Agriculture: On May 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, its FY2001 agriculture spending bill (S. 2536). The measure would provide $4.1 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a $20 million increase over last year. Child nutrition programs would receive $9.5 billion, a slight decrease from the $9.6 billion the programs received in FY2000. The measure also includes $2 billion in FY2000 supplemental funding for disaster relief.
On May 10, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, its FY2001 agriculture spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered), which would provide $4.05 billion for WIC and $9.5 billion for child nutrition programs.
Defense: The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approved, by voice vote, its FY2001 spending bill on May 11. The bill would provide $175 million for peer-reviewed breast cancer research at the Department of Defense (DoD), the same amount the program received last year.
Military Construction: The Senate on May 11 began consideration of the first of the 13 annual spending bills—the FY2001 military construction bill (S. 2521). The measure was approved, by voice vote, by the Senate Appropriations Committee on May 9. The bill includes $3.5 billion for the construction, operation, and maintenance of family housing units, a decrease of $64 million from FY2000.
In addition to providing funding for FY2001, S. 2521 includes $4.7 billion in FY2000 supplemental spending. The bulk of that money would be used to reimburse the Pentagon for military peacekeeping operations in Kosovo. Arguments over the peacekeeping operations could threaten to protract Senate debate next week.
On May 9, the House Appropriations Committee also approved, by voice vote, its FY2001 military construction spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). Like the Senate bill, the House version would provide $3.5 billion for family housing. Additionally, under the House bill, child development centers would receive $43 million, an increase of $21 million over last year.
Transportation: On May 8, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation approved the FY2001 spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The measure would provide $1.9 million for the Minority Resource Center, the same amount as last year. Minority business outreach would receive $3 million, an $118,000 increase over FY2000.
