[House Report 106-64]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
1st Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 106-64
_______________________________________________________________________
MAKING EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING
SEPTEMBER 30, 1999, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
March 17, 1999.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Young of Florida, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING AND ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1141]
The Committee on Appropriations submits the following
report in explanation of the accompanying bill making emergency
supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.
Bill Highlights
The bill recommended by the Committee includes $687,000,000
of emergency relief from the devastating impact of Hurricanes
Mitch and Georges for several Latin American countries and of
which $10,000 is for relief from the recent earthquake in
Colombia. It also includes $80,000,000 for additional border
costs related to Hurricane Mitch for the Immigration and
Naturalization Service and $194,900,000 to reimburse the
Department of Defense for transportation costs already
sustained in providing initial assistance in response to this
hurricane. The bill includes $100,000,000 for economic support
and foreign military financing for Jordan. The bill includes
$152.4 million for direct and guaranteed farm operating loans
that will provide a loan authorization of $1,095,000,000.
Additionally, the bill includes several minor non-emergency
appropriations for various miscellaneous activities that are
within the Committee's regular spending allocation. Finally,
all spending in the bill is offset with recessions included
therein.
TITLE I
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
CHAPTER 1
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
salaries and expenses
The Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 1999, (Public Law 105-277) provided
$40,000,000 in Department of Agriculture (USDA) emergency
salaries and expenses funds. This funding was in recognition of
the administrative burden placed on USDA's Farm Service Agency
(FSA) by the disaster assistance provisions in that bill. FSA
now estimates that it will require an additional $42,753,000 to
support additional temporary staffing for five months in order
to deliver the disaster assistance provisions fully. This
proposal would not fund additional permanent staff.
This entire amount has been requested by the President, and
has been designated by the President as an emergency
requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
agricultural credit insurance fund program account
The Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-277) provided
$2,800,000,000 in Department of Agriculture (USDA) farm loans
supported by more than $121,000,000 in credit subsidies. This
funding is expected to be depleted for all farm loan programs
by April 15, 1999. The Department of Agriculture projects a
need for an additional $105,609,000 in credit subsidies in
order to provide an additional $1,095,000,000 in loans, as
follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program Budget authority Loan level
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Farm operating loans:
Direct.................................................... $12,635,000 $185,000,000
Guaranteed................................................ 16,169,000 185,000,000
-------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................ 28,804,000 370,000,000
=================================================
Farm ownership loans:
Direct.................................................... 29,940,000 200,000,000
Guaranteed................................................ 5,565,000 350,000,000
-------------------------------------------------
Subtotal................................................ 35,505,000 550,000,000
=================================================
Emergency loans........................................... 41,300,000 175,000,000
=================================================
Total................................................... 105,609,000 1,095,000,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, the Department estimates that it will require
an additional $4,000,000 for administrative expenses to carry
out these loan programs.
These amounts are required in order to respond to
unprecedented demand for agricultural credit due to
persistently low commodity prices. In FY 1998, Department of
Agriculture loan programs served 26,000 farmers. Funds provided
in Public Law 105-277 supported an increase in that number for
FY 1999 to 31,000. The amount recommended in this bill will
allow the Department of Agriculture to assist more than 12,000
additional farmers in need of capital, bringing the total to
over 43,000 in FY 1999.
This entire amount has been requested by the President, and
has been designated by the President as an emergency
requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended.
CHAPTER 2
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Salaries and Expenses
enforcement and border affairs
The Committee recommends that $80,000,000 in emergency
funding be made available until expended for 2,945 additional
detention beds for the detention of criminal aliens from
Central America and illegal aliens from Central America
apprehended at or near the border. The Committee understands
that these funds are necessary to prevent criminal aliens from
Central America from being released into the community while
awaiting deportation and to provide for detention space at or
near the border for apprehended illegal aliens from Central
America. This is connected with the Administration's
determination to delay returns to countries severely impacted
by Hurricane Mitch. The need for emergency detention space is
in large part a direct result of INS's failure to plan for and
request in a timely fashion sufficient detention space to meet
its statutory requirements and represents the latest in the
long and continuing series of management failures by the INS.
The Committee has determined that, given the INS's
inability to timely identify its detention needs and
effectively manage its resources, that all funds made available
for the INS under this Act should be administered by the
Attorney General.
Section 303 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 requires that certain criminal
aliens be detained by the INS after they have served their
criminal sentence and throughout the removal procedures. That
provision also contained a 2-year transition before all
designated categories of criminal aliens were required to be
detained.
In light of this statutory requirement, INS has failed to
adequately identify its detention needs and to request the
necessary funds to prevent criminal aliens from being released
(or from being placed into detention), and to support the
border enforcement strategy in which both the Congress and the
Administration have heavily invested resources.
This is not the first time that INS has not planned ahead
and not requested sufficient detention space to house criminal
and illegal aliens. In fiscal year 1997, Congress provided
program increases of over $114,000,000, $70,000,000 over the
Administration's request, for funds for detention due to the
then-shortage of detention space which resulted in INS
releasing criminal and illegal aliens.
In fiscal year 1998, Congress provided over $178,000,000
for detention and related costs, including construction funds
for expanding INS detention facilities, representing the full
amount that the Administration requested for such costs.
In fiscal year 1999, the first year that the mandatory
criminal alien detention rules became fully effective, the INS
requested no funds for detention spaces for either contract
facilities or from State and local prisons (except for juvenile
detention), the most expedient form of obtaining immediate,
additional detention space. With the exception of requesting
activation funds for a 400-bed facility which is due to open
this fiscal year--which the Congress provided--INS chose to
request funds for construction of future detention space,
thereby providing no relief to its now critical detention
problem.
Further, on August 6, 1998, a reprogramming request was
submitted by the Administration for INS which included
transferring $25,000,000 from detention funding to free up
funds for its naturalization initiative. While Congress
ultimately provided funding for the naturalization initiative
in the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for fiscal year 1999, it did not approve the
transfer of $25,000,000 from detention funds, and instead
provided that amount in direct appropriations. Therefore, in
fiscal year 1999, INS actually has $25,000,000 more in
detention funds than it would have if Congress had funded the
naturalization initiative in the manner it was requested. And
yet, INS still finds itself in emergency straits and has had
the audacity to suggest that Congress did not provide the
necessary resources.
On October 1, 1998, the first day of fiscal year 1999, the
mandatory detention provision from the 1996 Immigration Act
became fully effective. In October, after the mandatory
detention rules became effective, the INS approached Congress
to request statutory relief from the mandatory detention
provision, stating that it did not have enough detention space
to fulfill the mandates of the law. This last-minute request is
evidence that the INS once again did not identify, plan for,
nor timely communicate its detention needs and was hoping to be
bailed out by the Congress.
Given the choice of providing emergency funding or allowing
criminal aliens to be released in this country for lack of
detention space, the Committee has approved the emergency
funding. In addition to administering these funds, the Attorney
General is expected to take all necessary actions to correct
the continuing saga of INS mismanagement.
CHAPTER 3
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE--MILITARY
The President requested $188,500,000 in emergency
supplemental fiscal year 1999 appropriations for the Department
of Defense to cover the costs of disaster relief efforts in
Central America resulting from Hurricanes Mitch and Georges.
The Committee recommends $194,900,000, which includes the
amounts requested by the President plus an additional
$6,400,000 to meet requirements identified by the Department of
Defense subsequent to transmittal of the President's request.
Of the amounts in this chapter, $132,500,000 is to replenish
funds diverted from various defense appropriations accounts to
support emergency response efforts. The remaining $62,400,000
is to support planned National Guard and Reserve training in
the region, including reconstruction, engineering and medical
services.
The following table provides details, by appropriations
account, of the emergency supplemental appropriations in this
chapter for disaster relief.
FISCAL YEAR 1999 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SUPPLEMENTAL
[In millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Committee
Budget request recommendation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hurricanes MITCH and GEORGES Relief:
Military Personnel:
Army Reserve.................. 2.9 8.0
Army National Guard........... 6.0 7.3
Air National Guard............ 1.0 1.0
---------------------------------
Total....................... 9.9 16.3
=================================
Operation and Maintenance:
Army.......................... 69.5 69.5
Navy.......................... 16.0 16.0
Marine Corps.................. 0.3 0.3
Air Force..................... 8.8 8.8
Defense-Wide:
JCS (CINC Initiative Fund) 20.0 20.0
OSD....................... 26.5 26.5
Overseas Humanitarian, 37.5 37.5
Disaster, and Civic Aid......
---------------------------------
Total....................... 178.6 178.6
=================================
Total....................... 188.5 194.9
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHAPTER 4
The Committee recommends emergency supplemental
appropriations of $687,000,000 as the United States share of
the international recovery efforts in the Central American and
Caribbean nations devastated by Hurricanes Mitch and Georges in
late 1998. This amount includes $10,000,000 in assistance to
victims of the January, 1999, earthquake in Colombia. The
Committee also recommends supplementals totaling $100,000,000
for Jordan.
Hurricanes Mitch and Georges
The Committee recommendation reflects the compassion
extended by the people of the United States to our neighbors in
Central and South America and the Caribbean who have suffered
greatly from the recent catastrophic natural disasters in the
region. The Committee recognizes that the purpose of this
emergency supplemental assistance is twofold. First, this
funding draws upon the best traditions of the American public
in providing generous humanitarian support to help alleviate
suffering of those in dire need. Second, the Committee
recognizes that this reconstruction assistance strengthens U.S.
national security by supporting the economic growth of these
nascent democracies and deterring the possibility of increased
illegal immigration into the U.S.
The toll from these disasters, in both human and economic
terms, was staggering. On September 20, 1998, Hurricane Georges
struck the Eastern Caribbean, inflicting significant damage to
the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other parts of the Eastern
Caribbean, including Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts and St. Nevis.
Georges left more than 400 dead and up to $2 billion in
economic damage in its wake.
Between October 26 and 31, 1998, Hurricane Mitch struck
Central America. It ranks as one of the worst hurricanes ever
to hit the region. Mitch resulted in more than 9,000 dead,
9,000 missing, 13,000 injured, and at least 3 million people
displaced. The financial devastation was enormous as well:
according to the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the costs to repair
damaged or destroyed infrastructure in Central America is at
least $8.5 billion.
Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras particularly hard. According
to AID, more than one-third of Honduras' schools were damaged
or destroyed. Much of the country's road and bridge
infrastructure was destroyed, severely hampering relief
efforts. Nearly 70,000 homes were damaged or destroyed
requiring the evacuation of 2.1 million people, many of whom
remain homeless today. In Nicaragua, the rains and floods
caused landslides leaving hundreds of thousands of people
homeless and without food. Hurricane Mitch caused significant
damage in El Salvador and Guatemala as well.
Most recently, on January 25, 1999, a catastrophic
earthquake, registering 6.0 on the Richter scale, struck
northern Colombia. The region hardest hit includes the cities
of Armenia, Calarca and Pereira. This powerful earthquake and
its aftershocks killed nearly 1,000 people, injured more than
4,000, left 4,000 missing and 250,000 homeless. The earthquake
caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damage.
The Committee recognizes the urgency in providing relief to
those affected by these disasters. In fact, the United States
has already begun that effort. Since the devastation caused by
these disasters, the United States has already committed more
than $300 million in urgently needed humanitarian assistance,
primarily for food, medical supplies, and to transport
commodities. The supplemental funds are urgently needed to help
reduce the risk of widespread public health problems, to assist
in the re-opening of schools and to help ensure that needed
agricultural inputs are widely available prior to the spring
planting season.
The President's Emergency Request
On February 16, 1999, the President transmitted to Congress
an emergency supplemental funding request for $687,000,000 in
new budget authority for fiscal year 1999 for relief and
reconstruction assistance and for other purposes. The
President's entire supplemental funding request was presented
to Congress as an emergency, pursuant to the Balance Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
The Committee conducted a public hearing on the request on
February 24, 1999. At the hearing, concern was expressed about
the lack of detailed justification regarding use of the
requested funds. Subsequent to the hearing, the Office of
Management and Budget coordinated the provision of additional
justification documents to the Committee. The Committee also
notes that the Inspector General of the Agency for
International Development is working with the Committee to
ensure Congress is in a position to conduct proper oversight of
the use of these funds.
A bipartisan Committee delegation visited Honduras between
March 5 and March 7, accompanied by General Charles Wilhelm,
Commander in Chief, U.S. Southern Command. The delegation met
with Honduras President Carlos Flores and fully discussed the
supplemental request as it pertains to Honduras. The delegation
also met with Hondurans from all walks of life and visited
reconstruction activities throughout the country.
The President's request for relief and reconstruction
includes the following:
$283 million to assist economic development
efforts by repairing rural roads, by providing micro-credit
loans, and by providing basic agricultural inputs, such as
seeds, tools and fertilizer to farmers.
$136 million to reconstruct and rehabilitate
hospitals and health clinics, to provide water and sanitation
services, and to provide disease control and prevention.
$64 million for technical assistance for
environmental management and disaster mitigation.
$55 million to build, repair, and re-equip
schools, provide school supplies and to build 6,000 housing
units.
$41 million for debt restructuring and relief,
including a $25 million contribution to the recently created
Central America Emergency Trust Fund and $16 million for the
cost of reducing Honduras' bilateral debt to the United States.
$25 million to partially replenish AID's
international disaster assistance contingency account.
$12 million for anti-corruption programs.
$10 million for anti-crime and anti-drug programs.
$3 million for outreach programs to the U.S.
private sector.
$42 million for reconstruction assistance in the
Dominican Republic, Haiti and other Eastern Caribbean nations
affected by Hurricane Georges.
$10 million for earthquake recovery efforts in
Colombia.
BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
Agency for International Development
International Disaster Assistance
The Committee has provided $25,000,000 for the
International Disaster Assistance account as requested by the
President. These funds will partially replenish funds expended
in response to Hurricanes Mitch and Georges and the earthquake
in Colombia. According to USAID, it has spent $35,000,000 from
this account in response to Hurricane Mitch alone.
The Committee notes that the International Disaster
Assistance account is a contingency account, not a program
account. As such, it is designed to respond to unanticipated
disasters and not to supplement AID's regular programs.
Other Bilateral Economic Assistance
Economic Support Fund
The Committee recommendation includes $50,000,000 for
economic support for Jordan. This is the amount requested by
the President on an urgent basis in his transmittal of January
19, 1999.
The Committee strongly supports the provision of this
assistance as an expression of America's support for Jordan and
its people. The late King Hussein was a strong proponent of
stability in the region and was a courageous promoter of the
Middle East Peace Process. A stable transition in Jordan is
essential to promoting U.S. interests in Middle East peace and
stability. The United States has played a leadership role in
mobilizing broad international support for Jordan in the wake
of King Hussein's death. The Committee believes that provision
of this assistance will enable the United States to continue to
provide strong support for King Abdullah and Jordan, and to
leverage contributions from the Gulf States, G-7 partners, and
the European Union in the form of additional trade and
financial support for Jordan, including the provision of debt
relief. These funds will also play a crucial role in
maintaining Jordan's progress on economic reform.
