This week, the House approved the conference reports for the following FY2006 spending bills: Energy and Water Development, and Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies. The Senate approved the conference report for the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs spending bill.
To date, only four of the eleven FY2006 appropriations bills have been enacted into law: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; Department of Homeland Security; and Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies.
House Action
Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies
On November 9, the House approved, 397-19, the conference report for the FY2006 Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 2862).
H.R. 2862 allocates $57.85 billion in FY2006, a $1.61 billion increase over FY2005, but $2.5 billion less than the administration’s request.
The State Department
Under the bill, the State Department is funded at $9.6 billion in FY2006, a $1.1 billion decrease below FY2005 and $250 million under the budget request.
The measure “includes a program increase of $150,000 and two additional positions for the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The conferees support the efforts of the Office to further strengthen the annual reporting process and those of the Department-led Senior Policy Operating Group [on Trafficking in Persons] to coordinate interagency activities to implement the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act of 2000.
“The conferees urge the Department of State to ensure that no later than 30 days after the date of issuance by the U.S. mission in a foreign country, the Trafficking in Persons Report and the International Religious Freedom Report be translated into the official language of that country. The translated report should be posted on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in that country. The conferees strongly believe that translation of the reports is critical to accomplishing the purpose of the U.S. Congress in requiring these reports.”
The conference report “includes language clarifying that 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 language also makes clear that the coordinating responsibilities of the Operating Group are not intended to supercede the decision making authority of the constituent members of the Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to whom Operating Group members continue to report. 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. The conferees agree that the Senior Operating Group and its chair have successfully performed the coordinating functions assigned to them.”
The conference report states that no funds may be obligated for a new or expanded United Nations peacekeeping mission unless “the Committees on Appropriations and other appropriate committees of the Congress are notified that the United Nations has taken appropriate measures to prevent United Nations employees, contractor personnel, and peacekeeping forces serving in any United Nations peacekeeping mission from trafficking in persons, exploiting victims of trafficking, or committing acts of illegal sexual exploitation, and to hold accountable individuals who engage in such acts while participating in the peacekeeping mission.”
Department of Justice
Under the bill, the Department of Justice receives $21.4 billion in FY2006, a $1.1 billion increase over FY2005 and $790 million more than the administration’s request.
The conference report adopts language contained in the House report concerning the excessive delay in the issuance of regulations governing the recognition of asylum claims from women fleeing honor killings, trafficking, sexual slavery and domestic violence (see The Source, 6/17/05). According to the report, “The conferees expect the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to issue regulations to govern gender-based asylum claims.”
H.R. 2862 “fully funds the Civil Rights Division’s efforts to combat human trafficking. The conferees expect the Department to continue submitting yearly updates regarding efforts to address human trafficking.” According to the conference report, “The conferees commend the Department for the creation of a National Sex Offender Public Registry. The conferees encourage the Department to continue to enhance the capabilities of this useful tool, including the possibility of a search function by radius to allow a user to enter an address and find all registered sex offenders within a specified distance of their neighborhood, regardless of zip code, county or State borders.
“The conferees remain concerned about the failure of convicted child molesters to register with State and local law enforcement agencies when they move into a jurisdiction, as required by the laws of many States. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, more than 100,000 convicted sex offenders have failed to register. The wide disparity among the State programs in both registration and notification procedures permits sex offenders to forum shop to get around reporting. The Attorney General is directed to report to the Committees on Appropriations…on suggested legislative changes necessary to address the gaps and loopholes that may exist in the current State registration and reporting systems.”
Bureau of Prisons
According to the conference report, no funds in the bill “shall be used to require any person to perform, or facilitate in any way the performance of, any abortion.” The report also notes that “nothing…shall remove the obligation of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to provide escort services necessary for a female inmate to receive such service outside the Federal facility.”
Office on Violence Against Women
Programs under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) receive $386.5 million in FY2006, $4.5 million more than FY2005 and $23.5 million more than the administration’s request.
VAWA programs include the following:
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According to the conference report, “The conferees understand that Native American and Native Alaskan women experience a higher rate of violence compared to any other group in the United States. These individuals lack a comprehensive community response to address their needs in breaking the cycle of violence. Last year, a liaison office was created to address this concern. The conference agreement includes $6.7 million for the Native American/Native Alaskan Liaison Office to continue their work in Alaska, of which $950,000 is for the rural domestic violence prosecution unit; $5 million is for the State of Alaska Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Program; and $750,000 is for the Victims of Justice in Alaska.”
