BUDGET FITS.... AND STARTS

July 14, 2004

Despite last year's blackout in the Northeast, the House and Senate still can't agree on a national energy policy.  Or on bankruptcy reform.  Or a highway bill.  Or welfare reform.  So it should come as no surprise that Congress is nowhere near completing its work on the appropriations bills required to keep government running past the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

As of July 14 only one of the 13 spending bills, the Department of Defense appropriations bill, had been passed by both chambers and was in conference committee.  Five other bills had been passed by the House; none had been debated on the floor of the Senate.

Why the delay?  Election years are never very conducive to legislating.  And when money is scarce for non-defense, discretionary programs, tough choices make decision-making even more problematic.  And because Congress has thus far failed to reach agreement on an overall spending plan—the so-called budget resolution—the situation is even further complicated.   

What does this mean?  Hope springs eternal that Congress will somehow find the political will to move the 12 remaining spending bills when it returns from a six-week recess on September 7.  Lawmakers are hopeful that wrapping those bills into an omnibus measure will afford them the political cover they need to complete their work by mid-October.  But it's hard to envision them putting aside partisan bickering with the November 2 elections so close at hand, leaving open the likelihood of a lame-duck session or, even worse, a continuing resolution that runs through February 2005.

House committee adopts Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill

The House appropriations committee on July 14 adopted a $142.5 billion Labor-HHS-Education spending bill for fiscal year 2005.  The measure was approved a week earlier by a vote of 18-0 by the panel's subcommittee.

During the committee's consideration of the measure, Rep. David Obey (D-WI) lost in his bid to cap next year's tax cuts for people making more than $1 million, with the savings used to pay for health care, education, and job training. The amendment would have eliminated budget cuts in rural health clinics and hospitals, increased funding for National Institutes of Health research, and addressed shortfalls in Maternal and Child Health Block Grants and Community Mental Health Block Grants.  Obey had proposed a similar amendment during subcommittee consideration of the bill.

Public Health Service

Overall, the committee generally allocated health funds at or near the president's budget request level.  Under the bill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is allocated $4.48 billion, $101 million below fiscal 2004 and $15 million above the president's budget request.  Of that amount, $1.638 billion is earmarked for hospital preparedness for homeland security/biodefense activities.

The National Institutes of Health would receive $28.5 billion, the same as the president's budget request and $727 million more than the 2004 appropriation.  Of that total, $1.694 billion is allocated for homeland security/biodefense research.

Education programs

The committee voted $57.7 billion for Department of Education programs, an increase of $2 billion over the fiscal year 2004 funding level.  This includes $11.1 billion for Special Education grants, or $1 billion more than 2004, and $13.4 billion for Title I aid to school districts to help educationally disadvantaged children. 

The bill also includes $410 million, $20 million over fiscal year 2004, to cover the cost of developing annual state assessments of students' reading and math skills; an $823 million increase to maintain maximum Pell grant awards at $4,050; and $6.9 billion to maintain Head Start service levels.