The Committee strongly supports the full fiscal year 2000
request for Jordan contained in the President's transmittal and
expects to favorably consider it in subsequent legislation.
The entire amount recommended for Jordan in fiscal year
1999 has been offset with rescissions in this act. For
technical reasons it is designated as an emergency requirement
pursuant to the Balanced Budget Act of 1985.
Central America and the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery Fund
The Committee recommends $621,000,000 for a new Central
America and the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery Fund. The
President requested an additional amount of $621,000,000 for
the Economic Support Fund. The Committee believes establishing
this new fund, rather than comingling these funds with
previously appropriated funds, will help ensure that this
emergency supplemental is used solely to meet the requirements
associated with Hurricanes Georges and Mitch and the earthquake
in Colombia. Creation of a separate account allows the
Committee greater ability to conduct proper oversight of these
emergency funds.
To preserve flexibility within this account, the Committee
has not recommended that funds be earmarked for specific
purposes.However, these funds should be used to meet the most
urgent requirements including:
Infrastructure repair and restoration including
roads, bridges, potable water systems, schools, and health
clinics.
Development of rural areas and small
municipalities, including refurbishment of farm-to-market
roads, bridges, and levees, restoration of agricultural storage
and processing facilities, and provision of credit for small
farmers and businesses.
Electric power capacity restoration, including
priority attention to mitigating the adverse effects of the
February 1999 fire at the El Cajon Dam power generating plant
in Honduras.
Microcredit programs targeted to the needs of
small businesses and farmers, with a special emphasis on
opportunities that can reduce poverty in households headed by
women; and
Environmental reparation and protection, including
technology transfers in support of reforestation and agro-
forestry.
The Committee supports inclusion of the U.S. private sector
in efforts to help relevant government agencies and
nongovernmental organizations in the region monitor the use of
aid funds in order to prevent corruption and misuse.
The Committee also intends that funds be allocated in ways
that promote the decentralization of decision making and the
involvement of private citizens. Funds should be channeled
through municipal governments to the extent practicable to
strengthen the capacity and role of local governments. The
Committee further expects that AID missions will seek
substantial input from citizens organizations which reflect the
diversity of social and political opinions during the
reconstruction process.
The Committee also commends the efforts of returned Peace
Corps volunteers who have volunteered to assist in the Central
America reconstruction effort. Sufficient funds should be made
available to the Crisis Corps in Central America to support the
community projects undertaken by the Corps in cooperation with
nongovernmental organizations active in the region.
Hurricane Mitch has severely damaged the North Coast and
Guanaja and other Bay Islands. Essential infrastructure repairs
are needed to support the resumption of agricultural exports
and eco-tourism. While U.S. businesses are committed to
spending in excess of $100,000,000 of their own funds in this
region, much smaller amounts are required to support rapid
repair of public infrastructure, especially bridges, dams, and
levies. The Committee recommends that the Executive branch
include these Honduras public sector requirements in its
reconstruction plans. The Committee recognizes that the
Administration's request incorporates many of these priorities,
but strongly urges that these types of projects take priority
over other initiatives proposed by the administration. Efforts
in these areas will directly benefit U.S. national interests by
helping restore the economic viability of these nations,
thereby slowing the process of migration.
The Committee has included language requiring that funds in
this account be made available subject to the provisions of
chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act, which
governs the use of the Economic Support Fund. Further, these
funds may only be utilized subject to the provisions of title V
of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related
Programs Act, 1999, as contained in Public Law 105-277, except
for section 558. All funds in this account are subject to the
regular notification procedures of the Committee on
Appropriations and the ceiling on population planning
activities or other population assistance contained in section
580 of the 1999 Act.
The Committee expects that, to the extent practicable,
contracts and grants should be awarded to U.S. private
organizations and individuals, especially those linked with
indigenous Central American counterparts, provided that such a
preference does not delay or hinder the delivery of assistance.
The Committee includes bill language which prohibits funds
from being used for nonproject assistance.
Of the funds made available from this account, the
Committee has provided for the transfer of up to $5,000,000 to
the administrative account of AID for the purpose of
implementing disaster relief and reconstruction projects. In
addition, up to $2,000,000 may be transferred to AID's
Inspector General for the purpose of auditing and monitoring
the use of these supplemental funds. The Committee is informed
that without these additional funds the Inspector General would
be forced to postpone or forego entirely certain financial and
performance audits elsewhere in the world in order to ensure
these supplemental funds were adequately monitored. Given the
Committee's lack of confidence in the ability of AID's New
Management System (NMS) to accurately track agency expenditures
in general, there is particular concern that these supplemental
appropriations be audited thoroughly by the Inspector General.
The Committee has learned that the Colombian National
Police (CNP) expended nearly $500,000 conducting airborne
rescue and support operations in response to the recent
earthquake. CNP aircraft transported food, medical supplies and
other urgent humanitarian aid, as well as injured persons, in
support of relief efforts. The Committee is aware that these
funds were originally dedicated to counter-narcotics efforts
and encourages the Administration to make available funds from
within this account directly to the Colombian National Police
to replenish CNP funds expended for earthquake relief.
The President requested the entire amount of the funds
recommended under this account as an emergency requirement
under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985. However, his designation would only affect funds
appropriated under the Economic Support Fund. Due to the fact
the Committee is proposing a new account for disaster recovery
activities in Central America and the Caribbean, for technical
reasons the recommendation includes bill language requiring a
Presidential designation of the funding as an emergency
requirement.
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Debt Restructuring
The Committee is recommending $41,000,000 for debt
restructuring as requested by the President. These funds will
be utilized for two purposes: $16,000,000 will be made
available for the budget cost of reducing Honduras' bilateral
debt owed to the United States beyond the reduction provided
for in the regular fiscal year 1999 Act and up to $25,000,000
will be made available to a multilateral Central America
Emergency Trust Fund to help Central American governments cover
the costs of debt service owed to the World Bank, the Inter-
American Development Bank and other international financial
institutions. The Committee is aware that, in addition to this
assistance, the Administration intends to defer all bilateral
debt obligations to the U.S. from Honduras and Nicaragua over
the next two years.
The Committee notes that the Foreign Operations Act for
fiscal year 1999 already provided funds for debt reduction of
50 percent of the debt owed by the government of Honduras to be
forgiven. The $16,000,000 provided in this Act would allow
reduction of 67 percent of Honduras' debt owed to the United
States.
The Committee is aware that prior to Hurricane Mitch,
Nicaragua was classified by the World Bank as a Heavily
Indebted Poor Country (HIPC). Foreign debt for Nicaragua stands
at $6,100,000,000 including a substantial debt stock owed to
the former Soviet Union and to Libya. The Committee expects
that no U.S. funds will be used to repay debt owed to these
nations. According to the Treasury Department, total foreign
debt for Honduras is $3,600,000,000, including $1,300,000,000
owed to bilateral creditors. The Committee urges the
Administration to encourage other bilateral creditors to reduce
or forgive outstanding debt owed by these nations.
The Committee urges the U.S. executive directors at the
Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank and other
relevant international financial institutions to exercise
caution when considering large new lending programs for the
affected countries. The provision of new loans to governments
that cannot service existing debt is a questionable practice.
MILITARY ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
foreign military financing program
The Committee recommends $50,000,000 for grant military
assistance to Jordan. This is the amount requested by the
President on an urgent basis in his transmittal of January 19,
1999.
The Committee strongly supports the provision of this
assistance as an expression of America's support for Jordan and
its people. The late King Hussein was a strong proponent of
stability in the region and was a courageous promoter of the
Middle East Peace Process. A stable transition in Jordan is
essential to promoting U.S. interests in Middle East peace and
stability, and the United States should continue to provide
strong support to King Abdullah and Jordan. These funds will
play a crucial role in improving Jordan's military readiness
and modernization objectives, help Jordan to defend its
borders, and strengthen U.S./Jordanian bilateral military ties.
The Committee strongly supports the full fiscal year 1999,
fiscal year 2000, and fiscal year 2001 requests for Jordan
contained in the President's transmittal. These total $300
million in both the Economic Support Fund and the Foreign
Military Financing Program. The Committee expects to favorably
consider the outyear requests in subsequent legislation.
The entire amount recommended for Jordan in fiscal year
1999 has been offset with rescissions in this Act. For
technical reasons it is designated as an emergency requirement
pursuant to the Balanced Budget Act of 1985.
united states army corps of engineers
The Committee commends the work of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in response to Hurricane Mitch. The Corps maintains
field offices in Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, and Colombia
which greatly enhanced its ability to respond quickly to these
natural disasters. The Committee intends that the Department of
State and AID will utilize the planning, engineering, design,
environmental, and technical capabilities of the Corps when
considering reconstruction projects. Further, the Committee
expects that the State Department and AID will use the Corps to
support disaster recovery projects in Central America
including: rural farm-to-market road and bridge building; storm
drain and levee reconstruction; rehabilitation of health
clinics and homes; watershed stabilization and soil
conservation activities; and water and sanitation programs
which directly strengthen child survival efforts.
donor coordination and burden sharing
In December 1998, donor nations and the leaders of Central
American nations convened in Washington, D.C. to discuss
reconstruction efforts in the wake of Hurricane Mitch. At this
Consultative Group meeting, $6.3 billion in emergency aid and
reconstruction support was pledged. The Committee is aware that
the President'ssupplemental request accounts for only 17
percent of these worldwide assistance pledges and supports other
nations' promises of aid. The Committee requests AID and State, not
less than 5 days following the conclusion of the next scheduled donor's
meeting in May, report to the Committee on the status of donor
coordination and burdensharing efforts.
mine clearing
The Committee is concerned that the floods and mudslides
caused by Hurricane Mitch may have shifted the location of
anti-personnel mines previously identified in Central America,
rendering new areas potentially unsafe. The rapid
identification of the current location of landmines, and their
safe removal is essential to subsequent road and bridge
construction and renewal of productive agricultural activity.
The Committee supports the request of the Inter-American
Defense Board for additional mine detection dogs and handlers
to be sent to Central America in conjunction with the emergency
response to Hurricane Mitch.
role of women in reconstruction efforts
The Committee recognizes the devastating impact that
Hurricane Mitch had on the region generally, but in particular,
its effect on women. Fully one-third of the households that
lost homes are headed by women. The primary borrowers in many
micro-credit programs wiped out by the disaster are women.
Women occupied many of the jobs lost in the agricultural and
textile sectors. Finally, the bulk of the short-term employment
opportunities generated by the recovery effort, such as
construction and road building, are generally the kind from
which women are barred. Therefore, the Committee expects that
all agencies involved in carrying out programs funded with this
emergency assistance will take the specific needs of women into
account as programs are designed and implemented. In addition,
the needs of women creditors should be taken into account as
new micro-credit programs are designed and existing micro-
credit institutions are restructured.
GENERAL PROVISION--THIS CHAPTER
Sec. 301. For the remainder of fiscal year 1999, the
Committee allows the President to exercise his authority under
section 506(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to
drawdown up to $75,000,000 in Defense Department articles,
services and military education and training without any such
drawdown being counted against the ceiling limitation of that
section.
CHAPTER 5
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Reconstruction and Construction
The Committee recommends $5,611,000 for emergency repairs
in the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico as a result of
Hurricane Georges and other natural disasters. These funds are
also to be made available to repair damages to the
International Institute of Tropical Forestry.
CHAPTER 6
OFFSETS
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Foreign Assistance and Related Programs
Public Law 480 Program and Grant Accounts
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $30,000,000 from
funds appropriated for the cost of direct credit agreements for
Public Law 480 title I credit for fiscal year 1999. After this
rescission, $146,596,000 remains available for this purpose.
The availability of carryover funds from previous years and
the Administration's recently announced food aid program for
Russia will keep title I activity at the level provided for in
the fiscal year 1999 regular appropriations.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Atomic Energy Defense Activities
other defense activities
(rescission)
Funding of $525,000,000 was provided to the Department of
Energy in P.L. 105-277, the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, for Russian programs
relating to the disposal of excess plutonium and uranium from
nuclear weapons. The agreements between the United States and
Russia to establish these programs have not yet been finalized,
and it is anticipated that not all of the funding will be
required in fiscal year 1999.
EXPORT AND INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
trade and development agency
(rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of $5,000,000 from
funds made available under this heading in Public Law 105-277.
Additional funds have been made available to the Trade and
Development Agency from other appropriations accounts.
BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
Agency for International Development
Development Assistance
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of $40,000,000 from
prior year appropriations for development assistance.
Other Bilateral Economic Assistance
Economic Support Fund
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends rescission of $17,000,000 from the
unobligated balances of the Economic Support Fund.
Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of $20,000,000 from
the unobligated balances of funds available for East-Central
Europe.
Assistance for the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $25,000,000 from
unobligated balances of over $1,000,000,000 available from
funds appropriated for the independent states of the former
Soviet Union.
MILITARY ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
Peacekeeping Operations
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $10,000,000 from
the funds appropriated for voluntary international peacekeeping
operations in Public Law 105-277.
MULTILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
International Financial Institutions
Contribution to the International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
Global Environment Facility
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends rescission of $25,000,000 from the
United States contribution to the Global Environmental Program
administered by the World Bank.
Reduction in Callable Capital Appropriations
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of a total of
$648,000,000 from the balances of unobligated funds
appropriated prior to 1980 for callable capital stock of the
World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Asian
Development Bank.
Since 1980, the United States has subscribed to
$32,835,963,000 in callable capital stock for the same
multilateral development banks. All of the $32,835,963,000 was
approved in appropriation acts, but none of it was actually
appropriated or scored as budget authority, as before. The
Committee's recommendation to reduce callable capital
previously approved is not without precedent. It does not
signal any change in the Committee's support for the
multilateral development banks.
International Organizations and Programs
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $10,000,000 from
the funds appropriated for international organizations and
programs in Public Law 105-277.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Payments to Air Carriers
(Airport and Airway Trust Fund)
(Rescission Of Contract Authorization)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $815,000 in
contract authority provided for ``Small community air service''
by Public Law 101-508 for fiscal years prior to fiscal year
1998. This rescission has no effect on the essential air
service program.
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
State Infrastructure Banks
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $6,500,000 from
the state infrastructure bank program. These funds are in
excess of the funds necessary to support those states currently
participating in the program.
FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION
Trust Fund Share of Transit Programs
(Highway Trust Fund)
(Rescission of Contract Authorization)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $665,000 in
contract authority from the trust fund share of transit
programs provided in Public Law 102-240 under 49 U.S.C.
5338(a)(1). These funds are in excess of the annual obligation
limitation placed on the program and are not available for
obligation in fiscal year 1999.
Interstate Transfer Grants--Transit
The Committee recommends a rescission of $600,000 in
unobligated balances of interstate transfer grants--transit.
