and $1.06 billion above the President’s request. Community Health Centers would receive $1.627 billion in FY2004, a $122.3 million increase over FY2003 as part of the President’s proposed expansion of health services through the Community Health Centers Program.
The bill would provide $734.2 million for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, a $3.5 million increase above the FY2003 level, but $16.6 million less than the level requested by the President. Of this amount, $4 million would be provided to continue the sickle cell newborn screening program and its locally based outreach and counseling efforts. In addition, $1.6 million would be provided for mental health programs.
The measure would allocate $2 million for newborn and child screening for heritable disorders. The program “is designed to strengthen states’ newborn screening programs and improve states’ ability to develop, evaluate, and acquire innovative testing technologies, and establish and improve programs to provide screening, counseling, testing and special services for newborns and children at risk for heritable disorders.”
The Healthy Start infant mortality initiative would be level-funded at $98 million, $383,000 less than the President’s request. The measure also would maintain current funding of $9.935 million for universal newborn hearing screening. Under the President’s request, this program would not have been funded.
H.R. 2673 would provide $10 million to establish a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Program. The President did not request funding for this program. Report language indicates that this program “will provide funds to a network of cord blood banks with two specific aims: 1) building an inventory of the highest quality cord blood units for use as unrelated donor grafts for patients who lack human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling donors; and 2) ensuring an integrated system through which physicians and patients are able to locate a suitably matched cord blood unit or adult volunteer bone marrow donor via a single, electronic access point.” The report also notes, “A portion of the cord blood units collected using these funds should be available for the performance of pre-clinical and clinical research focusing on cord blood stem cell biology and the use of umbilical cord blood stem cells for human transplantation and cellular therapies.”
The conference report notes that the “Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Act of 1998 established the Ricky Ray Hemophilia Relief Fund to provide compassionate payment to certain individuals affected by HIV transmission via contaminated blood products.” It further states, “The fund terminated by law on November 12, 2003,” and, “The conferees are aware of approximately 28 cases that may still be adjudicated.” For this reason, the conference committee expects HRSA “to report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the status of these potential payments by February 1, 2004.”
Ryan White: The Ryan White Care Act would receive a $38 million increase over the FY2003 funding level to $2 billion, slightly more than in the President’s budget. Of this amount, $73.5 million would be provided to help children, youth, women, and families infected with, or affected by, HIV/AIDS.
Family Planning: Title X, the nation’s family planning program, would receive $280 million in FY2004, approximately $15 million more than the President’s request.
Report language directs the HHS Secretary “to request that Title X grantees voluntarily provide the following information regarding abortions: the number of Title X-funded sites that also provide abortions with non-federal funds.” The Secretary’s request “shall be limited to the above question with no additional information regarding the identity of the clinics or the patients receiving abortions. The conferees direct that when the Secretary requests that information, the letter of request should contain a statement making it clear that the grantees’ responses shall be voluntary and without consequence, or threat of consequence, to non-responsiveness. The conferees further direct that the records documenting this information shall be retained by the grantee, and shall not be provided to the Secretary nor any other federal, state, or local official or entity.” Finally, the conferees “expect the Secretary to provide a report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees…summarizing the volunteered information.”
Abstinence-only Education: The bill would provide $70.4 million for the abstinence education program in the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, a $15.8 million increase over FY2003, but $2.6 million below the President’s request. Of this amount, $4.5 million would be allocated for an evaluation of adolescent pregnancy prevention programs.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The measure would allocate $4.75 billion in FY2004, $262 million above the FY2003 level and $44 million above the President’s request. Of this total, $113.5 million would be provided for the prevention of birth defects, developmental disabilities, and disability and health activities. That would represent a $15.5 million increase over the FY2003 level and a $26.1 million increase over the President’s request. The total includes $1 million to expand research activities conducted by the regional Centers for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, $250,000 for activities related to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, $1 million for the national spina bifida program, and $300,000 for expanding the newborn infant screening program.
