This week, the Senate approved the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs spending bill. In addition, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the following bills: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, HUD, and Related Agencies; and District of Columbia.
Floor Action
State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
On July 19, the Senate approved, 98-1, the FY2006 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs spending bill (H.R. 3057). The Senate began its debate on the measure last week (see The Source, 7/15/05).
H.R. 3057 would allocate $31.8 billion in FY2006, a $1.2 billion decrease below FY2005 and $1 billion less than the administration’s request. Of that amount, $9.7 billion would be provided for the Department of State, $1.1 billion less than FY2005 and $201 million below the budget request. The House-approved version of the bill would provide $20.27 billion in FY2006, but does not include funding for the Department of State (see The Source, 7/1/05). Funding for that agency is included in the annual Science, State, Justice and Commerce spending bill.
During consideration of the bill, the Senate approved, by unanimous consent, an amendment offered by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that would require that funds made available for the United Nations Population Fund only be used for the following purposes:
The Senate also approved, by unanimous consent, an amendment offered by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) that would express the sense of Congress regarding abusive child labor practices in the cocoa industry of West Africa. Specifically, the amendment commends representatives of the chocolate industry for signing the Protocol for the Growing and Processing of Cocoa Beans and their Derivative Products in a Manner that Complies with ILO [International Labor Organization] Convention 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. The amendment notes that “since the Protocol was signed, some positive steps have been taken to address the worst forms of child labor and slave labor in cocoa growing, but the July 1, 2005, deadline for creation and implementation of the certification system was not fully met.”
In addition, the Senate approved the following amendments by voice vote:
Committee Action
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
On July 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 28-0, the FY2006 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill (H.R. 2528). A Senate Appropriations subcommittee approved the measure by voice vote on July 19.
H.R. 2528 would allocate $81 billion in FY2006, a $5.1 billion increase over FY2005, but $700 million less than the administration’s request. The House-approved version of the bill would provide $85.2 billion in FY2006, but also would include funding for defense health programs and basic housing and facilities maintenance (see The Source, 5/27/05). The Senate includes funding for those programs in its annual Department of Defense spending bill.
Under the bill, $4.13 billion would be provided for military family housing, $60 million more than FY2005, but $110 million less than the budget request. Of that amount, $1.91 billion would be allocated for new family housing units and improvements to existing units, and $2.22 billion would be used for the operation and maintenance of existing units.
In addition, the measure would provide $28 million for child development centers.
Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, HUD, and Related Agencies
On July 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 28-0, the FY2006 Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, HUD, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 3058). A Senate Appropriations subcommittee approved the measure without objection on July 19.
H.R. 3058 would allocate $65.82 billion in FY2006, a $3.22 billion increase over FY2005 and $5.67 billion more than the administration’s request. The House-approved version of the bill would provide $66.94 billion in FY2006, but also would include funding for the District of Columbia (see The Source, 7/1/05).
During consideration of the bill, Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) offered an amendment that would increase the bill’s allocation by $446 million, bringing the total to $65.82 billion in FY2006. Of that amount, $5 million would be earmarked for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, bringing total funding for the program to $287 million in FY2006. The increase would be offset by improving Internal Revenue Service enforcement to generate additional revenues. The amendment was approved by voice vote.
Department of Transportation
The bill includes funding for job access and reverse commute grants, which are used to aid welfare-to-work recipients who live in “urbanized areas with populations greater than 200,000” and have transportation costs associated with their jobs. In addition, the measure provides funding for the Minority Business Resource Center, funding for minority business outreach, and funding for the Occupant Protection Incentive Grants.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Under the bill, $1.42 billion would be provided for homeless programs, $174 million more than FY2005, but $25 million below the budget request.
In FY2006, the HOPWA program would receive $287 million. This amount is $5 million above the FY2005 level and $19 million more than the administration’s request.
The measure would include $15.6 billion for Section 8 voucher renewals, $870 million above the FY2005 level, but $209 million less than the amount requested by the administration.
H.R. 3058 would provide level funding of $166.7 million for the Lead Hazard Reduction Program, $47.7 million more than the budget request.
In FY2006, the American Dream Downpayment Assistance Initiative would receive $50 million, $400,000 above the FY2005 level, but $150 million less than the administration’s request.
Under the bill, level funding of $42 million would be provided for housing counseling programs in FY2006. This amount is $2 million above the budget request.
The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation would receive $115 million in FY2006, a $920,000 increase over FY2005, but $3 million less than the amount requested by President Bush.
More details will be made available after the committee files its report accompanying H.R. 3058.
District of Columbia
On July 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 28-0, the FY2006 District of Columbia spending bill (S. 1446).