The Committee directs the Federal Transit Administration to
reduce only those available balances for projects for which no
current program plan is in place for the obligation of funds.
GENERAL PROVISION--THIS TITLE
The Committee bill includes section 1001, which reduces the
amounts made available in Public Law 105-277 by $40,000,000.
This action is recommended in order to provide offsets for the
bill. Details regarding this adjustment may be found in a
classified annex accompanying the Committee report.
TITLE II
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND RESCISSIONS
CHAPTER 1
THE JUDICIARY
Supreme Court of the United States
Salaries and Expenses
The Committee recommends $921,000 to remain available until
expended for salaries and expenses of the Supreme Court of the
United States, as requested. This is to provide an additional
36 police officers under the jurisdiction of the Court to
enhance the capability of the police in order to assure
coverage of the building under standards comparable to those
recently adopted by the Capitol police with respect to public
buildings under their protection. These funds represent one-
quarter year of salary and benefits plus funds for associated
training, supplies and equipment.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND RELATED AGENCIES
RELATED AGENCY
United States Information Agency
buying power maintenance
(rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $20,000,000 from
unobligated balances under this heading. The balances in this
account result from exchange rate gains over the past several
years, and exceed the potential requirements on the fund prior
to the consolidation of the Agency into the Department of State
on October 1, 1999.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
operations, research, and facilities and fisheries finance program
account
The Committee does not recommend funding requested for the
Operations, Research, and Facilities and the Fisheries Finance
Program accounts. The supplemental request included $5,000,000
for these programs, $3,120,000 for the Fisheries Finance
Program account to fund a vessel buy-out in the Northeast
inshore cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine and $1,880,000 and 20
full-time-equivalent employees for Operations, Research and
Facilities for scientific and management activities in
connection with this fishery.
In the fiscal year 1999 Appropriations Act, the Committee
already provided $5,000,000 in emergency funding for emergency
disaster assistance for individuals and communities impacted by
declines in the Northeast multispecies fishery, including the
Gulf of Maine. To date, NOAA has not provided a spending plan,
nor obligated any of this fund. In fiscal year 1999, the
Committee also provided significant increases for fisheries
management programs, including the northeast region for
scientific and management activities. In addition, the
Committee understands that the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act requires that an industry-wide
referendum be conducted and an implementation plan approved
with set time periods for public comment and consideration in
order to implement a vessel buyout. These actions have not been
initiated, and therefore any buyout could not be undertaken in
fiscal year 1999.
RELATED AGENCY
Federal Communications Commission
General Provision
The Committee does not recommend adoption at this time of a
requested provision to repeal the provision of the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997 that requires the auction of spectrum
between 746-806 megahertz to be conducted in 2001, and instead
requiring that the competitive bidding process be started in
1999, and conducted in such a way as to ensure that all
proceeds are deposited not later than September 30, 2000.
The intent of the requested provision is to accelerate this
auction, thereby shifting the collection of receipts to fiscal
year 2000. The Office of Management and Budget anticipates $2.6
billion in fiscal year 2000 receipts resulting from this
provision, and a decrease of $1.3 billion in receipts in each
of fiscal years 2001 and 2002. However, it is not clear that
the adoption of this provision would result in the deposit of
receipts before fiscal year 2001, so the rationale for
inclusion of this provision has not been established.
CHAPTER 2
UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The Committee recommends $3,000,000 for necessary expenses
for the United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom as authorized by title II of the International
Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-292). These funds shall
remain available until expended.
EXPORT AND INVESTMENT ASSISTANCE
export-import bank of the united states
(rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of $25,000,000 from
prior year unobligated balances intended for the tied-aid war
chest.
CHAPTER 3
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Management of Lands and Resources
(Rescission)
The Committee recommends the rescission of $6,800,000 from
Management of Lands and Resources. The funds are to be taken
from the Automated Lands and Minerals Record System (ALMRS)
program. The issue of continued funding for the ALMRS program
is under review and these funds, which were appropriated in
fiscal year 1998, exceed current requirements.
Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians
Federal Trust Programs
The Committee recommends $21,800,000 for Federal Trust
Programs. Within the funds provided $6,800,000 is to implement
the Trust Management Improvement Project High Level
Implementation Plan to ensure that the Department of the
Interior meets its fiduciary obligations to Native Americans
and $15,000,000 to support costs associated with ongoing
litigation involving the Department of the Interior and
approximately 300,000 holders of Individual Indian Money (IIM)
trust accounts. The $15,000,000 will support document
production, a court-appointed Special Master, and statistical
sampling of trust accounts as a means of providing a baseline
for settlement purposes.
CHAPTER 4
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations
The Committee recommends a reduction of $21,000,000 in this
account, instead of the reduction of $5,700,000 requested by
the President. Part of the reduction, $16,000,000, is taken in
the unemployment insurance contingency fund; the revised amount
for the fund would be $164,933,000. This fund is used to
supplement the base administrative allocations to the States.
Based on continued low unemployment rates, the full amount of
the contingency appropriation is not needed to fund State
administrative workload. The President requested a reduction of
$5,700,000. In addition, the Committee recommends a reduction
of $5,000,000 in excess funds in the unemployment insurance
postage account. State postage costs are expected to be lower
than originally estimated.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
federal capital loan program for nursing
(rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $2,800,000 from
unobligated balances in the Federal Capital Loan Program for
Nursing account. The program has been inactive for more than
eight years.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
education research, statistics and improvement
(rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $6,800,000 from
the Fund for the Improvement of Education. The Committee is
aware that only $2,000,000 of the $10,000,000 originally
included in this account for an evaluation of voluntary
national test development is actually needed in fiscal year
1999 to carry out this activity.
The recommended rescission level assumes that the
Department of Education will transfer $1,200,000 of the
$10,000,000 from the Fund for the Improvement of Education
program to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities
program for a payment to the University of the District of
Columbia. It is the Committee's understanding that this
transfer is subject to (1) a determination by the Secretary
that such an award will not violate the intent of Section
324(g) of Title III of the Higher Education Act and (2) the
Secretary's receipt of a properly completed application from
the University of the District of Columbia as required under
Section 325 of Title III of such Act.
RELATED AGENCY
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Committee provides $48,000,000 for the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio to proceed with
negotiations for a public radio satellite replacement. Of this
total, $30,600,000 is provided in fiscal year 1999 and
$17,400,000 is provided as a fiscal year 2000 advance.
In 1998, the satellite servicing the Public Radio Satellite
System failed unexpectedly, and the system is currently
operating on a temporary back-up satellite that will become
unavailable in Fall 1999. Public radio needs to make
contractual arrangements with a satellite vendor in Spring 1999
to ensure continuity of services to public radio listeners. The
President requested this supplemental in his fiscal year 2000
budget submission.
CHAPTER 5
CONGRESSIONAL OPERATIONS
ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Capitol Buildings and Grounds
house office buildings
House Page Dormitory--The bill contains $3,760,000 to
renovate and furnish the House-owned property at 501 First
Street, S.E., for the purpose of relocating a dormitory
necessary to accommodate the House pages. The pages currently
occupy two floors at the O'Neill House Office Building which
have been converted to dormitory space. That building has been
determined to have several structural and life safety
deficiencies. A recent audit conducted by the House Inspector
General has revealed fire safety issues and the Architect of
the Capitol has long held that the building is not structurally
suited for its current use.
The facilities at 501 First Street are suited for
conversion to dormitory space. The building was originally
constructed as a residence hall, and its most recent use
included a day care center. The basic mechanical and life
safety features of the building are satisfactory and within the
various regulations that govern comparable applications. It is
expected that the Architect of the Capitol will consult with
the House Office Building Commission, the House Page Board, and
other appropriate authorities as the design work progresses.
O'Neill House Office Building--The bill contains $1,800,000
necessary to correct life safety, particularly fire-related,
deficiencies in the O'Neill House Office Building. The
Architect of the Capitol and the House Inspector General have
identified several items that require immediate remedial
attention such as extending the sprinkler system, updating the
fire escapes and elevators, pressurizing stairwells, and
replacing the alarm system. Although the Architect has advised
that the O'Neill building is not suitable in the long run for
continued use as an office building, the Committee believes
these improvements should be made to protect the building
occupants until more satisfactory space can be found.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--THIS CHAPTER
Two administrative provisions are included. One provision
adjusts certain leadership allowances and the second provision
allows leadership offices to utilize appropriated funds for any
official, authorized purpose. The latter provision is
comparable to authority recently provided to all House Members
with respect to the Members' Representational Allowances.
CHAPTER 6
POSTAL SERVICE
Payments to the Postal Service Fund
1999 appropriation...................................... $71,195,000
1999 supplemental estimate.............................. 29,000,000
Committee recommendation................................ 29,000,000
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $29,000,000
for reimbursements to the Postal Service as authorized by 39
U.S.C., 2401(d).
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE PRESIDENT
Unanticipated Needs
(rescission)
The Committee recommends a rescission of $10,000,000 from
amounts previously appropriated under this heading in Public
Law 101-130, the Fiscal Year 1990 Dire Emergency Supplemental
to Meet the Needs of Natural Disasters of National
Significance, as proposed by the President. All of the funds
were transferred to Departments and agencies to carry out
necessary activities. These funds are no longer needed.
CHAPTER 7
Court of Veterans Appeals
salaries and expenses
The Court of Veterans Appeals requested supplemental
appropriations of $372,000. The Committee has determined there
is not justification for additional funding at this time, but
is evaluating the additional funding in the context of the
fiscal year 2000 legislation.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Community Planning and Development
community development block grants
The Committee has included new bill language which makes a
technical adjustment to the amount of funds made available for
two Economic Development Initiative grants in Public Law 105-
276. The Committee notes that this technical change has no
budgetary impact.
Management and Administration
office of inspector general
The Committee recommends extending the time period for
expending funds from one year to two years, as proposed by the
Administration. The extension is needed to implement the HUD
Anti-fraud initiative created by Congress in fiscal year 1998.
GENERAL PROVISIONS--THIS ACT
The Committee bill includes section 2002, which prohibits
the Secretary of Agriculture from discounting loan deficiency
payments under the Agricultural Market Transition Act for club
wheat, and compensates club wheat producers who received
discounted loan deficiency payments.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Citrus Canker Eradication
The citrus industry in the state of Florida is threatened
by the spread of citrus canker, which has the potential for
devastating impacts on commercial production. This extremely
contagious bacterial disease has been spread by hurricane and
other storm systems. The disease now threatens the entire
industry, which contributes $8,000,000,000 annually in economic
impact and provides for 121,000 jobs. The impact of the spread
of citrus canker is $200,000,000 annually in increased
production costs and market restrictions. Detection and
eradication of the disease is possible with existing methods
and technology.
The Committee urges the Secretary of Agriculture to
establish an emergency eradication program, using the
authorities and funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Further, the Committee directs the Secretary to report not
later than March 31, 1999, on the Department's plans for
addressing this emergency.
Russian Food Aid
Based on past experience with regard to U.S. commodity
shipments to Russia, the Committee is seriously concerned about
the likelihood of diversion in the distribution of the current
$1,200,000,000 Russian food aid package which was negotiated by
the Executive Branch. The Committee urges the Secretary of
Agriculture to implement swiftly the provisions of the sales
agreement that allow suspension of shipments if and when
diversions occur. In addition, the Secretary should ensure that
sufficient staff is available for oversight, monitoring and
control procedures to minimize potential misuses and improper
losses of food commodities provided under the three food aid
agreements between the Governments of the United States and the
Russian Federation. The Committee expects the Secretary to
directly involve the Inspector General in auditing these
shipments.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall report to the Committee
by June 15, 1999, regarding his efforts to increase oversight
and monitoring; the extent to which other federal agencies and
Non-Governmental Organizations have contributed to the
monitoring effort; the number and frequency of spot-checks and
their findings; how the agency handled reports of diversions;
and the extent to which the distribution of commodities was
coordinated with local government officials and private farming
organizations. The Committee also expects the Secretary to
report on how the food aid package was coordinated with the
State Department to meet our strategic goals in the region and
the involvement of the Interagency Task Force assembled by the
U.S. Embassy in Moscow to oversee these shipments. The
Secretary shall also report on how this and subsequent food aid
shipments contribute to the development and reform of private
agriculture in the Newly Independent States.
Commodity Credit Corporation
The Committee is concerned that the Committee on
Agriculture has not remedied the problems associated with the
section 11 cap for CCC reimbursements, which will result in
NRCS ceasing technical assistance work for the Conservation
Reserve Program and furloughing about 800 field staff after the
current carryover funds are expended in May 1999. The Committee
urges the Secretary of Agriculture to work with the Congress to
remedy the problems associated with the section 11 cap.
TITLE III
TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS
The Committee has included several provisions that would
correct errors and insert clarifying language into the Omnibus
Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act,
1999 (Public Law 105-277). Due to the large volume of this law
and the relative short amount of time available to develop the
final version of it, a few errors were made and the intent of
the managers was not clearly provided in a few instances. The
provisions in this title would correct these problems.
Changes in the Application of Existing Law
The bill includes several appropriations that are not
authorized by law and as such may be constructed as legislative
in nature.
The bill includes several emergency appropriation and
contingent emergency appropriation designations that may be
construed as legislative in nature.
Pursuant to clause 3(f) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following statements are
submitted describing the effect of provisions in the
accompanying bill which directly or indirectly change the
application of existing law.
Language is included under Department of Justice,
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Salaries and Expenses,
providing that the funding provided is to be administered by
the Attorney General.
Language is included under Department of State and Related
Agencies, Related Agencies, United States Information Agency,
Buying Power Maintenance that rescinds previously appropriated
funds.
Under General Provisions--This Chapter in Chapter 6, Title
I, language is include that would reduce previously
appropriated Department of Defense funds.
Language is included in the bill which rescinds budget
authority under the heading Atomic Energy Defense Activities.
Under ``International Disaster Assistance'', funds are
authorized for reconstruction assistance, as well as disaster
relief and rehabilitation.
Under ``Central America and the Caribbean Emergency
Disaster Recovery Fund'', funds are appropriated subject to the
provisions of chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance
Act, and (except for section 558), subject to title V of the
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 1999; funds are also available
notwithstanding such provisions of law regulating the making,
performance, amendment, or modification of contracts as the
Administrator of the Agency for International Development may
specify, subject to a report in writing to the Committees on
Appropriations at least 5 days prior to the use of this
authority; in addition, authority is provided to allow for the
transfer of funds to other accounts for administration, audits
and inspections of the funds appropriated under this paragraph;
finally, funds are provided subject to the regular notification
procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.
Under ``Debt restructuring'', funds are authorized to be
used as a contribution to the Central America Emergency Trust
Fund.
Under ``Foreign Military Financing Program'', the
requirement for repayment of funds is waived notwithstanding
sections 23(b) and 23(c) of the Arms Export Control Act.
