This week, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Military Quality of Life, and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies spending bills. In addition, House Appropriations subcommittees approved the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies, and Homeland Security spending bills.
Committee Action
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2007 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies spending bill (H.R. 5384). On May 10, the committee approved, by voice vote, a motion to reconsider the vote of May 9, an action necessary to correct a technical mistake in an amendment previously adopted on the Milk Income Loss Program, and then voted to adopt the revised amendment and approve the bill, by voice vote. A House Appropriations subcommittee approved the measure on May 3 (see The Source, 5/5/06).
The bill would allocate $18.4 billion in discretionary spending for FY2007, $96 million below the FY2006 level and $564 million over the administration’s budget request. It also would provide $76.079 in mandatory spending
The measure would provide $5.244 billion in FY2007 for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), $39.57 million above the FY2006 level and $44 million more than the administration’s request.
The House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill states, “The Committee notes that since the budget request was submitted last February, several estimates provided in the President’s budget for the WIC program have changed. The Committee also does not include several proposals requested in the President’s budget, changing the estimated program needs in the WIC program. Estimates for participation and food costs have declined for fiscal year 2006 and fiscal year 2007, increasing the expected carry-over funds from fiscal year 2006 to 2007 and decreasing the estimate for program needs.”
According to the committee report, the WIC funding level includes $15 million for the breastfeeding peer counselor program.
Child nutrition programs would receive $13.345 billion in FY2007, a $684.658 million increase over FY2006, but $300 million less than the amount requested by the administration. The committee report states that up to $500,000 is provided “for each State to carry out a program to make free fruits and vegetables available to elementary or secondary schools to make available to students throughout the school day.”
The Food Stamp Program would be funded at $37.865 billion in FY2007, $2.846 billion below FY2006 and $69 million less that the administration’s request.
Under the bill, $1.223 billion would be provided for the Food for Peace Program (Title II), $84.6 million more than FY2006 and $4.6 million above the administration’s request.
The McGovern-Dole international food for education and child nutrition program grants would receive $100 million in FY2007, $1 million more than FY2006 and the administration’s request.
The measure would allocate a total of $1.543 billion for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in FY2007, $68.681 million more than FY2006, but $1.947 million less than the administration’s request.
The Committee recommendation includes “not less than” $4 million for the Office of Women’s Health. The report states, “The Committee continues to be committed to this function, and in particular activities related to cardiovascular disease in women and the hormone therapy education program.”
During consideration of the bill, the committee adopted the following amendments by voice vote:
On May 10, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2007 Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). A House Appropriations Subcommittee approved the bill on May 4 (seeThe Source, 5/4/06).
The measure would allocate $94.7 billion in discretionary spending for FY2007, a $9.7 billion increase over FY2006 and $800 million less than the administration’s request.
Under the bill, $3.989 billion would be allocated for military family housing construction and operations, a reduction of $448.979 million from the FY2006 level and $94.687 million less than the administration’s request.
Overall, the defense health program would receive $21.025 billion, an increase of $684.571 million above the FY2006 level and the same as the administration’s request.
Several women’s health research programs would be level funded under the bill: $115 million for the Army’s Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer Research Program and $15 million for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program.
The bill would provide $45 million for a Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program. The House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill lists the committee’s recommendations for possible areas of research, including obesity and nutritional factors in military health, pulmonary hypertension, post-traumatic stress disorder, and lupus.
The bill would include $25 million for a mental health initiative “to begin to integrate mandatory mental health services and counseling into the standard operating procedures for soldiers.”
Funding for global HIV/AIDS prevention would receive $7 million under the bill, a reduction of $500 million from FY2006.
During consideration of the bill, several Democratic amendments to increase funding for various discretionary accounts in the bill were defeated.
The House is expected to consider the bill next week.
