8:38 PM 03 Aug 1998
| from: |
Kate P. |
| to: |
RUDMAN_M, Elena Kagan, G. E., Jeffrey M., John, Joshua, Kathleen A., Kerri A., Lisa M., Martha, Paul J. Weinstein Jr., Rahm I. Emanuel, Ron, Sally, Todd, Wesley P., William P. |
| cc: |
FARRAR_J, Charles, Charles R. Marr, Elizabeth, Emil E., Jessica L., Jill M. Blickstein, Jonathan H., Kevin S., Laura, Lisa zweig, Melissa G., Michelle, ow, Paul J. Weinstein, Peter A., Robert L., Rosemary, Shannon, Victoria A. |
House Rules is expected to meet Tuesday at 2:30pm on the
Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill. please note that we do not aim
to provide a "road map" to the Administration's priorities listed under
the Education section. Tomorrow morning, we will re-order the programs in
"bill order." If you have a problem with this ordering - please let me
know immediately. Otherwise, we will proceed with that route. Please
review the draft SAP and provide comments/clearance by 11am Tuesday.
Thanks.
H.R. 4274 -- DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, FY 1999
(Sponsors: Livingston (R), Louisiana; Porter (R), Illinois)
This Statement of Administration Policy provides the
AdministrationD,s views on H.R. 4274, the Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1999, as
reported by the House Appropriations Committee. 'Your consideration of the
AdministrationD,s views would be appreciated.
Due to the very serious funding and language issues present in the
Committee bill, discussed below, the President would veto the bill in its
current form.
The only way to achieve the appropriate investment level for
programs funded by this bill is to offset discretionary spending by using
savings in other areas. The PresidentD,s FY 1999 Budget proposes levels
of discretionary spending for FY 1999 that conform to the Bipartisan
Budget Agreement by making savings through user fees and certain mandatory
programs to help finance this spending. In the Transportation Equity Act,
Congress -- on a broad, bipartisan basis -- took similar action in
approving funding for surface transportation programs paid for with
mandatory offsets. We want to work with the Congress on
mutually-agreeable mandatory and other offsets that could be used to
increase funding for high-priority discretionary programs, including those
funded by this bill. In addition, we hope that the House will reduce
funding for lower priority discretionary programs and redirect funding to
programs of higher priority.
Department of Education
The Committee bill cuts $2 billion from the PresidentD,s overall
request for education program funding. As a result, the bill does not
adequately support the Nation's efforts to raise student achievement, make
schools safe, and improve the capabilities of teachers. High priority
programs inadequately funded include:
Goals 2000. Funding for Goals 2000 is cut $255 million below the
President's request, which would reverse momentum in all 50 States to
raise academic standards and deny 6,000 schools serving over three million
students the funds needed to implement innovative education reforms.
Title I (Education for the Disadvantaged) Grants to Local Educational
Agencies. The Committee bill cuts $392 million from the request, which
would leave nearly 520,000 students in high-poverty communities without
the extra help they need to master the basics and develop the capability
to reach high academic standards.
Eisenhower Professional Development. The CommitteeD,s $50 million
L"eduction would leave over 100,000 teachers without the training they need
to help them teach to rigorous academic standards.
America Reads. America Reads is denied the $210 million provided in last
year's Bipartisan Budget Agreement for children's literacy, which would
prevent thousands of young children from receiving the extra help they
need to learn to read well and independently by the end of the third grade.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. The CommitteeD,s $50 million
reduction would deny funding for School Coordinators in nearly one-half of
the Nation's middle schools needed to implement effective drug and
violence prevention programs.
After School programs (21st Century Community Learning Centers). A $140
million cut to this program, part of the PresidentD,s child care
initiative, would result in 3,000 fewer centers and no services to nearly
400,000 children.
Education Opportunity Zones. The Committee bill does not provide the
requested $200 million, which would deny high-poverty urban and rural
districts the extra assistance they need to implement effective reforms
with tough accountability for performance.
Technology in Education. The CommitteeD,s $137 million reduction from
the request would make it increasingly difficult for States to meet school
children's education technology needs, especially in training teachers to
integrate educational technology into their curriculum effectively.