Under ``Economic Support Fund'', $17,000,000 are rescinded
from funds appropriated in Public Law 105-277 and in prior acts
making appropriations for foreign operations, export financing,
and related programs.
Under ``Global Environment Facility'', $25,000,000 are
rescinded from funds appropriated in Public Law 105-277.
Language is included under the Department of
Transportation, Office of the Secretary that rescinds $815,000
in contract authority provided for ``Small community air
service'' by Public Law 101-508 for fiscal years prior to
fiscal year 1998.
Language is included under the Department of
Transportation, Federal Highway Administration that rescinds
$6,500,000 from the state infrastructure bank program.
Language is included under the Department of
Transportation, Federal Transmit Administration that rescinds
$665,000 in contract authority from the trust fund share of
transit programs provided in Public Law 102-240, and rescinds
$600,000 in unobligated balances from the interstate transfer
grants-transit program.
Under sec. 301, language is included that provides that the
value of articles, services, and military education and
training drawn down by the President as of November 15, 1998,
pursuant to section 506(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act,
does not count against the ceiling limitation of that section.
Under ``Department of Agriculture, Public Law 480 Program
and Grant Accounts'', $30,000,000 are rescinded from funds
appropriated in Public Law 105-277.
Language is included that reduces previously appropriated
funds for Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide.
Language is included under Bureau of Land Management,
Management of Lands and Resources, Department of the Interior,
that rescinds previously appropriated funds.
Language is included under the Employment and Training
Administration, Department of Labor, that reduces previous
appropriations.
Language is included under the Health Resources and
Services Administration, Department of Health and Human
Services, that rescinds previous appropriations.
Language is included under the Education Research,
Statistics and Improvement, Department of Education, that
rescinds previous appropriations.
Language is included under the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting requiring that funds appropriated be made
available to National Public Radio for acquisition of satellite
capacity.
Section 2002--Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from
discounting loan deficiency payments under the Agriculture
Market Transition Act for club wheat, and compensates club
wheat producers who received discounted loan deficiency
payments.
Section 3709 of the Revised Statutes is waived for certain
renovation projects. There is an increase in the authorization
for certain leadership offices and authority for leadership
offices to utilize appropriated funds for staff and other
expense purposes, at their discretion. The latter authority is
comparable to that given to all House members with their office
allowances.
Language is included under Executive Office of the
President, Unanticipated Needs that rescinds previous
appropriations.
Language is included under the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, extending the
time period for expending funds from one year to two years.
Language is included under the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, Community Planning and Development,
Community Development Block Grants changing the manner in which
previously appropriated funds were applied to certain grants.
Under ``Export-Import Bank of the United States''
$25,000,000 in unobligated balances are rescinded.
Under ``Trade and Development Agency'', of the funds
appropriated for this account in Public Law 105-277, $5,000,000
are rescinded.
Under ``Development Assistance'', of the funds appropriated
for this account in Public Law 105-118 and in prior acts making
appropriations for foreign operations, export financing, and
related programs, $40,000,000 are rescinded.
Under ``Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic
States'', $20,000,000 in unobligated balances are rescinded.
Under ``Assistance for the New Independent States of the
Former Soviet Union'' $25,000,000 in unobligated balances are
rescinded.
Under ``Peacekeeping Operations'', of the funds
appropriated for this account in Public Law 105-277,
$10,000,000 are rescinded.
Under ``Reduction in Callable Capital Appropriations'', a
total of $648,000,000 in funds appropriated for callable
capital stock for three international financial institutions
are rescinded.
Under ``International Organizations and Programs'', of the
funds appropriated for this account in Public Law 105-277,
$10,000,000 are rescinded.
In Title III, the following technical changes to the
Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 1999 (Public Law 105-277) are included:
Section 3001(a). Makes a correction to an authorization
reference for the Rural Community Advancement Program in the
Agriculture Appropriations Act by inserting section 1926d of 7
U.S.C., makes a correction to the application of the rural
utilities program by referencing sections 306(a)(2) and 306D of
the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and deletes
two extraneous references to the same Act.
Section 3001(b). Makes one of the provisions of section 718
of the Agriculture Appropriations Act consistent with the rest
of the section with respect to legislative permanency.
Section 3001(c). Makes a correction to section 747 of the
Agriculture Appropriations Act by changing a section number
from 302 to 203.
Section 3001(d). Makes a correction to section 763 of the
Agriculture Appropriations Act by changing the authorization
reference for disaster research and prevention associated with
commerce and trade activities.
Section 3002. Extends the availability of the anti-drug
supplemental emergency appropriation for the Agricultural
Research Service similar to the other accounts in this part of
the bill.
Section 3003(a). Inserts a correct account title of the
Foreign Operations Act for special assistance to Burma.
Section 3003(b). Makes a correction in section 587 of the
Foreign Operations Act by changing a referenced law citation.
Section 3003(c). Makes a correction to section 594(a) of
the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act by changing a
subparagraph reference to a subsection reference.
Section 3003(d). Makes a correction to section 594(b) of
Foreign Operations Appropriations Act by changing a
subparagraph reference to a subsection reference.
Section 3003(e). Makes a correction to section 594(e) of
the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act by changing the
identification criteria of foreign countries receiving certain
assistance.
Section 3005(a). Makes a correction to the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service appropriations paragraph of the
Interior Appropriations Act by correcting the citation of the
base legislation in the Marine Mammal Protection Act that was
to be amended.
Section 3005(b). Makes a correction to section 354(a) of
the Interior Appropriations Act by correcting the citation of
the base legislation in the Columbia River Gorge National
Scenic Area Act that was to be amended.
Section 3006(a). Makes a correction to the Federal
Unemployment Benefits and Allowances appropriations paragraph
of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education
Appropriations (L-HHS) Act by making a technical correction to
the description of the duration of the applicability of the
appropriation.
Section 3006(b). Corrects an appropriation amount for the
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services in the L-
HHS Act.
Section 3006(c). Removes an allocation of funds for a
certain Head Start Program in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(d). Inserts two allocations of funds for
Public Health Service activities in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(e). Inserts an allocation of funds related to
special education in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(f). Corrects the amount of an allocation of
funds for Public Health and Social Services Emergency
activities in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(g). Corrects an allocation of funds for the
Goals 2000 program in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(h). Corrects an allocation of funds for
national leadership activities under the Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act in the L-HHS Act and designates an amount
for tribally controlled vocational institutions.
Section 3006(i). Inserts a clarification of the
availability of certain Higher Education funds in the L-HHS
Act.
Section 3006(j). Inserts two allocations of Education
Research, Statistics, and Improvement funds in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(k). Inserts a qualification on the expenditure
of Reading Excellence funds in the L-HHS Act.
Section 3006(l). Makes the section 510(3) of the L-HHS Act
consistent with the rest of the section with respect to
legislative permanency.
Section 3006(m). Makes technical and conforming changes to
the table of contents of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act.
Section 3008. Inserts a provision that insures that funding
is available through the end of the fiscal year for the
National Advanced Driving Simulator Program.
Section 3009. Inserts a qualification on the expenditure of
funds for the Capitol security that were included in Division
B, Title II, Chapter 6.
Section 3011. Extends the availability of funds transferred
to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in
two appropriations paragraphs of the Commerce, Justice Act.
In Title III, additional corrections to legislation amended
by the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 1999, are included, as follows:
Section 3004. Corrects a date included in the International
Financial Institutions Act for the submission of a report on
the financial operations of the IMF.
Section 3007. Makes a correction to a citation in 5 U.S.C.
5595(b).
Section 3010. Re-designates a section number in the
Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
Appropriations Not Authorized by Law
Pursuant to clause 3(f) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the following table lists the
appropriations in the accompanying bill which are not
authorized by law:
Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund Program Account
Department of Justice
Immigration and Naturalization Service, S&E
Department of Defense--Military
Reserve Personnel, Army
National Guard Personnel, Army
National Guard Personnel, Air Force
Operation and Maintenance, Army
Operation and Maintenance, Navy
Operation and Maintenance, Marine Corps
Operation and Maintenance, Air Force
Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide
Overseas Humanitarian, Disaster, and Civic Aid
Agency for International Development
International Disaster Assistance
Economic Support Fund
Central America and the Caribbean Emergency Disaster Recovery
Fund
Department of the Treasury
Debt Restructuring
Foreign Military Financing Program
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Rescissions
Pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule X of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the following table is submitted describing
the rescissions recommended in the accompanying bill:
Rescissions recommended in the bill
Amounts
recommended
Department and activity for rescission
Department of Agriculture, Public Law 480 Program and
Grant Accounts...................................... $30,000,000
Department of Energy, Atomic Energy Defense Activities,
Other Defense Activities............................ 150,000,000
Export and Investment Assistance:
Funds Appropriated to the President, Trade and
Development Agency................................ 5,000,000
Bilateral Economic Assistance:
Funds Appropriated to the President, Agency for
International Development......................... 40,000,000
Other Bilateral Economic Assistance.................
Economic Support Fund........................... 17,000,000
Assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic
States........................................ 20,000,000
Assistance for the New Independent States of the
Former Soviet Union........................... 25,000,000
Military Assistance, Funds Appropriated to the
President, Peacekeeping Operations.................. 10,000,000
Multilateral Economic Assistance:
Funds Appropriated to the President:
International Financial Institutions,
Contribution to the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, Global
Environment Facility.......................... 25,000,000
Reduction in Callable Capital Appropriations.... 648,000,000
International Organizations and Programs........ 10,000,000
Department of Transportation:
Office of the Secretary, Payments to Air Carriers
(Airport and Airway Trust Fund)................... 815,000
Federal Highway Administration, State Infrastructure
Banks............................................. 6,500,000
Federal Transit Administration, Trust Fund Share of
Transit Program, (Highway Trust Fund)............. 665,000
Federal Transit Programs, Interstate Transfer
Grants--Transit................................... 600,000
United States Information Agency, Buying Power
Maintenance......................................... 20,000,000
Export and Investment Assistance, Export-Import Bank of
the United States................................... 25,000,000
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management,
Management of Lands and Resources................... 6,800,000
Department of Health and Human Services, Health
Resources and Services Administration, Federal
Capital Loan Program for Nursing.................... 2,800,000
Department of Education, Education, Research,
Statistics, and Improvement......................... 6,800,000
Executive Office of the President, Funds Appropriated to
the President, Unanticipated Needs.................. 10,000,000
Comparison With the Budget Resolution
Section 308(a)(1)(A) of the Congressional Budget and
Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344), as
amended, requires that the report accompanying a bill providing
new budget authority contain a statement detailing how that
authority compares with the reports submitted under section 302
of the Act for the most recently agreed to concurrent
resolution on the budget for the fiscal year. This information
follows:
[In millions of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remaining
section 302(a) This bill
allocation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discretionary:
Budget authority.................... 201 -840
Outlays............................. -213 -2
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Five-Year Outlay Projections
In compliance with section 308(a)(1)(B) of the
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
(Public Law 93-344), as amended, the following table contains
five-year projections associated with the budget authority
provided in the accompanying bill:
Millions
Budget Authority........................................ 191
Outlays:
1999................................................ 428
2000................................................ 247
2001................................................ 129
2002................................................ 59
2003 and beyond..................................... 9
Assistance to State and Local Governments
In accordance with section 308(a)(1)(C) of the
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
(Public Law 93-344), as amended, the financial assistance to
State and local governments is as follows:
Millions
Budget Authority........................................ 7
Fiscal year 1999 outlays resulting therefrom............ 10
Constitutional Authority
Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives states that:
Each report of a committee on a bill or joint
resolution of a public character, shall include a
statement citing the specific powers granted to the
Congress in the Constitution to enact the law proposed
by the bill or joint resolution.
The Committee on Appropriations bases its authority to
report this legislation from Clause 7 of Section 9 of Article I
of the Constitution of the United States of America which
states:
No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in
consequence of Appropriations made by law . . .
Appropriations contained in this Act are made pursuant to
this specific power granted by the Constitution.
Compliance With Clause 3 of Rule XIII (Ramseyer Rule)
In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
The accompanying bill would amend Division B, Title I,
Chapter 1 of Public Law 105-277, as follows:
Division B, Title I, Chapter 1, Public Law 105-277
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
* * * * * * *
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
* * * * * * *
Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide
(including transfer of funds)
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide'', [$1,496,600,000] $1,456,600,000, to remain
available for obligation . . .
* * * * * * *
The accompanying bill would amend Title I of the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, as follows:
DIVISION A, SECTION 101(f) (PUBLIC LAW 105-277)
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
* * * * * * *
State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations
For authorized administrative expenses, $162,097,000,
together with not to exceed [$3,132,076,000] $3,111,076,000
(including not to exceed $1,228,000 which may be used for
amortization payments to States which had independent
retirement plans in their State employment service agencies
prior to 1980), which may be expended from the Employment
Security Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund
including the cost of administering section 1201 of the Small
Business Job Protection Act of 1996, section 7(d) of the
Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, section 461 of the Job Training
Partnership Act, the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the
Immigration Act of 1990, and the Immigration and Nationality
Act, as amended, and of which the sums available in the
allocation for activities authorized by title III of the Social
Security Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 502-504), and the sums
available in the allocation for necessary administrative
expenses for carrying out 5 U.S.C. 8501-8523, shall be
available for obligation by the States through December 31,
1999, except that funds used for automation acquisitions shall
be available for obligation by States through September 30,
2001; and of which $162,097,000, together with not to exceed
$746,138,000 of the amount which may be expended from said
trust fund, shall be available for obligation for the period
July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000, to fund activities under
the Act of June 6, 1933, as amended, including the cost of
penalty mail authorized under 39 U.S.C. 3202(a)(1)(E) made
available to States in lieu of allotments for such purpose, and
of which [$180,933,000] $164,933,000 shall be available only to
the extent necessary for additional State allocations to
administer unemployment compensation laws to finance increases
in the number of unemployment insurance claims filed and claims
paid or changes in a State law: Provided, That to the extent
that the Average Weekly Insured Unemployment (AWIU) for fiscal
year 1999 is projected by the Department of Labor to exceed
2,629,000, an additional $28,600,000 shall be available for
obligation for every 100,000 increase in the AWIU level
(including a pro rata amount for any increment less than
100,000) from the Employment Security Administration Account of
the Unemployment Trust Fund: Provided further, That funds
appropriated in this Act which are used to establish a national
one-stop career center network may be obligated in contracts,
grants or agreements with non-State entities: Provided further,
That funds appropriated under this Act for activities
authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, and title
III of the Social Security Act, may be used by the States to
fund integrated Employment Service and Unemployment Insurance
automation efforts, notwithstanding cost allocation principles
prescribed under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Management and Administration
Office of Inspector General
Public Law 105-276 is amended in the paragraph under this
heading as follows:
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector
General in carrying out the Inspector General Act of
1978, as amended $81,910,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2000, of which $22,343,000 shall be
provided from the various funds of the Federal Housing
Administration and $10,000,000 shall be provided from
the amount earmarked for Operation Safe Home in the
``Drug Elimination Grants for Low-Income Housing''
account: Provided, That the Inspector General shall
have independent authority over all personnel issues
within the Office of Inspector General.