Chronic disease prevention and health promotion would receive $859 million, a $69.1 million increase over last year and $25 million over the President’s request. Within that amount, $46 million would be provided for heart disease and stroke, $315.6 million for cancer prevention and control, $24.5 million for arthritis and other chronic diseases, $100.1 million for tobacco prevention initiatives, $45 million for nutrition and physical activity promotion, $62.8 million for school health, and $54.2 million for safe motherhood and infant health.
Within the amount provided for cancer prevention and control, $210.9 million would be allocated for the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program and $4.9 million would be allocated for ovarian cancer. Within the amount provided for arthritis and other chronic diseases, $1 million would be allocated for the National Lupus Patient Registry. Within the amount provided for safe motherhood and infant health, $300,000 would be allocated for the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) death scene protocol and projects to demonstrate the protocol’s effectiveness. Within the amount provided for nutrition and physical activity promotion, $1 million would be allocated to support a comprehensive review of the effects of food marketing on children’s diet and health, including the characteristics of effective marketing of foods to children to promote healthy food choices.
The bill would provide $1.299 for HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis prevention at the CDC, an increase of $113 million over last year and $18 million more than the President’s request. Of that amount, $293.5 million would be provided for global HIV/AIDS programs, $110.5 million more than FY2003 and approximately equal to the President’s request. In addition, $169 million would be provided for STD activities, $150 million for the International Mother and Child HIV Prevention Initiative, and $104 million to continue support of activities that are targeted to address the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic and its disparate impact on communities of color. Within the total provided for STD activities, $500,000 would be allocated for a grant program to strengthen the local capacity on Indian reservations to screen for and treat STDs, and to educate local populations about such diseases and their consequences.
The conference committee urges the CDC director “to continue and strengthen CDC support of community-based organizations and faith-based organizations and their efforts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate primary and secondary HIV prevention programs.”
National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH would receive $27.982 billion in FY2004, a $1 billion increase over the FY2003 appropriation and $319 million above the President’s request.
Report language states, “Stroke is the second leading cause of death among women worldwide and kills more than twice as many women as do breast cancer and AIDS combined. Recognizing that women are the single largest group at risk for death from stroke, the conferees believe that special attention should be focused on better understanding the gender differences with specific attention to stroke related to pregnancy; the use of oral contraceptives; and the impact of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy on stroke risk.” The conferees “further urge NIH to increase research into new therapies for stroke in women as well as ways of enhancing the vascular health of all Americans, including (1) a clinical trial of carotid endarterectomy and angioplasty/stenting in women, (2) observational research on differences in the way men and women present with stroke symptoms, and (3) studies of differences in how men and women respond to FDA-approved antiplatelet agents for recurrent stroke prevention.”
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): SAMHSA would receive $3.37 billion in FY2004. This allocation is $160 million more than the FY2003 level, but $30 million less than the President’s request.
Center for Mental Health Services: H.R. 2673 would provide $845.5 million for mental health services, $10.9 million less than last year’s level and $11.5 million more than the President’s request.
The Mental Health Performance Partnership would receive $415.2 million, $21.9 million less than FY2003 and $17.8 million less than the President’s budget request.
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: The measure would provide $2.13 billion for substance abuse treatment programs. This allocation is $130 million more than last year’s level and $210 million less than the President’s request. The Substance Abuse Performance Partnership would receive $1.71 billion, $20 million more than FY2003, but $75 million less than the President’s request.
The bill would provide $10 million for treatment programs for pregnant, postpartum and residential women and their children.
Administration for Children and Families
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): The bill would maintain the current funding level of $304 million for AHRQ in FY2004, $25 million more than the President’s request.
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): The bill would grant the President’s request and provide $2.1 billion to CCDBG in FY2004, an increase of $14 million over FY2003.
Child Support Enforcement: H.R. 2673 would allocate $4.57 billion in FY2004 for payments to states for child support enforcement and family support programs. This amount is $540 million more than FY2003 and $50 million more than the President’s request.
