Cutting the Pie -- Appropriations Process Underway
Four and one-half months after President Clinton sent his FY 1998 budget request to Congress the heavy lifting of writing appropriations bills has started. This week, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees set how much money each of their thirteen subcommittees will have to “spend” this year. This cutting of the discretionary spending pie enables appropriators to further divide their slice among programs under their jurisdiction.
When Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) headed an appropriations subcommittee she was fond of saying “I am only as good as my...allocation” -- what people on Capitol Hill call their 602(b). A generous 602(b) allocation provides more leeway in the writing of an appropriations bill. In today’s strict budget climate, Mikulski’s sentiment is probably even more true. As might be expected, the comparable House and Senate allocations differ.
The House subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Department of Energy’s general science program saw their allocation drop by $66 million, which while a small fraction of a comparable $20,026 million for the current year, is still a negative change. This is not the first time this subcommittee’s allocation came in low -- last year then chairman John Myers (R-IN) was so opposed to what he received that his subcommittee very publicly sat on its bill until their 602(b) was increased. The subcommittee has a new chairman this year, Joseph McDade (R-PA), and if he objects to his allocation he is keeping his feelings out of the public’s eye. It should be noted that when his subcommittee received testimony about the Office of Energy Research’s programs earlier this year that he had no questions for witness Martha Krebs. On a positive side, the Senate’s allocation is $1.1 billion more than current spending. This is not unexpected, since DOE has a strong supporter in the Senate with direct input into these decisions -- Pete Domenici (R-NM). Under our Constitution, the House must act first.
The House allocation for the VA, HUD, Independent Agencies Subcommittee rose by 5.4%, while the Senate figure does not appear to increase as much. While moves have been made to blunt the effect of funding the HUD subsidized housing program, the ultimate impact is still to be gauged. This subcommittee, in addition to funding NSF and NASA, also funds veterans programs. Veterans organizations are dissatisfied with the numbers in the recent budget deal between the Congress and President, and are letting their sentiments be known. A recent half-page ad in The Washington Post was headlined “America’s Veterans Are Being Sold Out,” a message sure to be reinforced in coming weeks by constituents. Subcommittee chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) has already said “We will not see real dollar cuts in veterans programs,” something which he can do by shifting around money within his allocation. If the subcommittee’s budget for veterans programs is insufficient, various representatives have already announced their intention to bring amendments to the floor to reallocate money within this appropriations bill. Lewis, and his Senate counterpart, Christopher Bond (R-MO) are supporters of NSF. A House committee mark up has been scheduled next Wednesday.
The House Commerce-Justice-State allocation increased by 5.9%; the Senate increase was less generous. Supporters of the Advanced Technology Program should know that full Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Livingston (R-LA) once again warned that he has the right to cut ATP funding. How the loss of Commerce Under Secretary for Technology Mary Good and NIST Director Arati Prabhakar, two strong ATP supporters, will affect the program is unknown. The subcommittee has not announced a mark up schedule.
The House National Security (defense) subcommittee allocation rose by 2.6%, with the Senate figure increasing by a lesser amount. Defense money is drum head tight, and it will not be known for several weeks how 6.1 (basic research) and 6.2 (applied research) funding fares.
Three of the thirteen appropriations bills are moving this week. It is customary for the House to pass all of its appropriations bills by the end of July, although Congress is behind schedule this year. The dividing up of the discretionary spending pie clears the way for representatives to start making critical budget decisions, no doubt influenced by what their constituents are saying to them.
The telephone number of the U.S. Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121.
