House panel clears $91 billion VA-HUD spending bill

The House VA-HUD Appropriations Subcommittee approved a $90.9 billion fiscal 2003 discretionary spending bill Monday for the departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and the space, environmental and science agencies.

The House bill is $500 million below the $91.4 billion bill (S. 2797) approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July, and $2.5 billion below the president's $93.4 billion request. It is $4.5 billion below last year's $95.41 billion bill.

The subcommittee measure gives Veterans Affairs a $2.5 billion boost over last year-$1.1 billion over President Bush's request; continues the drive to nearly double the budget for the National Science Foundation with a $614 million increase over last year's level and $395 million over the administration's request; and raised NASA funding by $398 million to $15.3 billion, or $300 million more than Bush's request.

The subcommittee quickly passed the bill on a voice vote with little discussion. Chairman James Walsh, R-N.Y., asked members to hold amendments until the full committee markup, which is scheduled for Wednesday. "We need to work our way forward playing the hand we're dealt," he said.

But Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the full committee's ranking Democrat, warned that the spending bill would face rough ride later. "This was an unrealistic budget resolution and unrealistic subcommittee allocation," he said. The bill includes "wildly unrealistic assumptions," such as the zero funding of the national service program, AmeriCorps. "We know that can't survive," Obey said.

More than 250,000 people have served since 1994 in AmeriCorps, which provides assistance to nonprofits and public agencies in education, the environment and health. AmeriCorps has seen a 90 percent increase in applications since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Walsh pledged he would fight for AmeriCorps and another service program, Learn and Serve America, in the conference with the Senate. He said he was holding back funding for AmeriCorps to "prevent mischief on the floor" by members raiding the program. The House has failed to fund the program every year since 1999.

The Senate bill includes $515 million for AmeriCorps. Learn and Serve America and other service programs, an increase of $115 million over fiscal 2002. Bush requested funding for an additional 25,000 AmeriCorps volunteers.

The House subcommittee's bill provides the National Science Foundation with its largest budget ever, $5.4 billion-a $614 million increase over fiscal 2002 and $395 million over the president's request. "This is a remarkable increase considering that we are not under congressional mandate to double it," Walsh said. The Senate appropriations bill calls for slightly smaller NSF budget, $5.3 billion.

The subcommittee dedicated $16.6 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Certificate Fund, a $946 million increase over fiscal 2002. The amount ensures that current Section 8 recipients continue to receive assistance, and allows public housing authorities to increase the numbers of families they can help.

Overall, the subcommittee funds HUD at $36.1 billion, a $1.8 billion increase in total program spending and a net appropriations increase of $1.2 billion. The Home Investments Partnerships is funded at $2.2 billion, $375 million over fiscal 2002.

Other highlights of the bill:

• $8.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, $538 million above the president's request and $126 million over fiscal 2002.
• The Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which helps finance improvements to water treatment systems, get $850 million, or $25 million more than last year and the budget request. And the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which pays for improved sewage treatment, are funded at $1.3 billion, which is also $25 million more than fiscal 2002 and Bush's request.
• $450 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an increase of $90 million over fiscal 2002.