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House, Senate Committees Approve Additional Spending Bills

This week, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved the following FY2011 spending bills: Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (as-yet-unnumbered); Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Rural Development, and Related Agencies (as-yet-unnumbered); and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (as-yet-unnumbered). Additional information on each bill will become available when the committee reports are printed.

Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

House

On July 14, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies approved, by voice vote, its version of the FY2011 legislation. According to the committee’s summary table, the bill would provide $77.3 billion in discretionary funds for FY2011. This amount is $608 million less than FY2010 and $467 million over President Obama’s budget request. The amount also includes $1.257 billion for overseas contingency operations.

The bill would provide $18.747 billion for military construction, family housing, and base realignment and closure (BRAC). This amount is $4.939 billion less than FY2010 – which reflects the phasing-out of BRAC – and is equal to the administration’s request. Of the total amount, $1.823 billion would be for family housing ($435.51 million less than FY2010 and equal to the president’s request). According to Chair Chet Edwards (D-TX), $1 billion would be provided for child development centers.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) would receive $48.773 billion in FY2011. This amount is $3.696 billion over FY2010 and equal to the president’s request. Included in this amount is funding for mental health, homeless veterans services, and expanded access for veterans in rural areas.

Senate

On July 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved en bloc, 17-12, its version of the spending bill; the subcommittee approved the bill, by voice vote, on July 14.

According to the subcommittee summary, the bill would set discretionary funding levels at $77.25 billion. This amount is slightly above the House allocation, but $751.9 million below FY2010 and $1.535 million below the president’s request. The bill also includes $1.25 billion for overseas contingency operations, which is virtually equal to the House allocation.

As is the case under the House measure, the Senate bill would provide $18.7 billion for military construction, family housing, and BRAC. The Senate bill also would provide $1.8 billion for family housing construction projects.

Under the Senate bill, the VHA would receive $48.1 billion in FY2011. This amount is roughly $673 million less than the House allocation and the president’s request, and $3.023 billion over FY2010.

The bill would allocate $3.4 billion for health care and support services for homeless veterans and $10 billion to “convert surplus or underutilized buildings on VA [Department of Veterans Affairs] campuses into family friendly transitional housing with appropriate support services for homeless veterans and their families, with a particular emphasis on women veterans, as well as veterans at risk for homelessness.”

Programs affecting women veterans also would receive funding under the Senate bill: the summary indicates that $122.4 million would be provided for the implementation of the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act (P.L. 111-163). This amount includes $36 million for women veteran health care provisions. Overall, the bill would provide “$217.6 million, as requested, to meet the unique needs of women veterans.”

Agriculture, FDA, Rural Development, and Related Agencies

Along with the Military Construction and Homeland Security spending bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved en bloc, 17-12, its version of the Agriculture, FDA, Rural Development, and Related Agencies spending bill. The House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee approved its bill late last month (see The Source, 7/2/10).

According to the subcommittee summary, the measure would provide $131.965 billion overall – $22.839 billion in discretionary and $109.126 in mandatory funds – for the Department of Agriculture in FY2011. This total is $10.874 billion over FY2010 and $21 million below the president’s request.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would receive $68.209 billion in FY2011. This amount is $9.931 billion over FY2010 and $2 million over the president’s request. Child nutrition programs, such as the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, would receive $18.156 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion over FY2010 and a decrease of $236 million from the administration’s request. The bill would allocate $7.252 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in FY2011. This amount is equal to FY2010 and $351 million below the president’s request. The measure also would provide $125 million in contingency funds for the WIC program in order “to meet current estimates of WIC caseload requirements.”

With regard to international food aid, P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace would receive $1.69 billion – equal to FY2010 and the president’s request. The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition program would receive $209.5 billion, also the same as FY2010 and the administration’s request.

The bill would allocate $2.504 billion for the FDA in FY2011, which does not include funding for user fees. The amount is $159 million above FY2010 and virtually identical to the president’s request.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

On July 15, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies approved, 11-5, its FY2011 spending bill.

The measure would provide $176.4 billion in discretionary funding for FY2011. According to the subcommittee summary, this amount is $12.685 billion over FY2010 and $1.5 billion less than the president’s request.

The Department of Labor would receive $14.213 billion in FY2011, $680 million over FY2010 and $241 million over the administration’s request. The International Labor Affairs Bureau would receive $115 million, $22 million above FY2010 and equal to President Obama’s request.

The bill would allocate $76.77 billion for HHS, $3.772 billion over FY2010 and $271 million over the president’s request. This amount includes the following:

  • $7.616 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration ($99 million over FY2010 and $20 million below the president’s request);
  • $6.782 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ($32 million above FY2010 and $170 million over the president’s request);
  • $32.007 billion for the National Institutes of Health ($1.002 billion over FY2010 and equal to the president’s request);
  • $3.581 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ($19 million over FY2010 and $92 million less than the president’s request);
  • $411 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ($14 million over FY2010 and $200 million less than the administration’s request);
  • $19.177 billion for the Administration for Children and Families ($1.838 billion above FY2010 and $109 million below the president’s request);
  • $1.651 billion for the Administration on Aging ($135 million over FY2010 and $26 million over the president’s request); and
  • $2.107 billion for the Office of the Secretary ($18 million less than FY2010 and $35 million over President Obama’s request). This amount includes $44 million for the Office of Civil Right ($3 million over FY2010 and equal to the president’s budget).

The Department of Education would receive $71.988 billion in FY2010. This amount is $7.71 billion over FY2010 and $1.472 billion less than the president’s request. 21st Century Community Learning Centers would receive $1.201 billion ($35 million above FY2010 and the administration’s request).

The bill would allocate $23.162 billion for the Pell Grant program. This amount is $5.667 above FY2010 and equal to the president’s request, which includes shifting the program from discretionary to mandatory funding.

Chair David Obey (D-WI) noted that the Child Care Development Block Grant program would receive $2.827 billion in FY2011, which is $700 million over FY2010 and $100 million less than the president’s request, and that the Head Start program would receive $8.1 billion, $865 million over FY2010 and $124 million below the administration’s request.