[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 325-327]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to H.J. Res. 1, the short-term continuing resolution which is 
at the desk; further, that the resolution be read the third time and 
passed, and that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, there are a number of our colleagues--and 
I would say I am certainly one of them--who would vote no if we were to 
have a rollcall vote on this continuing resolution today. I have 
attempted to accommodate colleagues who are not able to be here as a 
result of their illness, and it is only as a result of illness we will 
forego the need for a rollcall vote. But I think this moment requires 
at least an explanation.
  We are now into the 6th month of the effort underway in Congress to 
address appropriations. We have continued to extend the continuing 
resolutions at

[[Page 326]]

levels far below what is viewed as adequate for education, homeland 
security, health, research, and for the priorities that many of us hold 
to be the most important. So I must say I am deeply troubled by this 
continuing extension of the continuing resolution without addressing 
the need for adequacy in education and homeland security, in 
particular.
  Basically, what this reflects is a dramatic cut, a deep cut in the 
funding for education, a deep cut in the funding for homeland security, 
a deep cut in transportation and research--cuts virtually across the 
board. I hope this will be the last continuing resolution that we will 
adopt in this manner.
  I know that the chairs and ranking members of the Appropriations 
Committee are working now to resolve the other matters relating to 
these priorities and will bring an appropriations bill to the floor 
perhaps within the next few days.
  It is with that understanding that we will not object to this CR, 
that we will not ask for a rollcall vote, but that we will voice, as 
strongly as we can, our opposition to these cuts and our determination 
to find a way to address them successfully as we consider the 
appropriations bills perhaps as early as next week. I do not object.
  Mr. STEVENS. Reserving the right to object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I congratulate our leaders for this 
understanding. We are standing by ready to commence work on the 11 
bills that are the fiscal year 2003 appropriations bills. We have had 
great bipartisan work on our committee with the staff and the Members. 
I believe the Democratic leader is absolutely correct; we are prepared 
to work with anyone in the Senate to try to work out any details that 
might have to be considered. We look forward to working with Senator 
Daschle in every way possible so we can move these bills as quickly as 
possible.
  I speak as one who has just come back from my home in Alaska. We have 
the highest unemployment I have seen. Many of these bills contain money 
that would bring construction items and jobs to my State during this 
year. If we delay any further, we miss the construction season. These 
bills are vital to restart our economic engine. I am pleased to have 
this report that we are able to move forward on this continuing 
resolution. I can pledge the four leaders of the Appropriations 
Committees--of the House and Senate--on a bipartisan basis have agreed 
to work together to get these bills finished as rapidly as possible 
with the help of the leaders. I thank the leaders.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, Senators should not be under any 
illusion: CR will starve vital functions of government. You don't have 
to take my word for it. According to Representative Bill Young the 
Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, a long-term 
CR at these levels ``would have disastrous impacts on the war on 
terror, homeland security, and other important government 
responsibilities.''
  Chairman Young wrote that sentence in a memo he sent to Speaker 
Hastert. The memo went even further, detailing the impact of a CR on a 
host of important domestic programs. Here is a sampling of what 
Chairman Young said will be cut:
  No. 1, FBI: The funding to hire additional agents to fight terrorism 
and to continue information technology upgrades would be denied;
  No. 2, bioterrorism: There would be no funding for the President's 
$800 million initiative to increase funding for new basic bioterror 
research, to develop and test a new improved anthrax vaccine, and to 
assist universities and research institutions;
  No. 3, first responders: There will be no funding for the President's 
$3.5 billion initiative to provide assistance to local law enforcement, 
fire departments, and emergency response teams;
  No. 4, SEC/corporate responsibility: There will be insufficient 
funding to support current staffing requirements let alone significant 
staff increases needed to monitor corporate behavior;
  No. 5, veterans medical care: A long-term CR would leave the veterans 
medical health care system at least $2.5 billion short of expected 
requirements;
  No. 6, firefighting: The $1.5 billion taken from other Interior 
Department programs to pay for firefighting costs will not be replaced;
  No. 7, Pell grants: A freeze in this program will result in a 
shortfall of over $900 million;
  No. 8, Medicare claims: There will be no funding for the President's 
$143 million proposal to ensure that the growing number of claims are 
processed in a timely manner;
  No. 9, special supplemental feeding program for WIC: Funding would be 
reduced by $114 million below current levels, meaning less will be 
available for families that depend on this program;
  No. 10, Social Security claims: There will be no funding increase to 
process and pay benefits to millions of Social Security recipients.
  In addition to the program cuts listed by Chairman Young, the House 
CR omits assistance for thousands of farmers all over this country who 
are confronting the worst drought in more than 50 years.
  This is the wrong way to do business. We should be completing our 
work on the bipartisan appropriations bills, not cutting education, 
veterans affairs, homeland security and other important priorities.
  Each of these bills properly fund key priorities. And, most 
importantly, each enjoyed the unanimous support of the Democrats and 
the Republicans on the Committee.
  Mr. President, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the 
House wrote a memo that has been widely read. It is an excellent memo 
that reviews the impact of these cuts. It was sent to the Speaker last 
October. I ask unanimous consent that the memo be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