School-to-Work. Schoo1-to-Work is cut by a total of $100 million
(between the Departments of Education and Labor) below the President's
$250 million request, which would seriously hamper all States' efforts to
help young people of all backgrounds move from high school to careers or
postsecondary training and education.
Bilingual Education. The Committee has cut by $25 million the
PresidentD,s plan for training teachers to help limited-English proficient
children.
Work-Study. Roughly 57,000 needy students would be denied the
opportunity to work to finance their college education because of the
CommitteeD,s $50 million reduction.
Higher Education Initiatives. No funds are provided for three
Presidential initiatives for which the President has requested $237
million: High Hopes, to help prepare students at high poverty middle
schools for college; Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnership grants for
pilot projects using distance learning technology; and, teacher
recruitment and preparation programs.
Civil Rights Enforcement. Ensuring that civil rights laws and
regulations are adequately enforced is a fundamental responsibility of
government. The Committee fails to provide the increase of $6.5 million
(for a total of $68 million) requested by the Office for Civil Rights in
the Education Department and reduced by $2.4 million the request for $67.8
million for the Labor DepartmentD,s Office of Federal Contract
Compliance. Both activities should be restored to the full requests.
In addition to inadequate funding for priority education programs,
the Administration is concerned with several language provisions of the
Committee bill that would severely restrict the AdministrationO,s ability
to continue the development of programs designed to raise academic
standards.
National Tests. The Administration strongly objects to the language
limitation and $15 million funding cut that would bring a halt to the
President's efforts to help States and parents raise academic standards
through a voluntary national test. The Committee billO,s language would
prohibit the development, implementation, and administration of the tests
unless explicitly authorized. The language prohibition should be deleted
and the funding restored.
unfocused Block Grants. The Administration strongly objects to language
that would, .in effect, turn the Goals 2000 and the Eisenhower Professional
Development programs into block grants by allowing those funds to be used
under the broad Title VI block grant authority. Title VI has no
performance or accountability standards. The language should be deleted
so that these Federal funds can address national needs and continue to be
guided by strong accountability measures.
Special Education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -- IDEA).
The bill contains two objectionable IDEA riders. One would undermine the
due process protections and parental rights for disabled students who are
regarded as violent. The other would, in effect, allow States to
discontinue special education services for youth ages 18 to 21 in adult
prisons, violating the principle that all disabled youth ages three to 21
have a right to a free, appropriate public education and undermining the
Department of EducationO,s ability to enforce the Individuals with Disabili
ties Education Act. Both provisions would unnecessarily re-open IDEA
before last year's bipartisan reauthorization has had a chance to be
implemented and fairly assessed. Both provisions should be stricken.
Bilingual Education. While we agree with the Committee on the need for
some reforms to Bilingual Education, we are opposed to any provision that
would set an absolute limit on student participation in bilingual
education or
alternative programs. Such a step would deny help to students who need it
and
violate the civil rights of Limited English Proficient students to an
equal
education. Because of individual differences, students will vary in how
long it
takes to develop English proficiency. We are also opposed to provisions
that
would establish a two-year goal for becoming proficient in English, since
research has shown that this timetable is unrealistically short.
Internet Access in Schools and Libraries. The bill contains
objectionable language that would deny Federal funds to schools and
libraries that have not installed software on their computers to block
Internet access to indecent materials to minors. While the Administration
strongly supports efforts to ensure that schools and libraries protect
minors from indecent materials, it objects to such overly prescriptive
language. Most local education agencies have already developed their own
acceptable-use policies, many of which are not based on software.
Instead, the Administration favors less burdensome and restrictive
language that would require that schools and libraries develop their own
acceptable-use plans at the local level and certify their implementation.
Department of Labor
S~~mer Jobs Program. The Administration strongly opposes the
CorrunitteeD, s elimination of the $871 million Surruner Jobs progra.m, which
could finance 530,000 surruner jobs for economically disadvantaged youth.
The unemployment rate for teens continues to far exceed the overall
unemployment rate. The Surruner Jobs program plays a vital role in
supporting employment among these teens, especially among African-American
youths -- approximately 25 percent of surruner jobs held by African-American
14-15 year olds come through this program -- and serves as a valuable
introduction to the world of work. We urge the House to restore the full
request for this program.
