NASA faces cuts as VA's emergency designation struck

Bowing to GOP Conference criticism and resistance from House Budget Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, House GOP leaders have directed House Appropriations Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., to strike the emergency designation from spending on veterans' medical care, and to remove the money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster fund altogether, at Friday's markup of the VA-HUD spending bill.

But they decided to retain the designation for the 2000 census in the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill.

As reported out of subcommittee, the $35.8 billion Commerce- Justice-State spending bill included $4.5 billion in emergency spending for the census, and the VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee's $70.5 billion bill designated as emergency spending $3 billion for veterans' health care and $2.5 billion to replenish the FEMA disaster relief fund.

Under budget law, emergency spending does not count against the budget caps, and with the fiscal 2000 cap otherwise requiring steep funding cuts, the leadership and appropriators are using whatever accounting devices they can to fund bills under the caps.

But many Republicans have balked at such liberal use of the emergency designation.

Deleting the $2.5 billion for the FEMA disaster fund will almost offset the cost of removing the emergency designation from the $3 billion for veterans' health care; GOP sources said the budget savings to make up the difference will come from the Labor-HHS spending bill, which will not be marked up until September.

One Democratic source slammed the tactic, saying that "by stealing from the Labor-HHS bill, they are spending even more of the Social Security surplus and turning the lockbox they are so proud of into a Republican lie."

The Senate's Commerce-Justice-State appropriations bill does not consider the 2000 census funding emergency, but Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has said he will defer to the House in conference.

"I don't have any problem with it either way. It's irrelevant what you call it," Stevens said. "I don't care how you deal with it as long as you're dealing with the on-budget surplus."

In the VA-HUD bill, Young said he will retain the controversial $1.4 billion cut to NASA's budget, and predicted the bill will pass with the cut.

Despite his own support for NASA, Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif., said he backs Young.

Cunningham, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said, "When you take a look at what it's vying against in that bill, the choices are very hard, and I look forward to reinvesting in NASA later."