Social Services Block Grant: The Social Services Block Grant would be level-funded at $1.7 billion as requested by the President.
International Trafficking: Under the Refugee and Entrant Assistance account, a program to aid victims of trafficking would receive $9.968 million, $33,000 more than the FY2003 level, but $32,000 less than the President’s request.
Child and Family Services Programs: As requested by the President, Head Start would receive a $148 million increase over FY2003, bringing the total to $6.8 billion. This funding level would allow Head Start to maintain current service levels, while ensuring that quality improvements and training elements are fully implemented.
Consolidated runaway and homeless youth programs would be level-funded at $89.9 million, $1.9 million more than the President’s request. The measure does not include the $10 million that the President requested for the Maternity Group Homes program.
The measure would provide $34.6 million for child abuse and neglect treatment and prevention activities. This amount is $21.1 million below FY2003 and $13.7 million below the President’s request.
Programs to increase abandoned infant assistance would be level-funded at $12.12 million, $40,000 more than the President’s request.
The bill would provide $291 million for child welfare services, approximately $1 million more than FY2003, but $900,000 less than the amount requested by the President.
The committee recommendation does not include the $20 million that the President requested for promoting responsible fatherhood and healthy marriage. Legislation has not been enacted to create this new program.
Adoption: H.R. 2673 would provide $27.285 million for adoption opportunities, $58,000 more than FY2003, but $58,000 less than the President’s request. The measure would provide $7.5 million for adoption incentives, $35.2 million less than FY2003 and $35.5 million less than the President’s request. The conferees “note that the number of adoptions from the public foster care system has increased significantly over the past several years, rising from 27,761 in FY1997 to 50,179 in FY2002. As a result of this increase and based on the most recent estimates, fewer resources will be needed in FY2004 to make bonus payments to states for the full amount for which they are eligible under this program.”
The bill also would provide $12.86 million for adoption awareness programs, $40,000 more than FY2003, but $40,000 less than the President’s request.
Mentoring Children of Prisoners: As requested by the President, the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program would receive $50 million in FY2004, a $40 million increase over the FY2003 level.
Promoting Safe and Stable Families: The bill would level-fund the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program at $404.3 million, $100.6 million less than the President’s request. Funding for this program helps to support family preservation services, time-limited family reunification services, community-based family support services, and adoption promotion and support services.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): H.R. 2673 would fund several VAWA programs. The National Domestic Violence Hotline would receive $3 million as requested by the President. Last year, Congress allocated $2.562 million for the hotline. In addition, battered women’s shelters would be level-funded at $126.4 million, $2 million more than the President’s request.
Administration on Aging National Family Caregiver Support: The bill would provide $153.6 million for the National Family Caregiver Support program, a $4.6 million increase over FY2003 and $121 million more than the amount requested by the President.
Adolescent Family Life: As requested by the President, the Adolescent Family Life program would receive $31.2 million in FY2004, $300,000 more than FY2003. The program provides comprehensive and integrated approaches to the delivery of care services for pregnant and parenting adolescents, and prevention services that promote abstinence from sexual activity among non-parenting teens.
Public Health Service’s Office on Women’s Health (PHS-OWH): The Office on Women’s Health would receive $29.1 million in FY2004, a $500,000 increase over FY2003 and $200,000 more than the President’s request.
Public Health Service’s Office of Minority Health (PHS-OMH): The measure would allocate $55.6 million to the Office of Minority Health, $600,000 less than FY2003 and $8.6 million more than the President’s budget request.
Office of the Secretary
H.R. 2673 would provide $49.8 million for minority AIDS prevention and treatment activities. The bill also would provide $1 million to reduce SIDS disparity rates and provide risk reduction education to African-American and American-Indian populations in the United States.
