This week, the House completed its work on all 13 FY2004 appropriations bills by passing the Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies and District of Columbia spending bills. The Senate completed its work on the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill. In addition, the Senate Appropriations Committee filed reports on the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary; Treasury, Transportation, and Independent Agencies; and VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies spending bills.
Senate Floor Action
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
After nearly two weeks of debate, the Senate approved, 94-0, the FY2004 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill (H.R. 2660) late on September 10. The text of S. 1356, as passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on June 25 (see The Source, 6/27/03), was substituted for the bill.
H.R. 2660 would allocate $137.6 billion in FY2004, an increase of close to $5 billion over FY2003, but $389 million less than the President’s request and $445 million less than the bill approved by the House on July 10 (see The Source, 7/11/03). The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill includes language detailing a number of programs affecting women and their families (see The Source, 7/2/03).
During consideration of the bill, the Senate adopted, 54-45, an amendment by Sen. Harkin that would block the use of federal funds by the Department of Labor to implement a March 31, 2003 proposal to change regulations concerning overtime pay. Under the proposal, the salary threshold below which workers would automatically qualify for overtime pay would be raised from $155 to $425 per week. Most workers with an annual salary of $65,000 or more would no longer be eligible for overtime pay.
Sen. Harkin insisted that women would be the group most affected by the Labor Department proposal. “Maybe in the past, if these women had worked longer hours, they got time and a half for overtime, but now they will not; they will get the same salary rate. Now they will have to continue to pay for more childcare. Yet they will not get 1 cent more for their labors.” Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) agreed and added, “I really couldn’t think of a more wrongheaded change of a law at a worse time than this particular regulation, which seeks to undermine the 40-hour workweek for 8 million workers, most of those workers being women, but affecting many workers white, black, Asian, and Hispanic.”
Defending the Administration’s position, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) said that the proposal “empowers an additional 1.3 million people in this country who will automatically be qualified for overtime who are not qualified for it today.” Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WV) also opposed the amendment offered by Sen. Harkin. “Instead of keeping the [overtime] regulations simple and current, it would prohibit the Secretary of Labor from updating the rules exempting white-collar employees from the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements. Simply put, it is an attempt to reject the new, turn back the clock, look to yesterday for the answer to tomorrow’s problems. It is an approach that is doomed to failure before it is even applied, and I am opposed to it.”
The Senate adopted, 51-44, an amendment by Sen. John Corzine (D-NJ) that would prohibit funds in the bill from being used to implement recent Department of Education changes to financial aid eligibility formulas.
The Senate also adopted the following amendments by voice vote:
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By unanimous consent, the Senate adopted the following amendments en bloc:
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During consideration of the bill, Democrats and moderate Republicans attempted to increase funding for a number of programs in the bill by shifting advanced FY2004 funding for education and health programs back to FY2003. Because the budget resolution (H. Con. Res. 95) capped the FY2003 discretionary budget at $839.1 billion, a point of order was raised against all of the amendments. Democrats were unable to procure the 60 votes required to waive a budget point of order, and the amendments were defeated. The Senate considered the following amendments:
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The Senate also defeated the following amendments:
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Senate Committee Action
Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary
On September 4, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 29-0, the FY2004 Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary spending bill (S. 1585)(see The Source, 9/5/03). The measure would provide $38.4 billion in FY2004, $1.2 billion more than FY2003, $700 million more than the President’s request, and $500 million more than the bill passed by the House on July 22 (see The Source, 7/25/03).
Department of Justice
Under the bill, the Department of Justice would receive $18.6 billion, a decrease of $1.17 billion below the FY2003 allocation and $200 million below the President’s request.
The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying S. 1585 states that the committee “understands the [Bureau of Prisons] BOP is working on a long-term plan for housing female inmates,” and “directs the BOP to submit this detailed plan to the Appropriations Committee as soon as possible.” In addition, the committee “commends the BOP on its work to address and prevent sexual misconduct.”
National Institute of Justice: In FY2004, the NIJ would receive $50 million, $9.49 million less than FY2003 and $23.3 million less than the President’s request. In addition, the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant would receive $150 million, $247.4 million less than FY2003. Under the President’s budget, this program would not have been funded.
S. 1585 also would include $80 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs, $52,000 more than the FY2003 level.