The accompanying bill would amend the Omnibus Consolidated
and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999, as
follows:
OMNIBUS CONSOLIDATED AND EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1999
* * * * * * *
DIVISION A--OMNIBUS CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS
* * * * * * *
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE III
RURAL ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Office of the Secretary for Rural Development
* * * * * * *
rural community advancement program
(including transfers of funds)
For the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants,
as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1926, 1926a, 1926c, 1926d, and 1932,
except for sections 381E-H, 381N, and 381O of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2009f), $722,686,000,
to remain available until expended, of which $29,786,000 shall
be for rural community programs described in section 381E(d)(1)
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act; of which
$645,007,000 shall be for the rural utilities programs
described in section 381E(d)(2), 306C, and 306D of such Act[,
as provided in 7U.S.C. 1926(a) and 7 U.S.C. 1926C]; and of
which $47,893,000 shall be for the rural business and cooperative
development programs described in section 381E(d)(3) of such Act:
Provided, That of the amount appropriated for the rural business and
cooperative development programs, not to exceed $500,000 shall be made
available for a grant to a qualified national organization to provide
technical assistance for rural transportation in order to promote
economic development: Provided further, That not to exceed $16,215,000
shall be for technical assistance grants for rural waste systems
pursuant to section 306(a)(14) of such Act; and not to exceed
$5,300,000 shall be for contracting with qualified national
organizations for a circuit rider program to provide technical
assistance for rural water systems: Provided further, That of the total
amount appropriated, not to exceed $33,926,000 shall be available
through June 30, 1999, for empowerment zones and enterprise
communities, as authorized by Public Law 103-66, of which $1,844,000
shall be for rural community programs described in section 381E(d)(1)
of such Act; of which $23,948,000 shall be for the rural utilities
programs described in section 381E(d)(2) of such Act; of which
$8,134,000 shall be for the rural business and cooperative development
programs described in section 381E(d)(3) of such Act.
* * * * * * *
TITLE VII--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 718. Hereafter, none of the funds made available in
[this Act] annual appropriations Acts may be used to provide
assistance to, or to pay the salaries of personnel to carry out
a market promotion/market access program pursuant to section
203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623) that
provides assistance to the United States Mink Export
Development Council or any mink industry trade association.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 747. None of the funds made available by this Act or
any other Act for any fiscal year may be used to carry out
section [302] 203(h) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946
(7 U.S.C. 1622(h)) unless the Secretary of Agriculture inspects
and certifies agricultural processing equipment, and imposes a
fee for the inspection and certification, in a manner that is
similar to the inspection and certification of agricultural
products under that section, as determined by the Secretary:
Provided, That this provision shall not affect the authority of
the Secretary to carry out the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21
U.S.C. 451 et seq.), or the Egg Products Inspection Act (21
U.S.C. 1031 et seq.).
* * * * * * *
Sec. 763. In implementing section 1124 of subtitle C of
title XI of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall:
(a) * * *
(b) transfer to the Secretary of Commerce for obligation
and expenditure (1) $15,000,000 for programs pursuant to title
IX of Public Law 91-304, as amended, of which six percent may
be available for administrative costs; (2) $5,000,000 for the
Trade Adjustment Assistance program as provided by the Trade
Act of 1974, as amended; and (3) $7,000,000 for disaster
research and prevention pursuant to section 402(d) of [Public
Law 94-265] Public Law 104-297; and
* * * * * * *
DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE, JUSTICE, AND STATE, THE JUDICIARY, AND RELATED
AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
* * * * * * *
Legal Activities
Salaries and Expenses, General Legal Activities
For expenses necessary for the legal activities of the
Department of Justice, not otherwise provided for, including
not to exceed $20,000 for expenses of collecting evidence, to
be expended under the direction of, and to be accounted for
solely under the certificate of, the Attorney General; and rent
of private or Government-owned space in the District of
Columbia, $466,840,000; of which not to exceed $10,000,000 for
litigation support contracts shall remain available until
expended: Provided, That of the funds available in this
appropriation, not to exceed $17,834,000 shall remain available
until expended for office automation systems for the legal
divisions covered by this appropriation, and for the United
States Attorneys, the Antitrust Division, and offices funded
through ``Salaries and Expenses'', General Administration:
Provided further, That of the total amount appropriated, not to
exceed $1,000 shall be available to the United States National
Central Bureau, INTERPOL, for official reception and
representation expenses: Provided further, That $813,333 of
funds made available to the Department of Justice in this Act
shall be transferred by the Attorney General to the
Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in the
United States and shall remain available until September 30,
2000: Provided further, That any transfer pursuant to the
previous provision shall be treated as a reprogramming under
section 605 of this Act and shall not be available for
obligation or expenditure except in compliance with the
procedures set forth in that section.
* * * * * * *
TITLE IV--DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND RELATED AGENCIES
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Administration of Foreign Affairs
* * * * * * *
Salaries and Expenses
For expenses necessary for the general administration of
the Department of State and the Foreign Service, provided for
by law, including expenses authorized by section 9 of the Act
of August 31, 1964, as amended (31 U.S.C. 3721), and the State
Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as amended,
$355,000,000: Provided, That, of this amount, $813,333 shall be
transferred to the Presidential Advisory Commission on
Holocaust Assets in the United States and shall remain
available until September 30, 2000.
* * * * * * *
FOREIGN OPERATIONS EXPORT FINANCING, AND RELATED PROGRAMS
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--BILATERAL ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE
Funds Appropriated to the President
Agency for International Development
* * * * * * *
Burma
Of the funds appropriated under the [headings ``Economic
Support Fund'' and] headings ``Child Survival and Disease
Programs Fund'', ``Economic Support Fund,'' and ``Development
Assistance'', not less than $6,500,000 shall be made available
to support democracy activities in Burma, democracy and
humanitarian activities along the Burma-Thailand border, and
for Burmese student groups and other organizations located
outside Burma: Provided, That funds made available for Burma-
related activities under this heading may be made available
notwithstanding any other provision of law: Provided further,
That the provision of such funds shall be made available
subject to the regular notification procedures of the
Committees on Appropriations.
* * * * * * *
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Aid Office of Security
Sec. 587. (a) Establishment of Office.--There shall be
established within the Office of the Administrator of the
Agency for International Development, an Office of Security.
Such Office of Security shall, notwithstanding any other
provision of law except section 207 of the Foreign Service Act
of 1980 and section 103 of Public Law [199-339] 99-399, have
the responsibility for the supervision, direction, and control
of all security activities relating to the programs and
operations of that Agency.
* * * * * * *
Reporting Requirements
Sec. 594. (a) Notification.--No less than 15 days prior to
the export to any country identified pursuant to [subparagraph
(C)] subsection (c) of any lethal defense article or service in
the amount of $14,000,000 or less, the President shall provide
a detailed notification to the Committees on Appropriations and
Foreign Relationsof the Senate and the Committees on
Appropriations and International Relations of the House of
Representatives.
(b) Content of Notification.--A detailed notification
transmitted pursuant to [subparagraph (a)] subsection (a) shall
include the same type and quantity of information required of a
notification submitted pursuant to section 36(b) of the Arms
Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2776(b)).
(c) Countries Defined.--This section shall apply to any
country that is--
(1) identified in section [521 of the annual
appropriations Act for Foreign Operations, Export
Financing, and Related Programs] 520 of this Act, or
comparable provisions in a subsequent appropriations
Act; or
(2) currently ineligible, in whole or in part, under
an annual appropriations Act to receive funds for
International Military Education and Training or under
the Foreign Military Financing Program, excluding high-
income countries as defined pursuant to section 546(b)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
* * * * * * *
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
* * * * * * *
administrative provisions
Appropriations and funds available to the United States
Fish and Wildlife Service shall be available for purchase of
not to exceed 104 passenger motor vehicles, of which 89 are for
replacement only (including 38 for police-type use); repair of
damage to public roads within and adjacent to reservation areas
caused by operations of the Service; options for the purchase
of land at not to exceed $1 for each option; facilities
incident to such public recreational uses on conservation areas
as are consistent with their primary purpose; and the
maintenance and improvement of aquaria, buildings, and other
facilities under the jurisdiction of the Service and to which
the United States has title, and which are used pursuant to law
in connection with management and investigation of fish and
wildlife resources: Provided, That notwithstanding 44 U.S.C.
501, the Service may, under cooperative cost sharing and
partnership arrangements authorized by law, procure printing
services from cooperators in connection with jointly produced
publications for which the cooperators share at least one-half
the cost of printing either in cash or services and the Service
determines the cooperatoris capable of meeting accepted quality
standards: Provided further, That the Service may accept donated
aircraft as replacements for existing aircraft: Provided further, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the
Interior may not spend any of the funds appropriated in this Act for
the purchase of lands or interests in lands to be used in the
establishment of any new unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System
unless the purchase is approved in advance by the House and Senate
Committees on Appropriations in compliance with the reprogramming
procedures contained in Senate Report 105-56: Provided further, That
hereafter the Secretary may sell land and interests in land, other than
surface water rights, acquired in conformance with subsections 206(a)
and 207(c) of the Public Law 101-618, the receipts of which shall be
deposited to the Lahontan Valley and Pyramid Lake Fish and Wildlife
Fund and used exclusively for the purposes of such subsections, without
regard to the limitation on the distribution of benefits in subsection
206(f)(2) of such law: Provided further, That [section 104(c)(50)(B) of
the Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407)] section
104(c)(5)(B) of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (15 U.S.C.
1361-1407) is amended by inserting the words ``until expended'' after
the word ``Secretary'' in the second sentence.
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 354. (a) In General.--To reflect the intent of
Congress set forth in Public Law 98-396, section 4(a)(2) of the
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act [(16 U.S.C.
544(a)(2))] (16 U.S.C. 544b(a)(2)) is amended--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT 1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
* * * * * * *
federal unemployment benefits and allowances
For payments [during the current fiscal year] from October
1, 1998, through September 30, 1999 of trade adjustment benefit
payments and allowances under part I; and for training,
allowances for job search and relocation, and related State
administrative expenses under part II, subchapters B and D,
chapter 2, title II of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended,
$360,700,000, together with such amounts as may be necessary to
be charged to the subsequent appropriation for payments for any
period subsequent to September 15 of the current year.
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
* * * * * * *
Administration for Children and Families
* * * * * * *
children and families services programs
(including rescissions)
For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, the Runaway
and Homeless Youth Act, the Developmental Disabilities
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, the Head Start Act, the
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (including section
105(a)(2) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act), the
Native American Programs Act of 1974, title II of Public Law
95-266 (adoption opportunities), the Adoption and Safe Families
Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-89), the Abandoned Infants
Assistance Act of 1988, part B(1) of title IV and sections 413,
429A, 1110, and 1115 of the Social Security Act; for making
payments under the Community Services Block Grant Act; and for
necessary administrative expenses to carry out said Acts and
titles I, IV, X, XI, XIV, XVI, and XX of the Social Security
Act, the Act of July 5, 1960 (24 U.S.C. ch. 9), the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, title IV of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, section 501 of the Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980, sections 40155, 40211 and 40241 of
Public Law 103-322 and section 126 and titles IV and V of
Public Law 100-485, $6,032,087,000, of which $10,000,000 shall
be used to establish Individual Development Accounts, for the
purpose of encouraging low-income families and individuals to
acquire productive assets, contingent upon enactment of
authorizing legislation, and of which $20,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2000, shall be for grants to
States for adoption incentive payments, as authorized by
section 473A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
670-679); of which $563,565,000 shall be for making payments
under the Community Services Block Grant Act; and of which
$4,660,000,000 shall be for making payments under the Head
Start Act: Provided, That, [notwithstanding section 640(a)(6),
of the funds made available for the Head Start Act,
$337,500,000 shall be set aside for the Head Start Program for
Families with Infants and Toddlers (Early Head Start): Provided
further, That] to the extent Community Services Block Grant
funds are distributed as grant funds by a State to an eligible
entity as provided under the Act, and have not been expended by
such entity, they shall remain with such entity for carryover
into the next fiscal year for expenditure by such entity
consistent with program purposes.
* * * * * * *
Office of the Secretary
general departmental management
For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided, for general
departmental management, including hire of six sedans, and for
carrying out titles III, XVII, and XX of the Public Health
Service Act, and the United States-Mexico Border Health
Commission Act, [$180,051,000] $188,051,000, together with
$5,851,000, to be transferred and expended as authorized by
section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act from the Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund and the Supplemental Medical Insurance
Trust Fund: Provided, That of the funds made available under
this heading for carrying out title XVII of the Public Health
Service Act, $1,000,000 shall be available until expended for
extramural construction: Provided further, That of the funds
made available under this heading for carrying out title XX of
the Public Health Service Act, $10,831,000 shall be for
activities specified under section 2003(b)(2), of which
$9,131,000 shall be for prevention service demonstration grants
under section 510(b)(2) of title V of the Social Security Act,
as amended, without application of the limitation of section
2010(c) of said title XX: Provided further, That $890,000 shall
be for a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to
conduct a study of all the available scientific literature
examining the cause-and-effect relationship between repetitive
tasks in the workplace and musculoskeletal disorders: Provided
further, That said contract shall be awarded not later than
January 1, 1999.
* * * * * * *
public health and social services emergency fund
For expenses necessary to support activities related to
countering potential biological disease and chemical threats to
civilian populations, $216,922,000: Provided, That the entire
amount is hereby designated by Congress to be emergency
requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended:
Provided further, That the entire amount shall be available
only to the extent that an official budget request for
$216,922,000, that includes designation of the entire amount of
the request as an emergency requirement as defined in the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as
amended, is transmitted by the President to the Congress:
Provided further, That of the amount provided under this
heading, $51,000,000, to remain available until expended, shall
be for pharmaceutical and vaccine stockpiling activities at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and $3,000,000
shall be for the renovation and modernization of the Noble Army
Hospital facility at Fort McClellan, Alabama; and [$322,000]
$180,000 shall be in payment to the health department of
Calhoun County, Michigan: Provided further, That no funds shall
be obligated until the Department of Health and Human Services
submits an operating plan to the House and Senate Committees on
Appropriations.