S. 1446 would authorize $593 million for the District of Columbia in FY2006, a $37 million increase over FY2005, $19.6 million above the administration’s request, and $11 million less than the amount approved by the House on June 30 (see The Source, 7/1/05). The House includes funding for the District of Columbia in its annual Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia spending bill.
The bill would provide $218.9 million for operation of the D.C. Courts, $29.7 million more than FY2005. The 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.
In FY2006, $40 million would be provided for D.C. schools. This amount is $300,000 above FY2005, but $1.62 million less than the budget request. Of the total, $13 million would be allocated for D.C. public schools and $13 million for charter schools. In addition, $14 million would be provided “to continue a scholarship program to allow low-income students attending consistently under-performing public schools to choose to attend private schools within the District.” The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying S. 1446 states that the committee “believes that this program is improving the academic prospects of students receiving scholarships and is stimulating improvement within the public school system.”
The measure would provide $2 million for improvements to the District’s foster care system, $2.96 million below the FY2005 level. Of that amount, $1 million would be used to repay school loans for social workers, $750,000 to assist the Child and Family Services Agency in providing post-permanency services to adoptive parents and guardians, and $250,000 for recruiting and retaining foster parents.
S. 1446 would allocate $3 million for a new initiative to establish Marriage Development Accounts (MDAs) and pre-Marriage Development Accounts (pMDAs) in the District of Columbia. According to the report, “MDAs and pMDAs may only be used to 1) buy a home; 2) pay for post-secondary education or vocational training; or 3) start or expand a small business. Accountholders must attend at least 8 hours of financial education prior to withdrawing the matching funds to purchase the asset. Asset-specific training will also be available. The funds in the account must be invested within 3 years and the matched amount will only be paid directly to the asset provider such as a college or a job training facility or a financial institution.
“Engaged couples must marry prior to withdrawing funds from their pMDAs. Upon marriage, couples will receive a $200 bonus to pay for costs associated with marriage licenses and other fees. If the couple does not marry, neither will be entitled to the Federal-private matching funds in the account…Single individuals aged 16-22 who remain unmarried and childless may contribute to their accounts for up to 4 years. The participating community service providers will provide credit counseling, debt management counseling, and asset-specific training. Couples who participate in premarital and marital counseling will receive a $300 bonus in their accounts. Unmarried youths will be required to receive life-skills training, and to work with mentors to develop long-term education, job training, and asset-building goals.”
The report states that the committee “is informed that every year almost 57 percent of babies born to residents of the District of Columbia are born to single mothers. This is more than 40 percent higher than the national average. The Committee understands that children raised by never-married mothers are 7 times more likely to be poor compared to those children born to married parents and that over 80 percent of long-term child poverty occurs in broken or never-married families.
“The Committee believes that marriage has an enormous potential to reduce poverty among couples who are unmarried at the time of their child’s birth. Studies show that increasing the number of healthy marriages would also have substantial non-economic benefits for children. For example, children who are raised in marriage by their biological mother and father are less likely to have emotional and behavioral problems, to be physically abused, to become involved in crime, to fail in school, to abuse drugs, and to end up on welfare as adults.”
The committee “is aware of the negative effects of sexual behavior among teenagers. Studies show that girls who begin sexual activity at an early age are more likely to become pregnant and give birth out-of-wedlock and to be single mothers. Since single mothers are far more likely to be poor, early sexual activity is linked to higher levels of child and maternal poverty. The Committee believes that abstinence education programs aid in encouraging teenagers to delay sexual activity and the negative consequences associated with it.”
The measure also would provide $2 million for a Latino youth initiative in the District of Columbia. Under the bill, funding would be provided to improve health and educational outcomes of Latino children, and to promote violence prevention among Latino youth. The administration did not request funding for this initiative. According to the report, “The Committee is concerned about the problems and challenges facing many Latino youth in the District of Columbia. Latino youth make up more than 25 percent of the under-18 population in the District of Columbia, compared to 10 percent nationally. Many of these young people do not have adequate access to key services, including health insurance, health care, and education and job training. The Latino dropout rate in the District is estimated to be in the range of 50 percent. In addition, Latino families earned 54 percent less than the average District resident, which is significant since income level often affects educational achievement. Educational disparities are especially acute for English Language Learners who constitute a majority of Latino students in the District.
“A study released earlier this year by the Equal Rights Center documented that Spanish-speaking applicants for services such as Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance experienced some form of discrimination about 50 percent of the time in their encounters with the Department of Health, often when applying for coverage on behalf of Latino children who are U.S. citizens. This is troubling, especially since Latinos in the District are more likely than other Americans to experience certain health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.”
Included in the bill is a provision that would maintain current law prohibiting 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.
S. 1446 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.
In addition, the measure would prohibit the use of federal funds for a needle exchange program, but would allow the District to use local funds for such a program.
