[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 160 (Thursday, November 13, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12658-S12660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EXPLANATORY STATEMENT OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

 Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, on Sunday, November 10, 1997, 
the Senate passed H.R. 2607, making Appropriations for the District of 
Columbia for fiscal year 1998. On November 10, 1997, under a unanimous-
consent agreement, Senators Stevens and Byrd were directed to file an 
explanatory statement on the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 
1998.
  Earlier today, the Senate passed the appropriations bill for the 
District of Columbia. Senators Stevens, Byrd, Boxer and I submit the 
attached bipartisan statement to accompany H.R. 2607, making 
appropriations for the District of Columbia for fiscal year 1998.
       The statement follows:

    Explanatory Statement of the Senate Committee on Appropriations

       The Senate Committee on Appropriations submits the 
     following statement in explanation of the effect of the act 
     of the House and Senate on the accompanying bill (H.R. 2607), 
     which passed the House and the Senate.
       The House- and Senate-passed bill on the District of 
     Columbia Appropriations Act, 1998, incorporates most of the 
     provisions of the Senate version of the bill and a number of 
     provisions of the House version of the bill. The language and 
     allocations set forth in Senate Report 105-75 should be 
     complied with unless specifically addressed to the contrary 
     in the accompanying bill and statement.
       Senate Amendment: The Senate deleted the entire House bill 
     after the enacting clause and inserted the Senate bill. The 
     House amended the Senate bill, which was passed by the House 
     and Senate.


                                title i

       Management Reform--The bill provides $8,000,000 in federal 
     funds for a program of management reform for the District of 
     Columbia government. The Revitalization Act and the 
     Management Reform Act, which were enacted with the Balanced 
     Budget Act of 1997, have created an opportunity for the 
     District of Columbia to correct years of mismanagement 
     throughout the District government as documented by the 
     District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management 
     Assistance Authority (Authority) and numerous Congressional 
     hearings. The District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 1998, 
     provides $8,000,000 to fund the hiring of management 
     consultants to conduct comprehensive reviews of nine major 
     agencies and four major citywide functions of the District 
     government. In addition, the appropriation funds the position 
     of a chief management officer [CMO], who will oversee the 
     responsibilities assigned the Authority under the Management 
     Reform Act. The Congress will closely monitor each step of 
     implementation of the Management Reform Act to ensure that 
     the District continues the task of returning the District to 
     a position of long-term financial responsibility.
       Federal Contribution--The bill provides $190,000,000 for a 
     Federal contribution to the District of Columbia towards the 
     cost of operating the District government. The appropriation 
     represents the amount authorized by section 11402 of the 
     National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government 
     Improvement Act of 1997. The District is directed to use 
     $30,000,000 of the Federal contribution to repay the 
     accumulated general fund deficit.
       Federal Payment to the District of Columbia Criminal 
     Justice System--The bill provides $108,000,000 for operation 
     of the District of Columbia Courts and the pension costs of 
     certain court employees. The bill further provides that the 
     Office of Management and Budget shall apportion quarterly 
     payments from this appropriation to the District government 
     for the courts' operations. In addition, payroll and 
     financial services are to be provided on a contractual basis 
     with the General Services Administration, which is directed 
     to provide monthly financial reports to the President and the 
     designated Congressional committees. The bill provides that, 
     of this appropriation, up to $750,000 is available for the 
     establishment and operations of the Truth in Sentencing 
     Commission authorized by the National Capital Revitalization 
     and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997.
       The bill further directs $43,000,000 for payment to the 
     Offender Supervision Trustee for obligation by the Trustee as 
     follows: $26,855,000 for Parole, Adult Probation and Offender 
     Supervision; $9,000,000 to the Public Defender Service; 
     $6,345,000 to the Pretrial Services Agency; and $800,000 to 
     be transferred to the United States Parole Commission.
       District of Columbia Public Schools--The Committee notes 
     with concern the delay in opening the District of Columbia 
     public schools [DCPS] for the 1997-98 academic year. In order 
     to ensure that the District's public schools do not 
     experience a similar delay for the 1998-99 academic year, the 
     Committee directs the Chief Executive Officer of the DCPS to 
     report to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and 
     the House, the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate, 
     and the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the 
     House by April 1, 1998, on all measures necessary and all 
     steps to be taken to ensure that the District's public 
     schools open pursuant to the DCPS schedule. The Committee 
     directs that the report to Congress include a description of 
     all building repairs needed to provide safe, habitable 
     schools, and a timetable to complete repairs prior to the 
     beginning of the 1998-99 academic year.
       District of Columbia Charter Schools--The Committee is 
     concerned about the slow progress of public charter schools 
     in the District of Columbia. Since enactment of the District 
     of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, which established 
     public charter school authority in the District, only three 
     public charter schools have been established to date. Public 
     charter schools are one of two opportunities to inject 
     competition among the educational choices available to 
     parents in the District and to make significant improvements 
     in the quality of education provided to children in the 
     District of Columbia. The Committee is hopeful that the 
     current charter school application process will produce more 
     public charter schools in the District. It is also the hope 
     of the Committee that the District of Columbia public charter 
     schools and the public charter school community will work 
     together on solutions for the capital needs of public charter 
     schools.
       The bill provides $3,376,000 from local funds, not 
     including funds already made available for District of 
     Columbia public schools, for public charter schools. Of this