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
* * * * * * *
education reform
For carrying out activities authorized by title III and IV
of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act, and sections 3122, 3132, 3136, and 3141 and
parts B, C, and D of title III of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, $1,314,000,000, of which [$491,000,000]
$459,500,000 for the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and
$125,000,000 for the School-to-Work Opportunities Act shall
become available on July 1, 1999 and remain available through
September 30, 2000, and of which $87,000,000 shall be for
section 3122: Provided, That none of the funds appropriated
under this heading shall be obligated or expended to carry out
section 304(a)(2)(A) of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act,
except that no more than $1,500,000 may be used to carry out
activities under section 314(a)(2) of that Act: Provided
further, That section 315(a)(2) of the Goals 2000 Act shall not
apply: Provided further, That up to one-half of 1 percent of
the amount available under section 3132 shall be set aside for
the outlying areas, to be distributed on the basis of their
relative need as determined by the Secretary in accordance with
the purposes of the program: Provided further, That if any
State educational agency does not apply for a grant under
section 3132, that State's allotment under section 3131 shall
be reserved by the Secretary for grants to local educational
agencies in that State that apply directly to the Secretary
according to the terms and conditions published by the
Secretary in the Federal Register: Provided further, That
$22,000,000 of the funds made available under section 3136
shall be for a competition consistent with the subjects
outlined in the House and Senate reports and the statement of
the managers, and that such competition should be administered
in a manner consistent with the authorizing legislation and
current departmental practices and policies: Provided further,
That $9,850,000 of the funds made available for star schools
shall be for a competition consistent with the language
outlined in House and Senate reports and the statement of the
mangers, and that such competition should be administered in a
manner consistent with current departmental practices and
policies: Provided further, That $8,000,000 shall be awarded to
continue and expand the Iowa Communications Network statewide
fiber optic demonstration project, and $800,000 shall be
awarded to the School of Agriculture and Land Resources
Management at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks to enhance
distance delivery of natural resources management courses;
$350,000 shall be for multi-media classrooms for the rural
education technology center at the Western Montana College in
Dillon, Montana: Provided further, That of the funds made
available for section 3136, $2,500,000 shall be to establish
the RUNet 2000 project at Rutgers, The State University of New
Jersey; $500,000 shall be for state-of-the-art information
technology systems at Mansfield University, Mansfield,
Pennsylvania; $1,000,000 shall be for professional development
for technology training at the Krell Institute, Ames, Iowa;
$850,000 shall be for Internet-based curriculum at the State of
Alaska, Department of Education; $2,000,000 shall be for
``Magnet E-School'' technology training and curriculum
initiative at the Hawaii Department of Education; $600,000
shall be for technology in the classroom pilot program for the
Green Bay Public School System, Green Bay, Wisconsin; $250,000
shall be for the ``Passport to Chicago Community Network''
technology training project; $1,200,000 for LEARN North
Carolina and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;
and $1,500,000 for the Iowa Department of Education for
community college grants to low-income schools for technology.
* * * * * * *
reading excellence
For necessary expenses to carry out the Reading Excellence
Act, $260,000,000, which shall become available on July 1,
1999, and shall remain available through September 30, 2000:
Provided, That up to one percent of the amount appropriated
shall become available October 1, 1998 for peer review of
applications.
* * * * * * *
special education
For carrying out the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, $5,124,146,000, of which $4,879,885,000 shall
become available for obligation on July 1, 1999, and shall
remain available through September 30, 2000; Provided, That
$1,500,000 shall be awarded to The Organizing Committee for The
1999 Special Olympics World Summer Games and $1,500,000 to
remain available until expended, shall be for preparation and
planning and shall be awarded to The Organizing Committee of
The 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games: Provided further,
That $600,000 shall be for the Early Childhood Development
Project of the National Easter Seal Society for the Mississippi
Delta Region, which funds shall be used to provide training,
technical support, services, and equipment to address personnel
and other needs: Provided further, That $1,500,000 shall be for
the recipient of funds provided by Public Law 105-78 under
section 687(b)(2)(G) of the Act to provide information on
diagnosis, intervention, and teaching strategies for children
with disabilities.
* * * * * * *
vocational and adult education
For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, the
Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act
and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act,
$1,539,247,000, of which $1,535,147,000 shall become available
on July 1, 1999 and shall remain available through September
30, 2000: Provided, That of the amounts made available for
title II of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied
Technology Education Act, $13,497,000 shall be used by the
Secretary for national programs under title IV, without regard
to section 451: Provided further, That, of the amounts made
available for the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act,
[$6,000,000] $14,000,000 shall be for national
leadershipactivities under section 243 and $6,000,000 shall be for the
National Institute for Literacy under section 242: Provided further,
That no funds shall be awarded to a State Council under section 112(f)
of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act,
and no State shall be required to operate such a Council: Provided
further, That of the amounts made available for the Perkins Act,
$4,100,000 shall be tribally controlled post-secondary vocational
institutions under section 117.
* * * * * * *
higher education
For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided,
section 121 and titles II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and the Mutual
Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 and Public Law
102-73; $1,307,846,000, of which $13,000,000 for interest
subsidies authorized by section 121 of the Higher Education
Act, shall remain available until expended: Provided, That
$16,723,000 shall be for Youth Offender Grants, of which
$4,723,000, which shall become available on July 1, 1999, and
remain available until September 30, 2000, shall be used in
accordance with section 601 of Public Law 102-73 as that
section was in effect prior to enactment of Public Law 105-220:
Provided further, That funds available for part A, subpart 2 of
title VII of the Higher Education Act shall be available to
fund awards for academic year 1999-2000 for fellowships under
part A, subpart 1 of title VII of said Act, under the terms and
conditions of part A, subpart 1: Provided further, That
$4,800,000, to be available until expended, shall be for Salem
State College in Salem, Massachusetts for activities authorized
under Title III, part A, section 311(c)(2), of the Higher
Education Act of 1965, as amended: Provided further, That of
the funds made available under title VII, part B, $5,000,000
shall be awarded to the St. Petersburg Junior College for a
demonstration of a national method for increasing access to
four year degrees and work force training for students
attending community college; $2,000,000 shall be for the
Technology-Assisted Learning Campus in New Rochelle, New York
for high-tech equipment; $250,000 shall be awarded to the
Center for Urban Research and Learning, Loyola University,
Chicago; $1,150,000 shall be awarded to the Southeast Community
College in Letcher County, Kentucky; $3,000,000 shall be for
the Oregon State University Distance Education Alliance;
$1,000,000 shall be for the Appalachian Center for Economic
Networks in Athens, Ohio; $6,000,000 shall be to establish the
Robert J. Dole Institute for Public Service and Public Policy
on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas;
$1,000,000 shall be for the Oregon Institute of Public Service
and Constitutional Studies at the Mark O. Hatfield School of
Government at Portland State University; $2,150,000 shall be
awarded to the College of Natural Resources, University of
Wisconsin at Stevens Point for technology-enhanced learning;
$1,500,000 shall be for the Touro Law Center in Central Islip,
New York for the use of technology to bridge the gap between
legal education and the actual practice of law; $1,000,000
shall be for the International Center for Educational
Technology andDistance Learning at Empire State College;
$500,000 shall be for the University of Northern Iowa National
Institute of Technology for Inclusive Education; $1,500,000 shall be
for a demonstration project to expand the successful college student
preparation at Prairie View A&M, Texas; $750,000 shall be to identify
and provide models of alcohol and drug abuse prevention and education
in higher education at the college level; $500,000 shall be for a
teacher training program in experiential learning to be awarded to the
Department of Language Teacher Education, School for International
Training, Brattleboro, Vermont; and $1,000,000 shall be for the Paul
Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale, Illinois: Provided further, That $9,500,000 of the funds
made available for title VII, part B shall be for a competition
consistent with the subject areas outlined in the House and Senate
reports and the statement of the managers, and that such competition
should be administered in a manner consistent with current departmental
practices and policies.
* * * * * * *
education research, statistics, and improvement
For carrying out activities authorized by the Educational
Research, Development, Dissemination, and Improvement Act of
1994, including part E; the National Education Statistics Act
of 1994; section 2102 of title II, and parts A, B, I, and K and
section 10601 of title X, and part C of title XIII of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and
title VI of Public Law 103-227, $664,867,000: Provided, That
$25,000,000 shall be available to demonstrate effective
approaches to comprehensive school reform to be allocated and
expended in accordance with the instructions relating to this
activity in the statement of managers on the conference report
accompanying Public Law 105-78 and in the statement of the
managers on the conference report accompanying this Act:
Provided further, That the funds made available for
comprehensive school reform shall become available on July 1,
1999, and remain available through September 30, 2000, and in
carrying out this initiative, the Secretary and the States
shall support only approaches that show the most promise of
enabling children to meet challenging State content standards
and challenging State student performance standards based on
reliable research and effective practices, and include an
emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement: Provided
further, That $16,000,000 of the funds made available for title
X, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, shall
be carried out consistent with the subject areas outlined in
the House and Senate reports and the statement of the managers,
and should be administered in a manner consistent with current
departmental practices and policies: Provided further, That of
the funds appropriated under section 10601 of title X of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended,
$1,000,000 shall be used to conduct a violence prevention
demonstration program: Provided further, That of the funds
appropriated under section 10601 of title X of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, $50,000 shall
be awarded to the Center for Educational Technologies to
conducta feasibility study and initial planning and design of
an effective CD ROM product that would complement the book, We the
People: The Citizen and the Constitution: Provided further, That, in
addition to the $6,000,000 for Title VI of Public Law 103-227 and
notwithstanding the provisions of section 601(c)(1)(C) of that Act,
$1,000,000 shall be available to the Center for Civic Education to
conduct a civic education program with Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland and, consistent with the civics and government
activities authorized in section 601(c)(3) of Public Law 103-227, to
provide civic education assistance to democracies in developing
countries. The term ``developing countries'' shall have the same
meaning as the term ``developing country'' in the Education for the
Deaf Act: Provided further, That of the amount provided for part A of
title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
$2,000,000 shall be for a demonstration of full service community
school sites in Charles County, Maryland, Westchester County, New York,
Cranston, Rhode Island, and Skagit County, Washington; $2,000,000 shall
be awarded to First Book for literacy programs; $1,750,000 shall be
awarded to the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania for teaching of science education using the arts; $350,000
shall be awarded to the School of Education at the University of
Montana and the Montana Board of Crime Control for community-based
initiatives to promote non-violent behavior in schools; $1,000,000
shall be awarded to the NetDay organization to assist schools in
connecting K-12 classrooms to the Internet; $1,000,000 shall be awarded
to the National Museum of Women in the Arts; $1,000,000 shall be
awarded to Youth Friends of Kansas City to improve attendance and
academic performance; $750,000 shall be awarded to the Thornberry
Center for Youth and Families, Kansas City, Missouri to assist at-risk
children; $400,000 shall be for Bay Shore, New York for Literacy
Education and Assessment Partnerships; $1,150,000 shall be awarded to
provide technology assistance and for operation of a math/science
learning center in Perry County, Kentucky; $100,000 shall be for
Presidio School District, Texas for library equipment and materials;
$1,200,000 shall be for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Consortium for
Higher Education; $1,000,000 shall be for the Dowling College Global
Learning Center at the former LaSalle Academy in New York for a master
teacher training and education center; $10,000,000 for continuing a
demonstration of public school facilities repair and construction to
the Iowa Department of Education; and $1,000,000 shall be awarded to
the Hechkscher Museum of Art, Long Island, New York for incorporating
arts into education curriculum: Provided further, That of the amount
provided for part I of title X of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, $500,000 shall be for after school programs for
the Chippewa Falls Area United School System, Wisconsin; $400,000 shall
be for after-school programs for the Wausau School System, Wisconsin;
$350,000 shall be for the New Rochelle School System, New York, after-
school programs; $100,000 shall be for the New York Hall of Science,
Queens, New York, after-school program; $25,000 shall be for Louisville
Central Community Centers Youth Education Program to support after-
school programming; $25,000 shall be for Canaan's Community Development
Corporation in Louisville,Kentucky for the Village Learning Center
after-school program; $300,000 shall be for the Bay Shore Community
Learning Wellness and Fitness Center for Drug Free Lifestyles in Bay
Shore, New York; $2,500,000 shall be for an after school anti-drug
pilot program in the Chicago Public Schools; and $400,000 shall be for
the Green Bay, Wisconsin Public School System after school program:
Provided further, That $10,000,000 of the funds provided for the
national education research institutes shall be allocated
notwithstanding section 931(c)(2)(B) of Public Law 103-227.
* * * * * * *
TITLE V--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
Sec. 510. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
hereafter--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) no funds provided under this Act or subsequent
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts
shall be available for the salary (or any part thereof)
of an employee who is reassigned on a temporary detail
basis to another position in the employing agency or
department or in any other agency or department, unless
the detail is independently approved by the head of the
employing department or agency.
* * * * * * *
TITLE VIII--READING EXCELLENCE ACT
* * * * * * *
SUBTITLE IV--TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
* * * * * * *
SEC. 405. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(e) Other References to Title VII of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.--
[(1) Table of contents.--The table of contents of the
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11421 et seq.) is amended by striking the items
relating to title VII of such Act, except the items
relating to the title heading, and subtitles B and C,
of such title.
[(2) Title VII.--The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act (as amended by section 199(b)(1) of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998) is further amended by
inserting before subtitle B (relating to education for
homeless children and families) the following:
[``SUBTITLE VII--EDUCATION AND TRAINING''.]
``(e) Other References to Title VII of the Stewart B.
McKinney Homeless Assistance Act.--The table of contents of the
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11301 et
seq.) is amended--
``(1) by striking the items relating to title VII of
such Act, except the item relating to the title heading
and the items relating to subtitles B and C of such
title; and
``(2) by striking the item relating to the title
heading for title VII and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
``TITLE VII--EDUCATION AND TRAINING'.''.
* * * * * * *
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1999
* * * * * * *
TITLE I
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
* * * * * * *
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
Operations and Research
(highway trust fund)
For expenses necessary to discharge the functions of the
Secretary, to be derived from the Highway Trust Fund,
$87,400,000 for traffic and highway safety under chapter 301 of
title 49, U.S.C., and part C of subtitle VI of title 49,
U.S.C., of which $58,558,000 shall remain available until
September 30, 2001: Provided, That none of the funds
appropriated by this Act may be obligated or expended to plan,
finalize, or implement any rulemaking to add to section 575.104
of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations any requirement
pertaining to a grading standard that is different from the
three grading standards (treadwear, traction, and temperature
resistance) already in effect: Provided further, That
notwithstanding other funds available in this Act for the
National Advanced Driving Simulator Program, funds under this
heading are available for obligation, as necessary, to continue
this Program through September 30, 1999.