Justice Assistance
In FY2006, the National Institute of Justice receives $55 million, $700,000 more than FY2005, but $28.7 million below the administration’s request.
The bill provides $48 million for the Missing Children Program in FY2006, $1.73 million more than FY2005 and $9.2 million above the budget request. The total includes $24 million for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), $14.5 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and $5 million for the AMBER Alert program.
The conferees “strongly support the NCMEC’s nationwide services for the prevention of abduction, endangerment, and sexual exploitation of children. The conferees commend the leadership of NCMEC for their dedication to these issues. The conference agreement adopts, by reference, language included in the House report regarding Internet service providers.”
The conference report states that “in coordination with the DOJ Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the FBI has implemented the “Innocent Lost” initiative, which is intended to address the growing problem of domestic child prostitution. The FBI provides the investigative aspect of the initiative, while DOJ-CEOS commits the prosecutorial resources and the NCMEC provides training for the participating field offices. The conference agreement includes an additional $1.6 million to more aggressively identify, investigate, and prosecute crimes of this nature.”
H.R. 2862 “provides an increase of $2.69 million for the Innocent Images National Initiative (IINI) to expand field training programs, strengthen interagency partnerships with law enforcement partners, and provide increased operational support to the field. IINI is an intelligence-driven, proactive, multi-agency investigative initiative to combat the proliferation of child pornography and child sexual exploitation facilitated by an online computer. The IINI provides centralized coordination and analysis of case information that by its very nature is national and international in scope, requiring unprecedented coordination throughout the FBI, as well as with State, local, and international governments.”
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance The Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants program receives $416.5 million in FY2006, $217.5 million less than FY2005. Under the administration’s budget request, this program would not have been funded.
H.R. 2862 provides $85 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs, a $1.1 million increase over FY2005 and $15 million more than the administration’s request.
Under the bill, $18.2 million is provided to implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (P.L. 108-79). The amount is $39.8 million below FY2005 and $8 million more than the amount requested by President Bush.
The measure provides $10 million in FY2006 for a program to provide assistance to victims of trafficking, $134,000 more than FY2005. President Bush did not request funding for the program.
The bill includes $108.5 million in FY2006 for a DNA and forensics initiative, $1.5 million less than FY2005 and $42.5 million below the administration’s request.
Juvenile Justice Programs: Under the bill, $342.7 million is allocated for juvenile justice programs in FY2006, a $41.3 million decrease below FY2005 and $110.5 million more than the budget request. The total includes $15 million for the Victims of Child Abuse Act, $200,000 more than FY2005 and $3.23 million above the administration’s request.
Independent Agencies
The Legal Services Corporation is level-funded at $331 million, $12.7 million more than the administration’s request.
The bill provides $456 million for the Small Business Administration, $154 million less than FY2005 and $3 million above the administration’s request. Of that amount, $12.5 million is provided for women’s business centers, $500,000 above the FY2005 level. In addition, the National Women’s Business Council is level-funded at $750,000.
As requested by the administration, H.R. 2862 includes $9.04 million for the Commission on Civil Rights in FY2006. This amount is $40,000 above the FY2005 level.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives $331.23 million in FY2006, a $4.43 million increase over FY2005 and equal to the budget request.
The measure allocates $5.65 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a $181 million increase over FY2005 and $49 million more than the administration’s request. The total includes $64 million for Math and Science Partnerships, $15 million less than FY2005 and $4 million above the budget request.
The conference report states that the NSF “plays a significant role in attracting more of the best and brightest students in the Nation into the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology fields. The conferees urge NSF to work towards increasing the number of women, minorities, and other underrepresented groups to the greatest extent possible.”
Senate Action
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
On November 10, the Senate approved, 91-0, the conference report for the FY2006 Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs spending bill (H.R. 3057). The House approved the conference report on November 4 (see The Source, 11/4/05). It will now go to the White House to be signed into law by President Bush.
H.R. 3057 allocates $19.54 billion in FY2006, a $1.36 billion decrease below FY2005 and $3.28 billion less than the administration’s request.
