With fewer than 50 legislative days left in the 106th Congress, appropriators began the arduous process of drafting their 13 annual spending bills. This week, three House subcommittees approved versions of their appropriations bills—agriculture, military construction, and legislative branch—and one Senate subcommittee approved its bill—agriculture. Next week, the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education are scheduled to mark up their FY2001 spending bill, which is traditionally the most difficult to pass.
In addition to providing FY2001 funding for federal programs, several bills will contain supplemental funding for FY2000. The House on March 30 passed, 263-146, a bill (H.R. 3908) to provide $13 billion in additional funding in FY2000; however, the Senate did not consider the measure (see The Source, 3/31/00, p. 1).
As a result, appropriators will be forced to split up the House-passed bill and attach the additional FY2000 spending to the applicable FY2001 spending bills.
Agriculture: On May 4, the House Appropriations Subcommittee approved, by voice vote, its FY2001 spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The bill would provide $ 4.067 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and $9.535 billion for child nutrition programs. WIC received $4 billion last year and child nutrition programs were appropriated $9.6 billion.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee also approved, by voice vote, its bill on May 4. The Senate bill would provide $4.052 billion for WIC and $9.54 billion for child nutrition programs. The full committee is scheduled to mark up the bill on May 9.
Military Construction: On May 2, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction approved, by voice vote, its bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The least controversial of the 13 spending bills, the military construction appropriations bill was the first to be enacted last year. The draft bill would provide $3.5 billion for the construction, operation, and maintenance of family housing units. Child development centers would receive $43 million, an increase over the $22 million appropriated last year. Noting the increase, Subcommittee Chair David Hobson (R-OH) said, “Military families also have a tremendous need for quality child care, especially young parents and families in which one or both parents may face lengthy deployments.” The full committee is expected to mark up the bill on May 9.