* * * * * * *
DIVISION B--EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
* * * * * * *
TITLE II--ANTITERRORISM
* * * * * * *
CHAPTER 5
* * * * * * *
CAPITOL POLICE BOARD
Security Enhancements
For the Capitol Police Board for security enhancements to
the Capitol complex, including the buildings and grounds of the
Library of Congress, $106,782,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That such security enhancements shall be
carried out in accordance with a plan or plans approved by the
Committee on House Oversight of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives,
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate: Provided
further, That the Capitol Police Board shall transfer to the
Architect of the Capitol such portion of the funds made
available under this heading as the Architect may require for
expenses necessary to provide support for the security
enhancements, subject to the approval of the Committee on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate: Provided further,
That the Capitol Police Board shall transfer to the Librarian
of Congress such portion of the funds made available under this
heading as the Librarian may require for expenses necessary to
provide support for the security enhancements, subject to the
approval of the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate: Provided further, That the entire amount is designated
by the Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985, as amended: Provided further, That for
purposes of carrying out the plan or plans described under this
heading and consistent with the approval of such plan or plans
pursuant to this heading, the Capitol Police Board shall
transfer the portion of the funds made available under this
heading which are to be used for personnel and overtime
increases for the United States Capitol Police to the heading
``Capitol Police Board, Capitol Police, Salaries'' under the
Act making appropriations for the legislative branch for the
fiscal year involved, and shall allocate such portion between
the Sergeant at Arms of the House of Representatives and the
Sergeant at Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate in such amounts
as may be approved by the Committee on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of
the Senate.
* * * * * * *
TITLE V--COUNTER-DRUG ACTIVITIES AND INTERDICTION
CHAPTER 1
Department of Agriculture
agriculture research service
``Agriculture Research Service'', Department of
Agriculture, $23,000,000, to remain available until expended,
for additional counterdrug research and development activities:
Provided, That the entire amount is designated by the Congress
as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985,
as amended: Provided further, That such amounts shall be
available only to the extent an official budget request for a
specific dollar amount that includes designation of the entire
amount of the request as an emergency requirement as defined in
such Act as transmitted by the President to the Congress.
* * * * * * *
----------
SECTION 1706 OF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ACT
SEC. 1706. AUDITS OF THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND.
(a) * * *
(b) Reports.--Not later than [June 30] September 30, 1999,
and annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall prepare and submit to the committees specified in
subsection (a), the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate a report on the financial operations of the Fund during
the preceding year, which shall include--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
----------
SECTION 5595 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE
Sec. 5595. Severance pay
(a) * * *
(b) Under regulations prescribed by the President or such
officer or agency as he may designate, an employee who--
(1) has been employed currently for a continuous
period of at least 12 months; and
(2) is involuntarily separated from the service, not
by removal for cause on charges of misconduct,
delinquency, or inefficiency;
is entitled to be paid severance pay in regular pay periods by
the agency from which separated. However, the Director of the
Administrative Office of the United States may prescribe
regulations to affect the application and operation of this
section to the agencies specified in subsection (a)(1)(E) of
this section. The Architect of the Capitol may prescribe
regulations to effect the application and operation of this
section to the agency specified in subsection (a)(1)(F) of this
section. The Public Printer may prescribe regulations to effect
the application and operation of this section to the agency
specified in subsection [(a)(1)(G)] (a)(1)(C) of this section.
----------
SECTION 3027 OF THE TRANSPORTATION EQUITY ACT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
SEC. 3027. APPORTIONMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FORMULA GRANTS.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Continuation of Operating Assistance to Certain Larger
Urbanized Areas.--
(1) * * *
* * * * * * *
(3) Services for elderly and persons with
disabilities.--In addition to assistance made available
under paragraph (1), the Secretary may provide
assistance under section 5307 of title 49, United
States Code, to a transit provider that operates 20 or
fewer vehicles in an urbanized area with a population
of at least 200,000 to finance the operating costs of
equipment and facilities used by the transit provider
in providing mass transportation services to elderly
and persons with disabilities, provided that such
assistance to all entities shall not exceed $1,000,000
annually.
* * * * * * *
Full Committee Votes
Pursuant to the provisions of clause 3(a)(1)(b) of rule
XIII of the House of Representatives, the results of each roll
call vote on an amendment or on the motion to report, together
with the names of those voting for and those voting against,
are printed below:
rollcall no. 1
Date: March 11, 1999.
Measure: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, FY
1999.
Motion by: Mr. Young of Florida.
Description of motion: To add several appropriations to the
bill, most notably appropriations for direct and guaranteed
farm operating loans, and to add or adjust several rescissions
that totaled $990,480,000. Ms. Kaptur demanded the question be
divided. This vote was on agreeing to everything in the motion
except the rescissions.
Results: Adopted 56 yeas to 0 nays.
Members Voting Yea Members Voting Nay
Mr. Aderholt
Mr. Bonilla
Mr. Boyd
Mr. Callahan
Mr. Clyburn
Mr. Cramer
Mr. Cunningham
Ms. DeLauro
Mr. DeLay
Mr. Dickey
Mr. Dicks
Mr. Dixon
Mr. Edwards
Mrs. Emerson
Mr. Farr
Mr. Forbes
Mr. Frelinghuysen
Mr. Hinchey
Mr. Hobson
Mr. Jackson
Ms. Kaptur
Ms. Kilpatrick
Mr. Kingston
Mr. Knollenberg
Mr. Kolbe
Mr. Latham
Mr. Lewis
Mrs. Lowey
Mrs. Meek
Mr. Miller
Mr. Murtha
Mr. Nethercutt
Mrs. Northup
Mr. Obey
Mr. Olver
Mr. Packard
Mr. Pastor
Ms. Pelosi
Mr. Peterson
Mr. Porter
Mr. Price
Mr. Regula
Mr. Rogers
Ms. Roybal-Allard
Mr. Sabo
Mr. Serrano
Mr. Skeen
Mr. Sununu
Mr. Taylor
Mr. Tiahrt
Mr. Visclosky
Mr. Walsh
Mr. Wamp
Mr. Wicker
Mr. Wolf
Mr. Young
Full Committee Votes
Pursuant to the provisions of clause 3(a)(1)(b) of rule
XIII of the House of Representatives, the results of each roll
call vote on an amendment or on the motion to report, together
with the names of those voting for and those voting against,
are printed below:
rollcall no. 2
Date: March 11, 1999.
Measure: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, FY
1999.
Motion by: Mr. Young of Florida.
Description of Motion: To add several appropriations to the
bill, most notably appropriations for direct and guaranteed
farm operating loans, and to add or adjust several rescissions
that totaled $990,480,000. Ms. Kaptur demanded the question be
divided. This vote was on agreeing to the rescissions included
in the motion.
Results: Adopted 34 yeas to 26 nays.
Members Voting Yea Members Voting Nay
Mr. Aderholt Mr. Boyd
Mr. Bonilla Mr. Clyburn
Mr. Callahan Mr. Cramer
Mr. Cunningham Ms. DeLauro
Mr. DeLay Mr. Dicks
Mr. Dickey Mr. Dixon
Mrs. Emerson Mr. Edwards
Mr. Forbes Mr. Farr
Mr. Frelinghuysen Mr. Hinchey
Ms. Granger Mr. Hoyer
Mr. Hobson Mr. Jackson
Mr. Istook Ms. Kaptur
Mr. Kingston Ms. Kilpatrick
Mr. Knollenberg Mrs. Lowey
Mr. Kolbe Mrs. Meek
Mr. Latham Mr. Moran
Mr. Lewis Mr. Murtha
Mr. Miller Mr. Obey
Mr. Nethercutt Mr. Olver
Mrs. Northup Mr. Pastor
Mr. Packard Ms. Pelosi
Mr. Peterson Mr. Price
Mr. Porter Ms. Roybal-Allard
Mr. Regula Mr. Sabo
Mr. Rogers Mr. Serrano
Mr. Skeen Mr. Visclosky
Mr. Sununu
Mr. Taylor
Mr. Tiahrt
Mr. Walsh
Mr. Wamp
Mr. Wicker
Mr. Wolf
Mr. Young
Full Committee Votes
Pursuant to the provisions of clause 3(a)(1)(b) of rule
XIII of the House of Representatives, the results of each roll
call vote on an amendment or on the motion to report, together
with the names of those voting for and those voting against,
are printed below:
rollcall no. 3
Date: March 11, 1999.
Measure: Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill, FY
1999.
Motion by: Mr. Sabo.
Description of motion: To strike all emergency
appropriation and contingent emergency appropriation
designations from the bill.
Results: Rejected 21 yeas to 34 nays.
Members Voting Yea Members Voting Nay
Mr. Clyburn Mr. Aderholt
Ms. DeLauro Mr. Bonilla
Mr. Edwards Mr. Boyd
Mr. Farr Mr. Callahan
Mr. Hinchey Mr. Cunningham
Mr. Hoyer Mr. Dickey
Mr. Jackson Mrs. Emerson
Ms. Kaptur Mr. Forbes
Ms. Kilpatrick Mr. Frelinghuysen
Mrs. Lowey Ms. Granger
Mrs. Meek Mr. Hobson
Mr. Moran Mr. Istook
Mr. Obey Mr. Kingston
Mr. Olver Mr. Knollenberg
Mr. Pastor Mr. Kolbe
Ms. Pelosi Mr. Latham
Mr. Price Mr. Lewis
Ms. Roybal-Allard Mr. Miller
Mr. Sabo Mr. Murtha
Mr. Serrano Mrs. Northup
Mr. Visclosky Mr. Packard
Mr. Peterson
Mr. Porter
Mr. Regula
Mr. Rogers
Mr. Skeen
Mr. Sununu
Mr. Taylor
Mr. Tiahrt
Mr. Walsh
Mr. Wamp
Mr. Wicker
Mr. Wolf
Mr. Young
Offset Folios 68 to 80 Insert here
DISSENTING VIEWS
The minority members of the Appropriations Committee find
this supplemental very troubling for a number of reasons. It
contains several provisions that were added at the last minute
at the direction of the Republican House leadership, which
threaten both American economic security and our nation's
ability to keep weapons of mass destruction out of the hands of
terrorists. It also demonstrates that the Republican leadership
in the House has decided to continue exercising direct
interference in the decision making process of the House
committee system despite repeated statements to the contrary.
Finally, it raises serious questions as to whether the
Republican leadership is sincere in its stated goal of moving
legislation in a responsible and timely manner.
how a strategy for consensus became another partisan battleground
On Monday, March 1, Chairman Young circulated proposed
legislative language for a relatively small but time sensitive
supplemental appropriations bill. Following consultations with
committee members, House leaders and representatives of the
executive branch, Chairman Young had decided in mid-February to
move only the most pressing of the Administration's requests
for fiscal 1999 supplemental funds. It was expected that his
package would receive broad bipartisan support and could be
passed prior to the Easter recess. It contained $956 million in
assistance to deal with hurricane damage in Central America and
the Caribbean (including $80 million to help the Immigration
and Naturalization Service meet the increased challenges of
illegal immigration brought on by those hurricanes and $10
million for earthquake damage in Columbia) and $100 million to
help support the new Government in Jordan. The funds provided
for Jordan were not considered emergency in nature and were
therefore required to be offset by reductions in spending from
other areas of the budget. The requested disaster relief
funding clearly fell within the emergency spending definitions
of the Budget Act and did not require offsets.
On Tuesday, March 2, House Republican leaders decided that
on further reflection the Young package should include the
President's $154 million request for emergency agricultural
assistance and directed that these funds be offset by cuts in
other parts of the budget.
But the bombshell did not come until Wednesday, March 3rd.
With less than 24 hours left before the scheduled mark-up of
the Young package before the full Appropriations Committee,
House Republican leaders reversed themselves on the issue of
requiring offsets for hurricane disaster assistance. The
leadership decided that while assistance provided to Central
America by the U.S. military would not be required to be
offset, the roughly 75% of the package to reimburse AID and
other non-defense agencies wouldrequire offsets. The prospect
of finding nearly another $800 million in spending cuts halfway through
the fiscal year meant that the committee meeting scheduled for the
following day had to be canceled and that the prospects for quick
action on the supplemental had all but vanished.
The morning on which the committee meeting had been
scheduled, Roll Call Newspaper carried the headline: DeLay
Planning Attack on Supplemental Spending Bill. The story quoted
an aide to Republican Whip Tom DeLay saying, ``DeLay plans to
jump back into the ring and become Clinton's worst nightmare on
Capitol Hill.'' Roll Call continued, ``He started yesterday
with a phone call to Appropriations Chairman Bill Young (R-
Fla.) to inform him that the $1 billion-plus emergency spending
bill for Jordan and hurricane-damaged South American countries
is deal on arrival unless drastic changes are made.''
While the cause of the abrupt change in signals by the
House Republican leaders may or may not be fairly reflected by
this story, the results of that change can be more clearly
documented.
finding offsets
The direction given by Republican leaders to find offsets
for the emergency hurricane relief resulted in several new
rescissions being added to the bill. The first involved
elimination of $648 million in funds appropriated some years
ago to guarantee the solvency of the multilateral development
banks. The second involved elimination of $150 million
appropriated last fall to permit the continued disarming of
Russian nuclear weapons and safe disposition of the highly
enriched uranium and plutonium coming from those weapons. The
majority has argued that neither of these rescissions would
negatively affect U.S. policy. Closer examination has proven
this to be untrue on both counts.
Rescinding a portion of our guarantee to international banks
The majority argued that rescinding the $648 million
appropriated to guarantee the U.S. commitment to the World
Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Inter American
Development Bank in no way reduced the legal or moral
responsibility of the U.S. to meet those commitments. While
that may be true in a strictly legal and technical sense, it is
also true that other member nations and many investors around
the world are increasingly uneasy about the willingness of the
U.S. and particularly, the U.S. Congress to make good on its
legal and moral commitments. These same investors watched the
Congress repeatedly refuse to provide the International
Monetary Fund with a needed infusion of capital through the
depths of the Asian financial crisis and are also aware that
the Congress continues to refuse to provide the funds necessary
to pay off the billion-plus in back debts to the United
Nations.
There are three multilateral development banks (MDBs) for
which the United States has appropriated funds to ensure that
lenders to the banks will be repaid in the event that
substantial portions of the bank's own loans failed to be
repaid. These banks include theWorld Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and the Inter American Development Bank and they are
responsible for sustaining financial stability and growth in precisely
those portions of the world where American markets are being threatened
by lack of confidence in both public and private financial
institutions.
The MDBs collect guarantees for debt repayment (known as
callable capital) from member countries. These guarantees allow
them to sell bonds on world capital markets at close to the
same borrowing costs that the member countries themselves would
have to pay. They are then able to use the proceeds of their
bond sales to make loans in the developing world that would be
otherwise prohibitively expensive to the borrowers. In the 50
years since this system was started, hundreds of billions of
dollars have flowed into developing countries and created new
businesses that have generated the income to repay the loans.
All bonds that have been issued by these institutions have been
repaid on time and no country has ever had to actually pay a
dime of callable capital to any of the MDBs. The world economy
has expanded by at least four fold in that time and the richest
markets for American products have been in these developing
economies.
This system has been highly effective but it is also highly
dependent on trust. The critical link in the system is the
perception by commercial bankers throughout the world (who are
the principal buyers of bonds issued by the MDBs) that bonds
offered by these institutions are almost certain to be repaid.