                               memorandum

     To: Speaker Hastert
     From: Chairman C.W. Bill Young
     Re: Impacts of a Long-term Continuing Resolution
     Date: October 3, 2002
       Pursuant to my October 1st correspondence regarding the 
     state of the appropriations process, I want to provide you 
     with further analysis of the potential impacts of a long-term 
     continuing resolution (CR). These projections assume a 
     current-rate CR excluding one time expenditures that extends 
     through February or March.
       A long-term continuing resolution (CR) that funds 
     government operations at FY02 levels would have disastrous 
     impacts on the war on terror, homeland security, and other 
     important government responsibilities. It would also be 
     fiscally irresponsible. It would fund low-priority programs 
     the President has proposed to eliminate.
       Homeland Security--The President has proposed a nearly $40 
     billion increase for homeland security in his FY03 budget. 
     None of these funds would be provided under a long-term CR. 
     Assuming Congress completes work on creating a Department of 
     Homeland Security, a long-term CR would leave this new agency 
     with very little resources to carry out its new mission.
       Projects--A long-term CR ensures that no Member of Congress 
     would receive a single project. The Committee has received 
     tens of thousands of requests for billions of dollars from 
     almost every Member of Congress.
       War Supplemental--It is likely that the first item Congress 
     will consider when we reconvene after the election is a major 
     supplemental to fund possible military operations in Iraq. It 
     would be highly problematic to expect the Congress to 
     complete work on 11 spending bills while working on an urgent 
     war supplement.

               Homeland Security Impacts of Long-Term CR

       FBI--We would not have sufficient funding to hire 
     additional agents to fight terrorism and to continue IT 
     upgrades that will help the FBI ``connect the dots'' through 
     data mining proposals and other information infrastructure 
     enhancements.
       TSA--Efforts to improve aviation, maritime and land 
     security would be seriously curtailed. Port, cargo, and 
     trucking security would seriously deteriorate. If emergency 
     funds are excluded from the CR calculations (which is 
     historically the case), TSA would be under an annual rate of 
     $1.5 billion for the life of a long-term CR. This would be 
     only 28 percent of their FY03 budget request ($5.3 billion). 
     At this level, it is unlikely TSA could maintain their 
     current workforce of 32,000 screeners as well as air 
     marshals. TSA

[[Page 327]]

     would likely face personnel RIF's. Most airports would not be 
     able to meet the deadlines for security improvements 
     established by Congress last December.
       Coast Guard--The Coast Guard is requesting a large ($500 
     million) budget increase in FY03, and much of this is to hire 
     additional security personnel, such as Maritime Safety and 
     Security Teams to patrol harbors and respond to suspicious 
     activity. It also includes funds to expand the sea marshal 
     programs, which escorts DoD and high-risk commercial ships 
     into pert. Under the FY02 level, these safety expenses would 
     be deferred, or would require diversion of fund from other 
     critical missions such as drug interdiction or search and 
     rescue. Coast Guard ``deepwater'' program is slated to expand 
     from $500 million in FY02 to $725 million in FY03. The 
     contract was just signed this past June. Under a long-term 
     CR, the effort will have to be scaled back due to lack of 
     funding. This will impact shipyards, design companies, 
     aircraft manufacturers, and integration companies, all around 
     the country.
       Bioterrorism--President has proposed a nearly $800 million 
     increase for new, basic bioterror research, $250 million to 
     develop and test a new improved anthrax vaccine, and $150 
     million to assist universities and research institutions in 
     upgrading research facilities to conduct secure, 
     comprehensive research on biological agents. None of these 
     important initiatives to combat, study and prevent bio-
     terroism would be funded under a long-term CR.
       Border Patrol/INS--Efforts to deploy an additional Border 
     Patrol agents and immigration inspectors at land port-of-
     entry along both the northern and southern borders would be 
     stalled. Likewise, construction projects that are necessary 
     to house these additional Border Patrol agents would be 
     delayed. No funding would be available to continue planning 
     and implementation of the INS' Entry Exit system, a program 
     designed to facilitate more secure and controlled access to 
     this country by non-U.S. citizens.
       First Responders--The President has proposed a new 
     initiative to provide $3.5 billion in assistance to local law 
     enforcement, fire departments and emergency response teams 
     across the Nation. No funds would be provided for this 
     program, one of the highest domestic security priorities for 
     the President and his Homeland Security advisor. Tom Ridge.
       Hospital preparedness--We would not have sufficient funds 
     to assist hopitals in making the necessary infrastructure 
     improvements and expansions so that they are prepared to 
     respond to bio-terrorism emergencies.
       Diplomatic security--We would not have the funds to hire 
     additional State Department security staff for deployment 
     overseas, or to carry out needed technical and physical 
     security upgrades.
       Office of Homeland Security--The Office of Homeland 
     Security was funded through the $20 billion supplemental. 
     Under a clean CR, this office would not be funded.