The committee report notes that funds are provided “to publish and widely disseminate the U.S. Surgeon General’s report on osteoporosis and related bone diseases. In an effort to heighten public awareness of this report, the Surgeon General is encouraged to work with voluntary health organizations dedicated to promoting bone health.”
The measure would provide $500,000 for the Office of the Secretary to conduct studies concerning mammography standards.
The bill would prohibit funds from being used to create human embryos for research purposes or to perform research in which a human embryo is destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death.
Department of Education
No Child Left Behind: Grants to local educational agencies under the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110) would receive an increase of $728,000, for a total of $12.412 billion in FY2004. This amount is $62,000 above the President’s request.
The conferees “commend the Office of Student Achievement and School Accountability for their efforts to coordinate and integrate existing federal, state, and local literacy resources, including those provided under the Head Start program, Title I programs, and adult education programs, to strengthen and expand family literacy services.”
William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program: The Even Start program would be level-funded at $248.3 million, $73.3 million more than the amount requested by the President. The program provides grants for family literacy programs that serve disadvantaged families with children under the age of eight. The programs combine early childhood education, adult literacy, and parenting education.
Reading First and Early Reading First: The bill would provide $1.03 billion for the Reading First program, a $36,000 increase over FY2003, but $20,000 less than the President’s request. The Early Reading First program would receive $95 million in FY2004, $20.5 million more than FY2003, but $5 million less than the President’s request.
Teacher Quality: H.R. 2673 would provide $2.945 billion for professional development programs to provide states and school districts with the tools to improve teacher quality. This amount is $15 million more than FY2003 and $95 million above the President’s request. The bill would provide $45.5 million for the Transition to Teaching program to assist eligible members of the armed forces and mid-career professionals to obtain certification as teachers. This amount is $3.8 million more than FY2003, but $3.9 million less than the President’s request. Math and Science Partnerships would be funded at $150 million, an increase of nearly $50 million over FY2003 to increase the number of teachers trained in the fields of math and science. This amount is $137.5 million more than the level requested by the President.
Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE): The measure would provide $430.4 million for FIE. Of that amount, $2.98 million would be allocated for women’s education equity.
21st Century Community Learning Centers: The bill would provide $1.005 billion for 21st Century Community Learning Centers in FY2004, $11.5 million above FY2003 and $405 million more than the President’s request.
Loan Forgiveness for Child Care: As requested by the President, the bill would not provide any funding for student loan forgiveness for child care. $994 million was provided in FY2003. Under the program, borrowers who had earned a degree in early childhood education and who worked for two full years as a child care provider in a low-income community had a portion of their loan obligation forgiven.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Total spending for special education in FY2004 would be $11.3 billion, a $1.27 billion increase over FY2003 and $610 million above the President’s request. Of this amount, $447 million would be allocated for grants for the Infants and Families program, which provides early intervention services to all children with disabilities ages two and under, and their families. This funding level is the same as the President’s request and $12.8 million more than the FY2003 allocation.
Education for Homeless Children and Youth: The bill would provide $60 million for education for homeless children and youth, $5.4 million more than FY2003 and $10 million more than the President’s request.
Vocational Education: In FY2004, $1.342 billion would be provided for vocational education, $10 million more than FY2003 and $336 million more than amount requested by the President.
Adult Education: The measure would provide $593.7 million for adult education, a $6.5 million increase over FY2003 and $2.7 million above the President’s request.
Pell Grants: The bill would level-fund Pell grants at $4.050 billion, $50 million more than the President’s request. These grants provide portable education vouchers to postsecondary students who may use them at any of over 6,000 eligible schools.
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS): Funding for the CCAMPIS program would be level-funded at $16.1 million, $1.1 million more than the President’s request. States may use grants provided under this program to “establish a campus-based childcare program primarily serving the needs of low-income students enrolled at the institution.”
Office for Civil Rights: The bill would provide $89.2 million for the Office for Civil Rights to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age in all programs and institutions funded by the Department of Education. This funding level is $3.5 million above the FY2003 level, but $2 million less than the President’s request.