The Missing Children program would receive $32.5 million in FY2004 to “continue and expand efforts to protect the Nation’s children, especially in the areas of locating missing children, as well as the growing wave of child sexual exploitation found on the Internet.” This amount is $133,000 less than the FY2003 level and $1.831 million more than the level requested by the President. The total would include $12.5 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and $20 million for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Programs under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) would receive $406 million in FY2004, a $20.2 million increase above FY2003 and $32.7 million above the President’s request. This funding “will be used to develop and implement effective arrest and prosecution policies to prevent, identify, and respond to violent crimes against women, strengthen programs addressing stalking, and provide much needed victim services. This includes specialized domestic violence court advocates who obtain protection orders. In addition, programs should be strengthened to encourage reporting of domestic violence by providing assurances that law enforcement and attorney support systems would be available.”
S. 1585 also would provide $34.05 million to reduce the DNA sample backlog, $46.95 million less than FY2003 and $139.95 million less than the President’s request.
Safe Schools Initiative: S. 1585 would provide $17 million “for programs aimed at preventing violence in public schools, and to support the assignment of officers to work in collaboration with schools and community-based organizations to address the threat of terrorism, crime, disorder, gangs, and drug activities.”
Juvenile Justice Programs: The measure would provide $232.33 million for Juvenile Justice Programs, $42.67 million more than FY2003 and $34.87 million above the President’s request. Of this amount, $15 million would be provided for the Victims of Child Abuse Act, $12.4 million above the President’s request. Within the funds provided, $9 million would be allocated for Regional Child Advocacy Centers Programs.
The State Department
Under the bill, the State Department would receive $8 billion in FY2004, an increase of $170 million over FY2003 and $23 million less than the President’s request.
The committee “remains concerned about the adequacy of the [State] Department’s efforts to counter the serious problem of international child abductions,” and “directs that, henceforward, the Department require that children over the age of 1 year old be present for the adjudication of a United States passport.”
Independent Agencies
The Legal Services Corporation would receive $338.8 million, $2.203 million above the FY2003 level and $9.548 million above the level requested by the President. The measure would appropriate $334.8 million for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, $27.9 million more than FY2003 and $100,000 less than the President’s request. In addition, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights would be level-funded at $9.1 million, as requested by the President.
Women’s Business Centers would receive $12 million in FY2004, $500,000 less than FY2003. The National Women’s Business Council would be level-funded at $750,000.
Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies
On September 4, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 29-0, the FY2004 Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies spending bill (S. 1589)(see The Source, 9/5/03). The measure would allocate $90.9 billion in FY2004, an increase of $4.3 billion over FY2003, $5 billion more than the President’s request, and $1.6 billion more than the bill approved by the House on September 9.
S. 1589 would provide $125 million for job access and reverse commute grants, $104 million more than FY2003. The grants are used to “help welfare reform efforts succeed by providing enhanced transportation services for low-income individuals, including former welfare recipients, traveling to jobs or training centers.”
As requested by the President, the Minority Business Resource Center would receive $900,000, an increase of $6,000 over FY2003. The center “provides assistance in obtaining short-term working capital for disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses,” and focuses on providing capital to these groups “for transportation-related projects in order to strengthen their competitive and productive capabilities.” Additionally, $3 million would be allocated for minority business outreach, $19,000 more than FY2003 and equal to the President’s request.
S. 1589 would allocate $14.373 million for the Occupant Protection Incentive Grants program, $5.627 million more than FY2003 and $3 million more than the President’s request. States may qualify for these grants by implementing four out of six programs or laws, as delineated in the committee report, aimed at increasing safety belt use among adults and children. The Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying S. 1589 states that the additional funds should be used “to continue the outreach activities toward minority populations, teens and rural populations.”
The bill would maintain current law allowing breastfeeding in a federal building or on federal property.
Finally, S. 1589 also would extend the Breast Cancer Stamp authorization until 2005.
VA-HUD-Independent Agencies
On September 4, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, 29-0, the FY2004 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies spending bill (S. 1584)(see The Source, 9/5/03). The measure would allocate $122.1 billion in FY2004, a $35 billion increase over FY2003, $32.7 billion above the President’s request, and $32.1 billion above the bill approved by the House on July 25 (see The Source, 7/25/03).