[[Page S12659]]

     amount, $400,000 shall be available for the District of 
     Columbia Public Charter School Board. The bill also 
     establishes a revolving loan fund for current or new public 
     charter schools. If any funds are not allocated by May 1, 
     1998, these funds shall be deposited in the revolving loan 
     fund. In addition, the bill requires the District of Columbia 
     public schools to report to Congress within 120 days of 
     enactment, on the capital needs of each public charter 
     schools.
       The bill further provides that each public charter school 
     authority may grant up to 10 charters per school year and may 
     approve these charters before January 1 of the calendar year. 
     The bill increases the number of members on a charter 
     school's board of trustees from 7 to 15. The bill also allows 
     an increase in annual payments to charter schools that 
     provide room and board in a residential setting. Finally, the 
     Committee agrees to require increasing the annual payment to 
     charter schools to take into account leases or purchases of, 
     or improvements to, the building facility of the charter 
     school. The charter school must make its request for an 
     increase in its annual payment by April 1 of the fiscal year.
       Deficit Reduction and Revitalization--The bill approves the 
     plan of the Mayor, District Council and Authority to allocate 
     $201,090,000 to the reduction of the District's accumulated 
     general fund deficit, capital expenditures, and management 
     and productivity improvements. The bill directs that not less 
     than $160,000,000 be used for reduction of the accumulated 
     general fund deficit. The Committee agrees to the deficit 
     reduction and revitalization plan proposed by the District 
     government and Authority in lieu of the House proposal for a 
     District of Columbia Taxpayer's Relief Fund and Deficit 
     Reduction Fund.
       Medical Malpractice Reform--The Committee notes with 
     concern that the District of Columbia is one of the few 
     jurisdictions in the country that has failed to enact medical 
     malpractice reform. The continued increase in medical 
     litigation in the district drives up the cost and reduces the 
     availability of health care for all District residents and 
     others who receive health care resources. The Committee 
     directs the authority, in consultation with the District 
     government, to evaluate the issue of medical malpractice 
     reform and report to Congress by March 1, 1998, 
     recommendations on medical malpractice reform for the 
     District.
       University of the District of Columbia School of Law--The 
     Committee is concerned that students enrolled at the 
     University of the District of Columbia School of Law (School) 
     are not receiving the quality education that is required to 
     prepare them for a successful career in the legal profession. 
     The Committee directs the Authority to report to the 
     Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and House of 
     Representatives, the Senate Committee on Governmental 
     Affairs, and the House Committee on Government Reform and 
     Oversight by March 1, 1998, on the accreditation status of 
     the School. The Authority shall include in its report 
     recommendations on whether or not the School should continue 
     to: (1) operate and (2) receive funds from the District of 
     Columbia government.
       Public Space Misconduct--The Committee is concerned about 
     the ongoing problem of loitering, panhandling, alcohol 
     consumption, verbal harassment, littering, and other improper 
     and illegal activities in parks and other public spaces in 
     the District. These activities discourage visitors to the 
     District, hamper economic and neighborhood development, and 
     facilitate serious criminal activity. The Committee directs 
     the Metropolitan Police Department [MPD], in consultation 
     with the Council, the Mayor, the Authority, and relevant 
     Federal law enforcement agencies, to develop and implement a 
     plan to end such activities and ensure that public spaces are 
     safe and attractive for families and others seeking 
     legitimate recreation. The Committee further directs the MPD 
     to adopt a zero tolerance enforcement strategy for public 
     space misconduct during fiscal year 1998.
       Performance and Financial Accountability Requirements--The 
     bill includes the Senate provision amending the Federal 
     Payment Reauthorization Act of 1994 relating to performance 
     and financial accountability requirements for the District 
     government. Section 130 shifts responsibility for preparing 
     the performance accountability plans from the Mayor to the 
     Authority. Responsibility for the financial accountability 
     plan and report is shifted from the Mayor to the Chief 
     Financial Officer. In addition, the bill amends the dates for 
     submission of the plans and report to Congress.
       Section 138. This section contains a new provision that 
     requires the Authority to submit to the Congressional 
     committees of jurisdiction quarterly reports that include an 
     itemized accounting of all non-appropriated funds obligated 
     or expended by the Authority for the quarter.
       United States Park Police--The Committee agrees to the 
     House recommendation for a $12,000,000 appropriation for the 
     United States Park Police. The Committee intends that the 
     appropriation in section 141 is new Federal funding authority 
     and is not to be an offset against any existing 
     appropriations. The Committee intends this appropriation as a 
     separate appropriation to be available only for the United 
     States Park Police operations in the District of Columbia.
       District of Columbia Homeless Services--Section 142 
     provides that the District government maintain for fiscal 