H.R. 2673 contains a measure in the House bill that would prohibit funds from being made available to any library or public school that does not make the certifications required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act (P.L. 106-554) regarding the use of Internet filters.
The measure does not contain a provision in the Senate bill that would have blocked the use of federal funds by the Department of Labor to implement a March 31, 2003 proposal to change regulations concerning overtime pay. Under the proposal, the salary threshold below which workers would automatically qualify for overtime pay would be raised from $155 to $425 per week. Most workers with an annual salary of $65,000 or more would no longer be eligible for overtime pay.
Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies
The measure would allocate $88.9 billion in FY2004, $4.9 billion over FY2003 and nearly $500 million above the President’s request.
H.R. 2673 would provide $125 million for job access and reverse commute grants, $104 million more than FY2003. The grants are used to “help welfare reform efforts succeed by providing enhanced transportation services for low-income individuals, including former welfare recipients, traveling to jobs or training centers.”
As requested by the President, the Minority Business Resource Center would receive $900,000, an increase of $6,000 over FY2003. The center “provides assistance in obtaining short-term working capital for disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses,” and focuses on providing capital to these groups “for transportation-related projects in order to strengthen their competitive and productive capabilities.” Additionally, $3 million would be allocated for minority business outreach, $19,000 more than FY2003 and equal to the President’s request.
The bill would allocate $20 million for the Occupant Protection Incentive Grants program, $11.254 million above last year and $8.627 million above the President’s request. The total would include $3 million for outreach initiatives to increase seatbelt use. An additional $10 million would be allocated for national paid media to support national safety belt mobilizations.
H.R. 2673 would provide $145 million for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.
The bill would maintain current law requiring health plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to cover prescription contraceptives if they cover other prescription drugs. Physicians and others who provide contraceptives are exempted from the requirement if they object based on religious beliefs. Religiously affiliated health plans also are exempt. The measure also would prohibit abortion coverage under FEHBP, except when the life of the mother is endangered or in the case of rape or incest.
The measure also would maintain current law permitting breastfeeding in a federal building or on federal property if the woman and child are authorized to be there.
Finally, H.R. 2673 would extend the Breast Cancer Stamp authorization through 2005.
Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies
The measure would allocate $91.3 billion in FY2004, $4.2 billion above FY2003 and $1.9 billion more than the President’s request.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
H.R. 2673 would provide $1.267 billion for homeless programs, approximately $50 million more than FY2003, but $58 million less than the amount requested by the President. The conference report includes language requiring the renewal of all expiring Shelter Plus Care grants, but does not provide a dollar amount for this purpose. Instead, the report states that the conferees “understand that the current estimate for Shelter Plus Care renewals totals $194 million,” and “expect [HUD] to provide the full amount necessary to fund these renewals from within the amount provided.”
The bill also would designate $12 million for the national homeless data analysis project. In addition, the conferees “encourage [HUD] to review the plans being developed by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to end chronic homelessness and provide a report to Congress…on recommendations to develop incentives or requirements under McKinneyVento programs to achieve this goal.”
As requested by the President, the bill would include $296.5 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, $6.5 million more than FY2003, but $500,000 less than the President’s request.
The measure also would include $17.6 billion for Section 8 voucher renewals. The amount provided represents a $2.4 billion, or 16 percent, increase over the FY2003 level for renewals. Conference report language states, “Because of the alarming increases to the cost of rents under the Section 8 tenant-based program, the conferees direct HUD to report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations…on the underlying reasons for these annual increases in the average costs of Section 8 rents. While the conferees support efforts by [Public Housing Authorities] to increase their utilization of vouchers to serve additional families, PHAs must manage their programs in a prudent manner to maximize the number of families served.” In addition, the bill would provide $206.4 million for rental protection activities, including the family reunification program.
Independent Agencies
H.R. 2673 would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a study on the health risks to children from residential lead contamination.