That certainty is already in some jeopardy. Less than two years
ago Asian Development Bank bonds could be sold with yields of
only three hundredths of a percentage point higher than World
Bank bonds. Perceived difficulties in loan repayment in that
portion of the world have pushed Asian Bank bond yields up to
more than thirty hundredths of a percentage point above World
Bank bonds. Similar concerns are affecting issues by the Inter
American Bank and the World Bank itself. As developing
countries are forced to refinance existing debt at higher and
higher rates their prospects of repayment decline and the whole
system becomes increasingly shaky.
The proposed rescission of American appropriated callable
capital that is contained in this supplemental adds a new
element of uncertainty to the system. The United States has
guaranteed $44 billion in bond issues to these three banks, $12
billion with monies that have actually been appropriated. If
the Congress reduces the appropriated portion of this guarantee
is it an indication that the United States is less willing to
meet its declared obligations? If the steely eyed analysts who
protect the capital of the world's great money center banks
believe that there is even the slightest increase in the
probability that the guarantee on these bonds won't be kept, it
will place significant upward pressure on MDB interest rates
and destabilize currencies and markets in developing countries
around the world. This is precisely why the Secretary of the
Treasury immediately responded to this proposal by informing
the Committee that he would recommend that this entire
supplemental be vetoed, if this provision is included.
This provision should be stricken from the legislation now
before it raises any more questions about either the banks or
this Congress. If the Republican leadership insists on
offsetting the emergency disaster relief, and there is an
alternative cut of $648 millionthat can be made, they should
place that cut before the House now. Otherwise we are either wasting
our time on legislation that is going nowhere or simply voting on a
placeholder which denies the House the opportunity to know what the
real cut will be before this legislation is sent to the Senate.
Rescinding funds for securing weapons grade nuclear material
The committee has argued that while it has no intention of
allowing nuclear materials to get into the wrong hands, none of
the $525 million appropriated for the safe disposition of
fissionable material from Russia in the last Congress could be
spent in the current fiscal year. They have indicated that they
would appropriate the money for next year if there is an
indication that it can be spent. This information has proven to
be flatly in error. The Department of Energy will obligate a
total of $325 million of the funds in this account next week
following the visit to Washington of Russian Foreign Minister,
Yevgeny Primakov. During his visit, Minister Primakov is
scheduled to sign an agreement with the U.S. to ensure the sale
of Russian highly enriched uranium. The pending supplemental
will not be enacted in time to block the signing of that
agreement.
The remaining $200 million in this account is intended to
help finance an agreement to encourage Russia to continue to
dismantle nuclear warheads and to provide for the safe
disposition of plutonium extracted from dismantled Russian
nuclear weapons. Negotiations for that agreement are now
underway and it is hoped that they can be completed by next
fall. It is hard to imagine a single budget reduction that
would be less in the interest of the American people than
removing $150 million of this $200 million from the negotiating
table. Such a move would certainly leave Russian negotiators
with the understandable perception that the Congress may refuse
to provide the funds required by the agreement. Their
willingness to make the necessary concessions to reach
agreement could be significantly curtailed.
It is difficult to find assessments of the political and
security situation in Russia that do not indicate control over
nuclear weapons and the materials from which they are made is
not becoming increasingly problematic. Press accounts indicate
that employees of the installations that house these materials,
including the guards, have in many instances not been paid in
months. At the same time there is every indication that
countries such as Iran and terrorist organizations such as the
Bin Laden group are intensifying efforts to penetrate Russian
security and gain access to such weapons. Russian criminal
organizations may also decide to profit from the opportunity
that these illegal exports offer.
It is absolutely mind boggling to consider why a political
party that wishes to make missile defense a central issue in
the coming year would not want to also do whatever can be done
to keep fissionable materials out of the hands of rogue states
and terrorists. While we should guard against conventional
threats such as air and missile attacks, we should also be
mindful that the most likely threat to the American people at
the current time is through non-conventional means. In either
case, we need to keep nucleartechnology out of the hands of
those who would use it against us whether they intend to deliver it on
the tip of a missile or in the back of a truck.
the cost of another slow response
The original intention of Chairman Young to proceed with a
supplemental bill containing a very limited number of items and
no offsets for the largest position of the bill dealing with
natural disasters was to pass the legislation quickly so that
funds could reach those in need in a timely fashion. The
decision by Republican leaders to demand offsets delayed
Committee action on the measure by one week. Because of the
legislative schedule, it resulted in delaying floor action by
at least two weeks. Because of the scheduled two week
Congressional recess, it will delay a possible conference on
the bill by about a month. In addition, it will in all
probability make agreement between the House and Senate far
more difficult to reach since the Senate is quite likely to
object to many of the House offsets. Finally, even if the
Senate does acquiesce to some of the House offsets, it will
make agreement on a bill that the President will sign far more
difficult.
This is extremely unfortunate given the importance of
timeliness will respect to two major spending items in the
bill. Many American farmers are facing one of the most serious
challenges to their continued existence since the Dust Bowl
days of the 1930s. The collapse in Asian markets has also
brought about a collapse in foreign demand for American farm
products. This coupled with a continued high level of
production has brought about a collapse in commodity prices.
Farmers are not only losing money, they have suddenly found
that bankers are wary of lending when wheat, corn, soybeans and
other commodities are selling at record low prices.
For that reason, the President has requested that the
Congress appropriate $110 million to finance about $1.1 billion
in additional farm loans and loan guarantees needed for spring
planting. The federal farm credit programs act as lenders of
last resort, and natural and economic disasters in farm country
have led to far greater demand for these loans and guarantees
than would normally be expected. As a result, major federal
farm credit programs began running low on lending authority in
December, and four of the six programs have now virtually
exhausted all lending ability. Another is expected to run out
of funds only a few days after Congress returns from its Easter
recess.
The planting season has already begun in some states, and
it is clear that it will be planting time in much of the
country by the time a conference can get to work on this
legislation in April. If things don't go quickly at that point,
Congress could be providing farmers with needed spring planting
funds about the same time the first tomatoes start to turn red
in South Texas.
The hurricane disaster assistance for Central America is no
less time sensitive. The United States is already seeing a
stream of illegal immigrants from Honduras, Nicaragua and other
parts of Central America crossing U.S. borders. But officials
in this administration and in affected countries warn that that
stream could quickly become aflood if assistance efforts are
not significantly expanded before the beginning of the rainy season in
May. The misery brought on by the delaying of a full-scale relief
effort in Central America could easily spill over into communities
across North America.
The prospect of massive numbers of illegal immigrants from
Honduras and Nicaragua would not only have economic and social
impacts, but direct budget impacts as well. The U.S. Supreme
Court has ruled that localities must provide education to the
children of all residents, regardless of immigrant status. The
Urban Institute, based on a study of eight states with the
largest immigrant populations, estimates that 22% of all
illegal immigrants are children who are enrolled in public
schools at an annual cost of well over $4000 per pupil. Illegal
immigrants are also eligible for emergency medical services and
some will run afoul of the law with an average annual cost of
incarceration of $22,000 per inmate.
The failure of the Congress to provide these funds in a
timely manner could also greatly weaken the political stability
of these countries and their recent movement toward democracy.
It will weaken our national influence in the region and reduce
our ability to work cooperatively with those governments for
more effective drug interdiction and more fair and productive
trade relations.
the accounting game
Perhaps the great irony of the strategy which Republican
leaders now pursue with respect to this bill is that it is
supposed to be more responsible from a budget standpoint.
Despite the fact that those who have studied federal budgeting
over the years have come to the conclusion that unanticipated
emergency needs cannot reasonably be offset with spending cuts
once a fiscal year is already underway (Richard Darman,
President Bush's Director of OMB, was the author of the current
rule) some elements of the Republican caucus continue to insist
on this approach supposedly because it will protect the
projected size of government surpluses. But as Congressman Sabo
quite eloquently pointed out in the full committee debate on
this legislation, these offsets have little or no connection to
the surplus. They were in fact selected because they were funds
that had been appropriated but the committee staff expected
that they might never be spent. As a result their rescission
will not reduce outlays and will have no impact on projected
surpluses in this or any future year.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that all of
the new spending authority in this legislation will increase
outlays and reduce the size of the fiscal 1999 surplus by $445
million. The two items added to offset the Central American
hurricane relief will probably reduce outlays by $0.
If the reduction in American appropriated guarantees to the
international banks sparks enough panic that massive defaults
on bank loans take place we could face an equally massive
increase in outlays flowing from our other commitments to those
institutions. But under no circumstance would the rescission of
these funds reduce outlays.
If the committee is to be taken at its word on the funding
for a plutonium agreement (that these funds will be
appropriated as soon as an agreement is reached), there are
only two possibilities. First, if no agreement is reached the
funds will never be used and no outlay will occur. In the
second instance, an agreement will be reached and the committee
will make good on its promise and provide the funds which will
outlay at the same rate whether the money is left in the
treasury or is rescinded.
This fight is really over a shell game--a shell game
created to fool some in the public and perhaps some in the
Majority party who do not understand the intricacies of
government accounting. In the end this shell game offers no
prospect of protecting the surplus but it does offer the
prospect for serious mischief. It could destabilize the already
fragile economies of Asia and Latin America. It could expose
American cities to the threat of nuclear weapons that have
reached the wrong hands because we did not do all that was
necessary to secure Russian plutonium. It already has delayed
funds desperately needed by American farmers and Central
American relief workers to prevent the enormous problems which
they face from growing much worse in the coming weeks and
months.
Dave Obey.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
This first major budget bill of the new 106th Congress is a
major disappointment. Despite the pressing need for expeditious
passage of this vital emergency appropriations package to help
struggling U.S. farmers and our Central American neighbors, the
House has become bogged down by partisanship and phony rhetoric
about budgetary offsets for this emergency assistance.
I fear that this bill reflects the same tired old partisan
policies that haunted the last Congress. Rejecting the
recommendation of our Committee chairman, the majority
leadership insisted on controversial ``offsets'' for this bill
that make dubious political points and will provoke a veto
fight. The predictable delay and needless controversy this will
cause simply adds to the anguish of innocent men, women, and
children in Central America whose homes, schools, and jobs have
been wiped out by hurricanes and earthquake.
The fact is, contrary to the Senate majority leader's
recent assertion that ``there is no engine for this train'' and
that assistance to American farmers and Central American
disaster relief must be delayed for weeks, there is
overwhelming support to provide this relief quickly. If the
Republican congressional leadership would follow its rhetoric
and reach out to the middle, I believe it would find an
overwhelming number of Democrats ready to vote for this aid as
an emergency appropriation.
a budgetary sham
Instead, we have been treated to misleading and plainly
wrong assertions that the spending in this bill must be and is
fully offset to protect Social Security and Medicare. This is a
poorly conceived ruse.
No respectable economist would say that the added outlays
of this emergency bill (equaling about four one-hundredths of
one percent of the expected 10-year surplus) jeopardizes the
viability of the Social Security trust fund. Even so, the
Republican leadership chose to make this argument and used it
to justify some highly questionable program cuts that do not
save much money, but could have far reaching negative effects
on the world economy and on programs to combat nuclear
terrorism.
I would give the Republican leadership some limited credit
for holding to such a rigorous standard if, in fact, they
produced a bill that lived up to their rhetoric. But, in fact,
the bill doesn't come close to meeting the Republicans' own
standard of offsetting new emergency spending.
According to the CBO, this bill as written by the
Republican leadership would spend an additional $445 million
more than it saves in FY 1999. Over the next five fiscal years,
FY 1999-2004, the bill spends a total of $876 million more than
it saves.Over time, this bill will never save as much as it
spends.
CBO Estimates of Spending in This Bill
Millions
FY 1999 additional spending (outlays) $606
FY 1999 spending reductions (outlays) -161
-----------------------------------------------------------------
________________________________________________
Total new spending.......................................... 445
There are two principal reasons for this.
First, no attempt is made to offset $195 million ($64
million in FY 1999 outlays) provided in the bill to reimburse
Defense Department expenses for providing disaster assistance
in Central America. These funds are simply taken out of the
surplus.
While I have no quarrel with the decision to provide
additional funding to reimburse the Defense Department without
offset, it does beg the question why humanitarian assistance
provided by one agency of government should be treated
differently than humanitarian assistance provided by another
agency of government. The one clear message this arbitrary
budget policy sends is to give the administration the clear
incentive to use our military first and often in these kinds of
situations, since that is the only way this Congress seems
willing to meet its responsibility to provide extra emergency
funds.
Secondly, the Republican leadership insisted on inserting a
dangerous provision in this bill that backs away from $648
million worth of binding ``callable capital'' commitments used
to guarantee bonds of the World Bank, the Asian Development
Bank, and the InterAmerican Development Bank. These ``full
faith and credit'' obligations are essentially insurance
reserves for the World Bank and other multilateral institutions
allowing these banks to borrow at highly favorable rates.
Because of this, these banks can cheaply finance billions of
dollars worth of viable economic recovery projects in Asia,
Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere. These projects strengthen
the overall global economy and expand demand for US exports.
The rescission of callable capital could raise the cost of
borrowing for these institutions, thereby slowing down the flow
of capital to regions of the world struggling to recover from
the economic turbulence of the last several years.
Besides being highly questionable economic policy, this
action is nonsensical budget policy. The Congressional Budget
Office acknowledges that, inasmuch as these obligations have
never been ``called'' and no money has really been spent due to
these obligations, the $648 million so-called spending
reduction in this bill will result in no real spending savings.
This $648 million rescission included in the bill is expected
to have no effect whatsoever on the federal budget surplus in
FY 1999 or in the future.
The callable capital rescission represents the very worst
kind of policy in this bill. It risks damaging the world
economy. It purports to pay for other necessary appropriations
when it does not. It is simply perplexing that the majority
party would choose to proceed with this approach.
honesty in rhetoric amendment
There is one real and simple test to prove whether the
majority really believes it has offset the spending in this
bill. If all spending is truly offset, there is no need to
include bill language designating each new appropriation in the
bill an ``emergency'' under the Balanced Budget Act of 1985.
Such a designation exempts an appropriation from the budget
caps, and therefore from any requirement to be offset by other
reductions.
If the majority truly believed the new spending in its bill
is paid for, they should have no trouble eliminating the
``emergency'' designations in the bill. If the new spending in
this bill is not fully offset, then the promises of the
majority to offset funds in this bill to save funding for
Social Security and Medicare have not been met.
I offered an amendment in full committee (Roll Call #3) to
remove this designation. It failed due to opposition from the
majority, although it was never clearly stated why the majority
was so strongly against it.
when should we offset supplemental spending?
The test for this bill should be simple: Are the proposed
expenditures for new loans to American farmers and ranchers,
for Central American disaster recovery, and to support the
Middle East peace process urgent, unforeseen, and essential? If
so, they qualify as emergency appropriations and should be
treated as such. If not, they should be offset.
I believe that we should expeditiously provide emergency
assistance to American farmers and disaster victims in Central
America. However, I cannot support the phony budgetary offsets
contained in this bill. They are doubly harmful because they
have the potential to undermine some of our nation's vital
international goals, and they produce no meaningful budgetary
savings.
Martin O. Sabo.