                  Programmatic Impacts of Long-Term CR

       SEC/Corporate Responsibility--We would not be able to fund 
     current staffing requirements, let alone support significant 
     staff increases needed to fight corporate fraud and protect 
     investors.
       Veterans--The veterans medical care system will likely be 
     at least $2.5 billion short of expected requirements. 
     Veterans would be deprived of significant increases in 
     medical care proposed by the President and the House budget 
     resolution.
       NIH--We would not be able to scale-up significantly Federal 
     support for bio-preparedness research and development as 
     proposed by the President. Anthrax vaccine research and 
     development also would be slowed. It would forgo the nearly 
     $4 billion proposed for the National Institutes of Health 
     which is consistent with Congress commitment to double 
     funding for NIH over a set period of time.
       Foreign Operations--Afghanistan reconstruction, including 
     the famous Presidential ring road, would staff, increasing 
     chances that unrest and killings would resume there as the 
     Iraq matter comes to a head. It will severely cut the U.S. 
     contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis 
     and Malaria and reduce by 30 percent funds for Plan Colombia.
       Firefighting--interior has already spent $1.5 billion on 
     firefighting above what provided in FY02. This has come at 
     the expense of other programs including Member projects. 
     These bills would not be paid under a long-term CR.
       Pay--All agencies would have to absorb Federal employee pay 
     increases due in January. This will make it much more 
     difficult for agencies to operate under a current rate and 
     result in widespread layoffs and furloughs.
       Pell Grants--A freeze in the Pell program will result in 
     the accumulation of a significant shortfall. There will be a 
     shortfall of over $900 million, even when factoring in the $1 
     billion supplemental appropriation provided to the program in 
     fiscal year 2002.
       DEA--We would be unable to hire new agents in response to 
     FBI restructuring, which shifted 400 FBI drug agents to 
     counter-terrorism. We have proposed to hire hundreds of new 
     agents to fight the war on drugs. Not a single new agent 
     would be hired under a long term CR leaving a significant gap 
     in the federal government's drug enforcement capabilities.
       GSA Construction--No new starts for any GSA line-item 
     construction ($630 million); would delay $300 million for 11 
     courthouse construction projects, $30 million for 6 border 
     station construction projects, and $300 million for 5 other 
     construction projects, including funds for consolidating Food 
     and Drug Administration facilities, a major Census building, 
     and the US mission to the UN in New York. Projects would 
     become more expensive due to inflation.
       Campaign finance Reform--No funding for implementation of 
     the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act making it difficult for 
     the Federal Elections Commission to implement the reforms 
     signed into law by the President.
       Federal Prisons--Insufficient activation funds to four 
     Federal prisons that are scheduled to open in FY 2003, 
     exacerbating the already overcrowded conditions in the 
     Federal prison system.
       Medicare claims--We would not be able to provide additional 
     funding, as proposed by the President, to handle the 
     increased Medicare claims volume in a timely manner. The 
     President proposed a $143 million increase to adequately 
     process the growing number of claims. A long term CR would 
     significantly slow down the claims process and unnecessarily 
     inconvenience Senior Citizens who depend on Medicare.
       Yucca Mountain--A CR at the FY 2002 enacted level of $375M 
     would significantly cut DOE's nuclear waste repository 
     program by over $200 million. This would cause real delays in 
     the scheduled opening of the facility.
       The Special Supplemental Feeding Program for Women, 
     Infants, and Children (WIC) would be reduced $114 million 
     from current levels. This would result in less assistance 
     being available for families who depend on this important 
     program, especially in uncertain economic times.
       The Food and Drug Administration would be reduced by $138 
     million which would result in immediate furloughs and RIFs 
     among newly hired employees responsible for enhanced 
     availability of drugs and vaccines, and for increased food 
     safety activities (primarily surveillance of imported food 
     products, an identified vulnerability).
       Social Security--The President also asked for a significant 
     increase in funds to process and pay benefits to the millions 
     of Social Security recipients.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent 
request of the majority leader?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The joint resolution (H.J. Res. 1) was read the third time and 
passed.

                          ____________________