[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1-S2]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, we will be having a cloture vote today at 3 
o'clock and thus I would like to use my leadership time over the next 
10 or 12 minutes, rather than to state the goals and planning for this 
session, which I will try to do at some point tomorrow, to address the 
issue before us and that is to finish up the unfinished work of the 
first session. The question before us, as I mentioned, is the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004. It is important legislation, 
and I think how we handle that legislation will in large part set the 
tone for the remainder of this Congress. I just want to spend a few 
minutes on that.
  First, I thank the distinguished chairman, who is occupying the 
Chair, and the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, 
and their staff, for the tremendous work, hard work, dedicated work 
last year. We asked a great deal of that Appropriations Committee. They 
produced. They delivered. Today it is my hope we will be able to bring 
an end to that work with the passage of the seven remaining 
appropriations bills.
  As you look back over the last 12 months, you see the committee 
completed action on 27 regular appropriations bills, completed action 
on 3 major supplemental bills, completed action on 4 continuing 
resolutions, and now finally the 7 remaining regular appropriations 
bills for 2004.
  One thing is certain, that people have had sufficient time to review 
what is in this Omnibus appropriations bill, to review the legislation. 
It has been available now for 57 days. It was filed on November 25, 
2003.
  It is obvious that the legislation is not such that everybody is 
pleased; some people want more projects; some people want more 
spending; some people want less spending. There are many provisions in 
there that I personally would have liked to see turn out differently. 
But it is a product of months of work last fall and last winter, and it 
is the nature of all legislation, as we in this body know, that 
compromises are in order--compromises with the House

[[Page S2]]

of Representatives, compromises with the administration.
  But now, today, at 3 o'clock, is the time to move ahead and complete 
action on this legislation and thereby start that critical funding. I 
am sure as we discuss this over the next several hours it will become 
apparent that every single Senator in this body has a stake in passage 
of this legislation.
  I did write to each of the Senators last week that no Senator should 
be under any illusion as to what will happen if we were to fail to pass 
this legislation. It is a clear, it is a stark alternative to a 
continuing resolution of the seven outstanding appropriations bills. 
Failure to pass this Omnibus appropriations bill, to approve this 
legislation, would really shortchange--it would curtail our efforts in 
fighting terrorism. It would weaken our food security system. It would 
create hardships for millions of veterans. It would put at risk 
millions of lives of those who suffer HIV and AIDS overseas. It would 
shortchange the needs of our schools and of our States and needy 
Americans.
  I do also want to add, in addition to stating the importance of 
passing this Omnibus bill, that the legislation itself adheres to the 
agreement, the general agreement between Congress and the executive 
branch in terms of spending limits. I have set aside the emergency 
spending for the Iraq war supplemental. As I mentioned, some would wish 
there was more spending and some would wish that there was less 
spending. Whatever the arguments that people put forth, what it is 
important for people to understand, I believe, is that the spending 
under these appropriations bills is consistent with the budget 
blueprint that we adopted last April for this fiscal year.
  It is a fact that, excluding the expenditures of the major 
supplementals for the operations in Iraq--one last April and most 
recently in October--appropriations funding authority between 2003 and 
2004 is held to slightly less than a 3-percent increase.
  Second, while remaining within this agreed-to spending restraint, the 
legislation funds important bipartisan priorities. A number of examples 
will be talked about on the floor, but let me cite just a few.
  Education funding for title I programs would be funded at $12.4 
billion, and special education--or IDEA--would be funded at $10.1 
billion. These two programs combined would increase funding by $2 
billion for education over last year. Both increases are necessary to 
truly see that we leave no child behind. If we had to resort to a full 
year of a continuing resolution, these education programs would lose $2 
billion.
  In education, we have a wonderful program--the Pell Grant Program--
for needy college students. Under this bill, they would receive $12.1 
billion. If we had to take that stark alternative of a continuing 
resolution, funding would be reduced for these Pell grant recipients by 
$700 million. That is clearly unacceptable.
  Head Start spending in this bill would increase to $6.8 billion--a 
$150 million increase that would be forgone if we resorted to that 
stark alternative of a continuing resolution.
  In the field of health, if you look at the area of research, NIH 
would receive $28 billion--an increase in this bill, once it is passed, 
of over $1 billion. Under a full year of a continuing resolution, this 
increase would be zero. Veterans' medical care spending would receive 
$28.6 billion--an increase of over $3 billion over last year--if, and 
only if, we pass this bill.
  The list continues in terms of highway funding, the Millennium 
Challenge Account, and election reform. Global HIV/AIDS funding--with a 
strong bipartisan policy in this body--would reach $2.4 billion. But 
failure to pass this legislation would clearly jeopardize that 5-year 
commitment of $15 billion in funding to which Congress and the 
President have agreed.
  The Small Business Administration, through the Guaranteed Loan 
Program, would receive $9.5 billion. These are critical loans to small 
businesses that create jobs out of this increasingly strong economy.
  FBI funding would increase by $423 million once we pass this bill. If 
we don't pass the bill, the new FBI agents, who we know are needed, 
would not be funded; AmeriCorps, USDA's Animal Plant and Health 
Inspection Service--the list goes on.
  I address only a few of the critical funding items. People will talk 
about the others.
  There are other provisions in the bill such as providing a 4.1-
percent Federal pay increase that is important to all of our Federal 
workers listening to me now.
  There is over $200 million in assistance to Southern California for 
last winter's disastrous forest fires that will not occur without this 
bill.
  I am sure the chairman of the committee can list many other important 
funding items in this legislation needed for the basic functioning of 
government.
  But the time has come to pass this legislation and to move forward 
into next year's budget--the fiscal year 2005 budget, which I remind 
all of my colleagues will arrive in less than 2 weeks. It is time for 
us to move ahead in 2004 rather than remain stuck in 2003.
  I ask my colleagues to weigh their votes on this legislation very 
carefully this afternoon.
  Again, I thank Chairman Stevens and Senator Byrd for their tremendous 
work this past year, and particularly their staff for their dedication 
and long hours expended.
  I yield the floor.

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