[House Document 108-98]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                     

108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-98


 
         EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST FY 2003

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

       REQUESTS FOR FY 2003 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS




July 8, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered 
                             to be printed
                                           The White House,
                                          Washington, July 7, 2003.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider 
expeditiously the enclosed requests, totaling $1.9 billion, for 
emergency FY 2003 supplemental appropriations. I hereby 
designate the specific proposals in the amounts requested 
herein as emergency requirements.
    The details of these requests are set forth in the enclosed 
letter from the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget.
            Sincerely,
                                                    George W. Bush.
                           [Estimate No. 12]

                 Executive Office of the President,
                           Office of Management and Budget,
                                      Washington, DC, July 7, 2003.
The President,
The White House.
    Submitted for your consideration are FY 2003 supplemental 
proposals, totaling $1,889 million, for the Departments of 
Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Interior, and the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
    As described below and in more detail in the enclosures, 
the requests include the following:
Wildland Firefighting--Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior 
        (DOI)
    An additional $289 million is proposed for USDA's Forest 
Service ($253 million) and DOI's Bureau of Land Management ($36 
million). These funds are needed to ensure that sufficient 
funding is available for the 2003 fire season as large portions 
of the West remain at risk for major fire activity this summer. 
Specifically, these supplemental requests would provide funding 
for wildland fire suppression and emergency rehabilitation 
activities.
    These requests would bring the total FY 2003 funding 
available for wildland fire suppression to a level equal to the 
10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 fire season. It 
is essential that Congress provide at least the same total 
amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 through the 
regular appropriations process.
Disaster Response--Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National 
        Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
    A total of $1,600 million is proposed for emergency 
disaster response expenses. Of this amount:
     $1,550 million is requested for DHS to provide 
support for ongoing disaster efforts and to ensure the capacity 
to respond to future disasters and emergencies. This has been 
the most costly and deadly tornado season in years and the 
National Weather Service Hurricane Outlook suggests that 
disaster costs for the hurricane season just entered could be 
higher than anticipated. It is estimated that the Disaster 
Relief Fund will exhaust its current resources by the end of 
July 2003 and that additional resources are needed to continue 
to provide emergency assistance.
     $50 million is requested for NASA to respond to 
the unanticipated costs associated with the recovery and 
investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in excess 
of the $50 million provided by the Congress in the FY 2003 
Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-7).
    All of the requests in the transmittal are for the purpose 
of fulfilling known and urgent requirements that cannot 
reasonably be met through the use of existing agency funds. I 
recommend that you designate the specific proposals contained 
in this transmittal as emergency requirements.
    I have carefully reviewed these proposals and am satisfied 
that they are necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the 
heads of the affected Departments and the NASA Administrator in 
recommending you transmit the proposals to the Congress.
            Sincerely,
                                          Joshua B. Bolten,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosures.

                       DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


                             Forest Service


                        WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT

    For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for 
wildfire suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities of 
the Forest Service, $253,000,000, to remain available until 
expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose 
is designated as an emergency requirement.
    This request would provide an additional $253 million to 
the Forest Service for wildland fire suppression and emergency 
rehabilitation of burned areas to ensure sufficient funding for 
the 2003 fire season. This request would bring the total FY 
2003 funding available for wildland fire suppression to a level 
equal to the 10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 
fire season. It is essential that Congress provide at least the 
same total amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 
through the regular appropriations process.
                                ------                                


                       DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR


                       Bureau of Land Management


                        WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT

    For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for 
wildfire suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities of 
the Bureau of Land Management, $36,000,000, to remain available 
until expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific 
purpose is designated as an emergency requirement.
    This proposal would provide an additional $36 million for 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for wildland fire 
suppression and emergency rehabilitation of burned areas to 
ensure that sufficient funding is available for the 2003 fire 
season. This request would bring the total FY 2003 funding 
available for wildland fire suppression to a level equal to the 
10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 fire season. It 
is essential that Congress provide at least the same total 
amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 through the 
regular appropriations process.
                                ------                                


                    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY


                  Emergency Preparedness and Response


                          DISASTER RELIEF FUND

    For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses under 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), $1,550,000,000, and 
notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 5203, to remain available until 
expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose 
is designated as an emergency requirement.
    This request would provide an additional $1,550 million for 
the Department of Homeland Security for disaster response. It 
is estimated that the Disaster Relief Fund will exhaust its 
current funding by the end of July 2003 in part due to higher-
than-expected costs for disaster relief, including funding for 
tornadoes and winter storms. These additional resources are 
needed to continue to provide necessary emergency assistance. 
With the approval of this supplemental request, there will 
still be a need to fully fund the FY 2004 request for the 
Disaster Relief Fund.
                                ------                                


             NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION


                           HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT

    For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for 
responding to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, $50,000,000, 
to remain available until expended: Provided, That this amount 
for this specific purpose is designated as an emergency 
requirement.
    This request would provide an additional $50 million for 
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The request 
will cover additional and unanticipated costs associated with 
the recovery and investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia 
accident, such as collection and reconstruction of the orbiter 
Columbia, computer analyses of potential failure scenarios and 
impact testing of Space wing components, in excess of the $50 
million provided by the Congress for such purposes on Public 
Law 108-7, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003.

                                
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