Dividing Up the Pie: Appropriators Have Their Allocations

Almost every appropriations hearing begins with the chairman explaining that the subcommittee’s ability to produce a bill that will win support on the floor depends on their 302(b) allocation, or the budget that they will have to work with. A good allocation is key to ensuring that program needs can be met.

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have largely determined the allocations. “These numbers represent our best effort to distribute fairly the funding provided to us in the Budget Resolution. With the exception of additional allowances that may be requested for education and defense, it is my intention to report spending bills that adhere to the spending limits proposed by President Bush and ratified by the Congress,”said House Appropriations Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-FL). Senate appropriators have released tentative allocations that they will finalize next week. Here are the numbers the subcommittees have to work with for the overall bills:

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration are funded by the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Bill. The Army Corps of Engineers is also funded under this bill. The tentative Senate allocation would provide a total increase of 6.4% over the current year. The House allocation provides essentially flat funding. Both numbers are higher than the comparable Bush Administration request, which would have reduced funding.

The National Science Foundation and NASA are funded by the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, as are a wide variety of other programs. The tentative Senate allocation would provide an overall increase of 4.8% over this year, the House a 4.5% increase. Both allocations are higher than the increase requested by the administration.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is funded through the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Bill. The Senate number is the most favorable, with a tentative increase of 3.2%, while the House allocation for the entire bill is up 2.4% over the current year. Both allocations are higher than the requested increase.

The Defense Department allocation will change when the Bush Administration finalizes its national defense strategy. At present, the Senate allocation is 3.9% above the current year, although below the administration request. The House allocation of 4.5% is closer to the administration request.

These figures are working numbers that will guide the appropriators as they draft their bills. Changes have usually occurred as final bills are written. The Bush Administration wants Congress to keep the overall level of discretionary spending at the current level plus 4% plus additional defense and perhaps education funding. Depending upon whose projections you believe, Congress may, or may not, have to exceed this limit. Despite attempts to control what Office of Management and Budget Director Mitchell Daniels calls “a pirates’ riot of evasions and gimmickry,” earmarking and designations of “emergency” spending in another bill this week suggest that these temptations will be difficult to resist. Others contend that the 4% limit is artificially low and shortchanges domestic priorities such as science and technology. Meeting these competing needs will take many months of negotiations between a new administration and a divided Congress.