     year 1998 the same funding levels for the District's homeless 
     services as were provided in fiscal year 1997.
       Sections 144 and 145.--The bill includes two provisions 
     related to alcohol abuse, with a special emphasis on youth 
     alcohol use, in the District of Columbia. The Committee 
     recognizes that this is a serious problem in the District of 
     Columbia, as it is throughout the nation. The first provision 
     would increase the number of Alcoholic Beverage Commission 
     inspectors in the District to sixteen and increase the 
     emphasis placed on enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale 
     of alcoholic beverages to minors. Currently, the D.C. 
     Alcoholic Beverage Commission has just three inspectors in 
     the field in addition to their chief, who also performs 
     inspections of alcohol outlets. These four inspectors are 
     responsible for monitoring over 1,600 alcoholic beverage 
     outlets. In contrast, Baltimore employs 18 regular inspectors 
     in addition to a number of part-time inspectors. It is 
     illegal for persons under the age of twenty-one to purchase, 
     possess, or consume alcoholic beverages in the District. In 
     addition, the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors is 
     prohibited. The Committee is concerned that these laws are 
     not being adequately enforced.
       The second provision calls for the General Accounting 
     Office to conduct a study of the District's alcoholic 
     beverage excise taxes. The study should examine whether 
     increasing alcoholic beverage excise taxes would be useful in 
     reducing alcohol-related crime, violence, deaths, and youth 
     alcohol use. The study will also explore whether alcohol is 
     being sold in close proximity to schools and other areas 
     where children are likely to be and whether the creation of 
     alcohol free zones in areas frequented by children would be 
     useful in deterring underage alcohol consumption.
       District of Columbia Day-care and Home-care Operation.--The 
     Committee is concerned that a significant number of District 
     of Columbia day-care and home-care operations have been 
     allowed to operate without proper licenses. The Committee is 
     also concerned that the District government is failing in its 
     mission to monitor effectively overall safety and quality 
     standards at these facilities. These problems have reached 
     crisis proportions, undermining welfare reform implementation 
     and resulting in an unacceptable risk of harm to the children 
     of the District. For these reasons, section 146 of the bill 
     allows the District to expend such funds as may be necessary 
     to hire additional monitors and inspectors at the appropriate 
     City agencies to promote quality child care in the District. 
     The Committee also expects this issue to be addressed in the 
     development and implementation of the management reforms 
     authorized by the District of Columbia Management Reform Act 
     of 1997.
       Section 159. The bill includes a technical amendment to a 
     provision concerning the pay of officers and members of the 
     United States Secret Service Uniformed Division, recently 
     enacted in section 118 of Public Law 105-61, the Treasury and 
     General Government Appropriations Act, 1998. Due to a 
     drafting error, the world ``locality'' was substituted for 
     ``longevity''. The amendment is retroactive to the date of 
     enactment of Public Law 105-61.
       Section 160. The bill provides $3,000,000 for a Medicare 
     Coordinated Care Demonstration Project in the District of 
     Columbia. This pilot program was authorized in the Balanced 
     Budget Act of 1997, Public Law 105-33, section (e)(1)(A)(ii), 
     for the purpose of reducing Medicare costs. The pilot program 
     will establish specific Clinical Pathways for more cost-
     effective treatment of patients in the high-volume, high-cost 
     Disease Related Group [DRG]. It is expected that this pilot 
     project will help develop improved diagnostic and therapeutic 
     procedures for treating the District's Medicare patients at 
     reduced costs and provide the basis for more cost-effective 
     national standards.
       Section 161. This section provides that the Authority shall 
     have the responsibility for approving both reorganization 
     plans and any authorization for programs or functions for 
     which a reorganization plan is required.
       Section 162. The bill includes a technical amendment to 
     correct drafting errors and to clarify statutory language to 
     reflect the intent of the conferees of the Balanced Budget 
     Act of 1997 with respect to the State Children's Health 
     Insurance Program.
       Section 163. This section provides the General Service 
     Administration with the authority to amend the use 
     restrictions which accompanied the conveyance of a land 
     parcel in 1956. The amended use restrict will allow the 
     construction of a previously approved veterans nursing home 
     on the grounds adjacent to an existing veterans family.
       Section 165. This section directs the Authority to 
     appropriate $2,600,000 from local funds for a pay raise for 
     uniformed fire fighters of the District's Fire and Emergency 
     Medical Services Department. The purpose of the pay raise is 
     to make the District's compensation for fire fighters 
     comparable to fire fighters in surrounding jurisdictions. The 
     Committee intends that the Authority use its discretion 
     determine the source of the funds for the pay raise.
       Section 166. This section provides a technical change to 
     allow the Office of Personnel Management to waive the 
     retirement annuity offset requirement for the Trustee for 
     Offender Supervision consistent with a similar provision 
     included in the National Capital Revitalization and Self-
     Government Improvement Act of 1997 for the Trustee for 
     Corrections.

