[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Pages 21043-21045]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2005, AND FOR 
                   OTHER PURPOSES--CONFERENCE REPORT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I submit a report of the committee of 
conference on the bill (H.R. 4850), and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Committee of Conference on the disagreeing votes of the 
     two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R. 
     4850), making appropriations for the government of the 
     District of Columbia and other activities chargeable in whole 
     or in part against the revenues of said District for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for

[[Page 21044]]

     other purposes, having met, have agreed that the House recede 
     from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate, and 
     agree to the same with an amendment, signed by a majority of 
     the conferees on the part of both Houses.

  (The conference report is printed in the proceedings of the House in 
the Record of Tuesday, October 5, 2004.)
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I am very pleased to join Chairman 
DeWine while the Senate considers passage of the fiscal year 2005 
District of Columbia appropriations conference report. The bill totals 
$560 million, which is an increase of $18.3 million from fiscal year 
2004. The conference agreement represents a concerted effort of the 
House and Senate members to complete a bi-partisan bill only 6 days 
into the new fiscal year. This is a true win for the District of 
Columbia, whose budget has been delayed in Congress past December and 
January in recent years.
  During our 3-year term as chairman and ranking member of the D.C. 
Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator DeWine and I have met many 
challenges to stay in our allocation and deal appropriately with 
controversial issues. Above it all we have remained great friends. The 
conference report meets the District's current needs in security, 
criminal justice, education, and child welfare.
  The conference report funds the three criminal justice functions 
transferred to the Federal Government for funding and oversight in the 
National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 
1997. These functions, the courts, offender supervision, and defender 
services, are funded at a level which will meet the needs of FY 2005, 
though it was necessary to reduce funding in order to support other 
priorities of the Mayor and Council of the District.
  The conferees recommend $190.8 million for the D.C. Courts, of which 
$56 million is for capital improvements which we believe will be 
sufficient to continue restoration of the historic Old Courthouse and 
planning for the new Family Court facility. I was pleased to attend the 
ribbon cutting just a few weeks ago for the renovated interim space of 
the Family Court, which we funded last year. The courts have done a 
tremendous job of improving how the court operates, as well as 
improving the points where residents interact with the court--the 
training of their staff and the aesthetic of space. It is so important, 
especially for children visiting the court, to have a space that 
welcomes them and enables confidence in the justice system. The courts 
are to be commended for doing so much with small increases and we have 
confidence they will be able to continue this year.
  In addition, $180 million is included for the Court Services and 
Offender Supervision Agency which is responsible for all adult 
offenders reentering the community from prison. This agency has a 
critical role in public safety in the District and we have worked to 
ensure they have the tools needed to do their job. Chairman DeWine 
championed an initiative to lower the caseload ratios for special 
population offenders and expand use of technology to ensure offenders 
are meeting their parole requirements. The conference also includes 
$38.5 million for defender services which represents indigent 
defendants in the District. It is our intention this level will enable 
the courts to increase the pay of lawyers from $50 to $60 per hour, an 
increase which was started 3 years ago.
  Outside of the Congress' responsibility for the main criminal justice 
functions in the District, the bill also funds several key initiatives 
which the House and Senate have launched to contribute to improving 
education and the welfare of children in the District. I want to 
recognize Senator DeWine's commitment to abused and neglected children 
in this city, including $5 million for early intervention services, 
mental health services, and to support foster parents. Through Senator 
DeWine's commitment the status of children in the child welfare system 
has improved greatly, and with his sure hand I am confident it will 
continue to improve. There is much work to be done. In addition, $6 
million was included in the conference report on behalf of the House 
Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen to renovate school libraries in the 
District of Columbia public schools which will enable many more of the 
65,000 students in the system to enjoy books and technology.
  Great communities need great schools. This bill includes $26 million 
for public education in support of the committee's goal to improve 
education in the District, evenly divided between traditional public 
schools and public charter schools. A new superintendent has been hired 
for the D.C. Public School system, Dr. Clifford Janey, and we are 
excited about his energy to reform and improve and want to support his 
efforts as strongly as possible. This bill includes certain tools to 
contribute to Dr. Janey's work.
  In our public schools we must recognize and reward excellence. We 
must acknowledge and eliminate failure. This bill directs a total of $4 
million for a new incentive grant program for public education 
improvement in both traditional public schools and public charter 
schools. These grants will be awarded to the principal of high-
performing or significantly improved public schools to reward their 
good work. A reward is a powerful incentive to build on success and 
meet some of the areas which can make their school thrive. I want to 
take this opportunity to recognize the House chairman and ranking 
member for their support of this new program which will contribute to 
reinvigorating our public schools.
  The second prong of the School Improvement Fund, $13 million for 
public charter schools, is a contribution to strengthen the chartering 
system. With 42 charters granted to date, the highest number of charter 
schools per capita, is a leader in the effort to use charter schools to 
spur system-wide improvement from within our system of public 
education. Senator DeWine and I maintain our commitment to serve as a 
full and equal partner in this endeavor.
  Strengthening charter schools, which were created in the District by 
Congress in the 1995 School Reform Act, is a primary tenet of our work 
to improve education. Pursuant to Section 120 of P.L. 106-522, the FY 
01 DC Appropriations Act, the local government is prohibited from 
amending the School Reform Act. Therefore, Congress has continued our 
oversight responsibility of the charter school law this year. The bill 
fortifies the environment where strong, accountable, academically 
excellent charter schools flourish.
  Finally, the conference report begins a new investment in the 
administration of justice in the District by contributing $8 million to 
the construction of a new forensics lab, a top priority for the Mayor 
and council. This laboratory will alleviate contract pressure D.C. 
imposes on other Federal agencies, such as the FBI, to complete local 
forensic work and ensure timely processing of lab work, such as DNA 
tests. The bill also contributes to security and emergency preparedness 
in the Nation's capital with $21 million to bolster the police and 
first responders. This includes the annual payment of $15 million for 
security of Federal installations in the city and to enable the police 
presence now required. The conferees also provide $6 million to 
complete the Unified Communications Center which will coordinate all 
first-responders in the capital region. In addition to all of the 
important investments in the District, there is $7.8 million for 
cleaning up the Anacostia River and providing recreation for the entire 
region and $2.5 million for transportation improvements.
  I would like to close by thanking the Mayor of the District of 
Columbia, Anthony Williams, the entire Council, particularly the Chair 
Linda Cropp, and the D.C. Delegate to Congress Eleanor Holmes Norton 
for their many contributions and advice in developing this bill. The 
D.C. Appropriations Subcommittee has a unique role to fund certain 
aspects of the city government and we could not do that well without 
the guidance of the elected representative of the city's residents. 
They are great partners for Chairman DeWine and I to ensure the bill 
meets the needs of the District. I am especially pleased this year that 
we are passing the final budget so early in the fiscal year, because 
the city's local budget, nearly $8

[[Page 21045]]

billion, of locally-generated tax dollars, must be approved as part of 
this bill.
  I appreciate the chairman's consideration and our ability to work 
together so well. And finally, no bill could be completed without the 
diligent work of our staff, Mary Dietrich for Senator DeWine and Kate 
Eltrich and Kathleen Strottman on my staff. This year has been blessed 
by a comity not often observed in the Congress in regards to our 
Capital City, and I thank all my colleagues for their commitment to a 
positive year and a first-rate bill for the District.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, was that the reading of the DC 
conference report?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Yes.
  Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to 
the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R. 4850, the 
DC appropriations bill, provided that the conference report be adopted, 
and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The conference report was agreed to.

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