Congress Continues Budget
Discussions
March 21, 2003 - The House of Representatives passed
its FY 2004 budget resolution (H.
Con. Res. 95) in the early hours of March 21 by a vote
of 215-212.
The Senate was expected to approve its version (S.
Con. Res. 23) later the same day. Both chambers defeated
numerous attempts to add funds for various programs including
education, veterans funding, and emergency preparedness.
During the deliberation process, some members of Congress
expressed concern about the impact of the budget. Eleven Republican
moderates sent a letter March 14 to House Speaker Dennis Hastert
(R-Ill.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle (R-Iowa)
opposing the House budget resolution because it "reflects
a significant imbalance between tax cuts and spending for
existing federal mandatory and discretionary programs…."
In response to member concerns, Chairman Nussle prepared
a revised
budget that "eliminates across-the-board savings
that could be attributable to Medicare," according to
a summary of his amendment. While the Medicare spending cuts
appear to have been minimized, the potential for Medicaid
cuts still exist. House Democratic staff report that the amendment
still includes reconciliation instructions that would require
the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees to reduce
mandatory programs within their jurisdiction by $62 billion
and $107 billion respectively in spending. Further, the chairman's
amendment leaves the 2.8 percent cut in discretionary health
funding in FY 2004 unchanged.
The AAMC, along with 21 other hospital and nursing organizations,
March 18 wrote
(PDF, 1 page - 59KB) to every Member of Congress expressing
concern for the "potential of drastic cuts to Medicare
and Medicaid" and urged them to vote no on the budget
resolution. In addition, through letters from the Coalition
for Health Funding and the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research
Funding, the AAMC urged Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion
to increase funding for discretionary health programs.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Lynne Davis Boyle, Assistant Vice President
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
ldavisboyle@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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