S. 1584 would provide $1.325 billion for homeless programs, $107.9 million more than FY2003 and equal to the President’s budget request. Of the amount provided, $194 million would be allocated for the renewal of Shelter Plus Care contracts, which provide supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities and their families.
In addition, the bill would include $291 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program, $898,000 more than FY2003, but $6 million less than the President’s request. In the Senate Appropriations Committee report accompanying S. 1584, the committee “requires HUD to allocate these funds in a manner that preserves existing HOPWA programs to the extent those programs are determined to be meeting the needs of persons with AIDS.”
House Floor Action
Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies
On September 9, the House approved, 381-39, the FY2004 Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies spending bill (H.R. 2989). The House began its debate of H.R. 2989 on September 4 (see The Source, 9/5/03). As in the bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee on July 24 (see The Source, 8/1/03), H.R. 2989 would allocate $89.3 billion in FY2004, an increase of $2.7 billion over FY2004 and $3.4 billion more than the President’s request.
H.R. 2989 would provide $85 million for job access and reverse commute grants, $64 million more than FY2003. The grants are used to aid welfare-to-work recipients living in “urbanized areas with populations greater than 200,000” with transportation costs associated with their jobs. Under the President’s budget request, this program would not have been funded.
As requested by the President, the Minority Business Resource Center would receive $900,000, an increase of $6,000 over FY2003. The center “provides assistance in obtaining short-term working capital and bonding for disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses,” and “enables qualified businesses to obtain loans at prime interest rates for transportation-related projects.” Additionally, $3 million would be allocated for minority business outreach, $19,000 more than FY2003 and equal to the President’s request.
The measure would level-fund the Occupant Protection Incentive Grants program at $20 million. States may qualify for these grants by implementing four out of six programs or laws, as delineated in the committee report, aimed at increasing safety belt use among adults and children.
In addition, H.R. 2989 would maintain current law requiring health plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to cover prescription contraceptives if they cover other prescription drugs. Physicians and others who provide contraceptives are exempted from the requirement if they object based on religious beliefs. Religiously affiliated health plans also are exempt. The measure also would prohibit abortion coverage under FEHBP, except when the life of the mother is endangered or in the case of rape or incest.
The bill also would maintain current law allowing breastfeeding in a federal building or on federal property “if the woman and child are authorized to be there.”
The Senate is expected to consider its version of the FY2004 Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies spending bill (S. 1589) later this month.
District of Columbia
On September 9, the House approved, 210-206, the FY2004 District of Columbia spending bill (H.R. 2765). The House began its consideration of H.R. 2765 on September 5 (see The Source, 9/5/03), but the House leadership postponed the vote on final passage due to concerns that the Democrats would demand a second vote on an amendment to create a voucher program in the District of Columbia.
As in the bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee on July 15 (see The Source, 7/18/03), H.R. 2765 would provide $466 million to the District of Columbia in FY2004, $43 million less than FY2003 and $45 million more than the President’s request.
The bill would provide $163.8 million for the operation of the D.C. Courts, a $2.9 million increase over FY2003, as requested by the President. This 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.
Included in the bill is a provision that would prohibit 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.
H.R. 2765 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.
During consideration of the bill, the House adopted, 209-208, an amendment by Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) that would authorize a $10 million school voucher program in the District of Columbia. Under the amendment, District students would be eligible for up to $7,500 in funds to attend a private elementary or high school in the District. On September 5, the House adopted the same amendment by a vote of 205 to 203.
Rep. Davis insisted that the private school vouchers are necessary because “too many children in our Nation’s capital are not getting the education that they need and that they deserve. Lower-income families concerned about the quality of safety of their children in the D.C. public schools should not have to resign themselves to sending their kids to underperforming schools where students are not adequately motivated to perform.”
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) argued that vouchers are not the solution to the problems in the public school system. “Members do not want vouchers in their districts. They have been voted down on the floor. I represent this District of Columbia. I am here to tell Members you do not want them in your district, and we do not want them in our district. This not a Democrat or Republican issue, it is because a huge majority, almost two-thirds of the American people, oppose vouchers; and why would Members think it would be any different in the District of Columbia? It is no different.”
The Senate is expected to consider its version of the FY2004 District of Columbia spending bill (S. 1583) later this month.
