GOP Leaders, White House
Reach Agreement on Added FY 2004 Spending
June 13, 2003 - Republican congressional leaders and
the Administration have agreed to a plan that will add $5.2
billion to the amount available for FY 2004 appropriations.
The agreement breaks an impasse that had prevented the appropriations
subcommittees from beginning work on the FY 2004 spending
bills.
As a result of the budget deal, House Appropriations Committee
Chair Bill Young (R-Fla.) June 11 released proposed funding
allocations for each of the 13 House Appropriations subcommittees.
The allocations - also known as 302(b) allocations - still
must be approved by the full Appropriations Committee.
Under the chairman's allocations, the Labor-HHS-Education
subcommittee would receive $138 billion, an increase of $3.7
billion over the FY 2003 level but only $56 million above
what President Bush requested for FY 2004. The VA-HUD-Independent
Agencies subcommittee would get $90 billion, an increase of
$ 3 billion over the current year and $600 million more than
the President's request.
In a press statement accompanying the release of the allocations,
Chairman Young stated, "This agreement limits the growth
of discretionary spending to 3% and will facilitate the orderly
consideration of individual bills in Committee and through
the House. It is my hope to pass thirteen bills in the House
before the August break. " The House Labor-HHS-Education
subcommittee is tentatively scheduled to mark up its bill
June 19.
Chairman Young's announcement came a few hours after he and
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
reached agreement with Vice President Cheney to free up $5.2
billion in additional funding for FY 2004. Under the budget
resolution that Congress approved in April, discretionary
spending in FY 2004 is limited to $784.7 billion, an amount
that was $2.2 billion less than the President's budget request
and at least $5 billion below what is needed to meet all of
the assumptions in the budget resolution.
The budget deal reached by the appropriators and the White
House calls for $3 billion to be shifted from the FY 2003
wartime supplemental into FY 2004. In addition, $2.2 billion
in advance appropriations in the Labor-HHS bill were re-allocated
from FY 2004 to FY 2003. Together, these two maneuvers add
$5.2 billion to be divided among the appropriations subcommittees
in FY 2004.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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