[[Page S12660]]

                                TITLE II

       Section 201 sets out the short title of the Act.
       Section 202 establishes a mechanism for certain Nicaraguans 
     and Cubans who have been present in the United States since 
     1995 to adjust to the status of lawful permanent resident.
       Section 203 modifies certain transition rules established 
     by IIRIRA with regard to suspension of deportation and 
     cancellation of removal. The changes state that the ``stop 
     time'' rule established by that Act in section 240A of the 
     INA shall apply generally to individuals in deportation 
     proceedings before April 1, 1997, with certain exceptions. 
     They also state that the rule shall not apply to certain 
     applicants for suspension of deportation. The exception 
     includes certain Salvadorans and Guatemalans who were members 
     of the ABC class or applied for asylum by April 1, 1990 and 
     derivatives as specified in the statute, as well as 
     applicants from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 
     who came here by December 31, 1990 and applied for asylum by 
     December 31, 1991 and derivatives as specified in the 
     statute. Section 203 also makes clear that in order to obtain 
     cancellation these individuals have to meet the standards 
     laid out in that section, rather than the ones laid out in 
     section 240A of the INA. Finally, the section provides for 
     temporary reductions in visas available under the 
     ``diversity'' and ``other workers'' immigration categories, 
     with the reduction in the latter to take effect after those 
     in the backlog have received visas.
       Section 204 makes technical and clarifying changes to 
     certain provisions in section 240A(e) of the INA.

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