Supplemental bill contains less than requested for Gulf Coast

The House Appropriations Committee would fund post-hurricane Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts at $19 billion, as part of its $91 billion total fiscal 2006 supplemental package scheduled for a Wednesday markup.

That is a $713 million decrease from President Bush's $19.8 billion request, and it comes on top of $87 billion already appropriated. The major reductions come in shipbuilding, repairs to military facilities and housing vouchers, while the Coast Guard would see a slight increase.

The administration requested no funding for NASA, but appropriators included $30 million to repair the agency's damaged facilities, as well as $20 million the White House did not request to clean up national forests.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund would receive the full $9.4 billion in the request, replenishing funds that were rescinded to help pay for $29 billion in hurricane aid approved late last year.

The Army Corps of Engineers is in line for the full $1.36 billion request to rebuild New Orleans levees, but with one major condition: The funding must be authorized by the committees with jurisdiction. Community Development Block Grants administered by HUD would be fully funded at $4.2 billion but would not be earmarked for Louisiana, as in the Bush request.

According to the report accompanying the bill, the funding would be available for "any declared disaster area related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma." Texas lawmakers had been chafing that none of the funds were designated for their state.

The bill does not provide $202 million for HUD housing vouchers, requested by the White House for 44,000 families that were in assisted housing or homeless before the storms hit. The Small Business Administration is fully funded at $1.3 billion, although the report notes concern with "dramatic fluctuations" in funding estimates needed to support disaster loans, culminating with an embarrassing shortfall revealed just before the Presidents Day recess that required an emergency cash infusion from Congress.

The bill directs SBA to cut its loan application backlog in half within 45 days of enactment.

The bill cuts $250 million from the Bush request for repairs to Gulf Coast shipyards, to $775.2 million. The report notes that $1.7 billion is available, included in the fiscal 2006 Defense spending bill that contained the $29 billion hurricane relief package.

"While acknowledging the substantial impact to Navy programs from these hurricanes, the committee believes the total budgetary resources are far from clear at this time" and that private insurance claims have not yet been resolved, the report states.

Pentagon facility repair funding would be cut by $320.3 million, eliminating funds for Navy and Air Force base exchanges at Gulfport and Keesler facilities in Mississippi and construction of two Army National Guard facilities at Louisiana's Jackson Barracks. The bill would provide $550 million for construction of a new VA hospital in New Orleans, a $50 million cut from the request.