Senate Committee Approves
FY 2005 Budget Resolution
March 5, 2004 - The Senate Budget Committee March
4 approved its version of the FY 2005 budget resolution. The
Committee Chairman's
mark of the resolution caps FY 2005 discretionary spending
at $814 billion (3.3 percent increase over FY 2004) - less
than the $823 billion proposed by the Administration - and
sets forth a plan to cut the deficit in half by 2007. The
cap is consistent with the spending limits included in the
FY 2004 budget resolution. It assumes $144 billion in tax
cuts over five years, but provides specific reconciliation
instructions for $80.6 billion in cuts over five years.
The resolution includes $53.4 billion in budget authority
(an increase of $1.6 billion over last year) and $48.7 billion
in outlays (a $0.6 billion decrease below FY 2004) for Function
550 (Health) discretionary spending. This assumes a program
level of $27.8 billion for the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), an increase of $764 million (2.7) percent, including
$1.7 billion for biodefense, an increase of $121 million (7.4
percent).
The Chairman's mark also includes a reserve fund of $5.0
billion through 2009 to facilitate Higher Education Reauthorization.
These funds may be used for benefits such as increasing student
loan limits, reducing borrower origination fees, or maintaining
the existing variable rate interest structure for Stafford
loans after 2006.
The resolution also includes a reserve fund for the uninsured.
However, the reserve fund must be deficit neutral in FYs 2005
through 2009. Specifically, the reserve fund is designated
for legislation that provides "health insurance or expands
access to care for the uninsured (including a measure providing
for tax deductions for the purchase of health insurance or
other measures), increases access to health insurance through
lowering costs, and does not increase the costs of current
health insurance coverage."
Also specified in the resolution is $29.1 billion for veterans'
medical care, an increase of $1.4 billion (5 percent) over
FY 2004.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Director
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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