PresidentD,s Youth Opportunity Areas Initiative. The Corrunittee provides
no funding for the PresidentD,s Youth Opportunity Areas initiative and
rescinds the $250 million appropriated last year for this program. This
program would address the problem of pervasive joblessness in high-poverty
neighborhoods by making large investments in these areas to effect
corrununity-wide change and help 50,000 out-of-school youth. We strongly
oppose elimination
of this program, which is an essential component of the AdministrationD,s
Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Corrununities initiative. We urge the House to
provide full funding as requested.
The Administration has strong concerns with the inadequate funding
levels provided for the following Labor programs:
Adult Job Training. The Corrunittee has provided none of the requested
increases for the Dislocated Worker ($100 million) and low-income adult
($45 million) job training programs. Freezing these programs would mean
that some 67,000 fewer workers in need of assistance would be helped.
Worker Protection. The Corrunittee has cut nearly in half the requested
increase for programs that protect our workers on the job. For example,
the Corrunittee mark for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) redirects resources to State consultation and is nine-percent below
the requested level for Federal enforcement, while funding for the Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is frozen at the 1998 level and
virtually no funding is provided for implementing the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. We urge the House to restore
financing for such critical workplace protection programs.
Unemployment Insurance. The House Corrunittee mark does not fund the $90
million requested for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) integrity
initiative. This initiative was authorized in the Balanced Budget Act of
1997 and would, over five years, achieve $763 million in mandatory savings
assumed in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement. Failure to fund this
initiative would mean a continuation of errors in benefit payments and UI
taxes.
Child Labor. The $3 million increase to combat international child labor
abuses is inadequate in light of the magnitude of the problem, and
provides only a small fraction of the $27 million requested.
The Corrunittee bill contains several objectionable language riders
addressing regulatory issues in the Department of Labor. These include
language imposing new, unnecessary, and burdensome review procedures
before the Department can issue Black Lung regulations, a new requirement
for OSHA to conduct duplicative peer review panels for its new
regulations, and a continuation of the rider that prohibits MSHA from
enforcing training requirements at certain mines, which have a growing
numbers of deaths. These riders would make it more difficult for the
Department of Lahor to carry out its programs and should be dropped.
The Administration objects to the continuation of last year's
rider that prohibits the use of funds for supervising the Teamster's
election, despite a court order requiring the Federal Government to pay
for a supervised election.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Administration appreciates the CommitteeD,s efforts to provide
much needed funding for important programs crucial to the healthy lives of
all Americans. Unfortunately, the Committee has not provided adequate
funding for several important programs of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS). In addition, the Committee bill contains several
language provisions that are troubling to the Administration.
Abortion. The Administration urges the House to strike sections 508 and
509 of the Committee bill, which would prohibit the use of funds for
abortion. The President believes that abortion should be safe, legal, and
rare. These provisions would continue to limit the range of conditions
under which a woman's health would permit access to abortion services.
Furthermore, section 509 requires a physician to make a legal
determination that these conditions have been met. The Administration
proposes to work with the Congress to address the issue of abortion
funding.
Head Start. The Committee funds Head Start at $4.5 billion, $160 million
below the President's request -- denying slots to up to 25,000 low-income
children in FY 1999 and undermining efforts to serve one million children
by the year 2002. Head Start has a track record of success in readying
disadvantaged children for school, supporting working families by helping
parents to get involved in their children's lives and providing services
to the entire family. We urge the House to restore Head Start funding to
the President's requested level.
Child Care. The Administration urges the House to provide the additional
$174 million requested for a child care initiative that will improve the
availability of affordable, quality child care for working parents. This
initiative would provide States with resources to enhance child care
health and safety standards enforcement, give child care workers
scholarships to improve their skills, and increase our commitment to
understand better and evaluate how our NationO,s child care system is
working. Likewise, we ask that the Committee restore funds to the
President's requested level for a $5 million program designed to assist
States in developing support systems for families of children with
disabil i ties.
Organ Donation. The Administration strongly opposes two provisions of
the Committee bill that would suspend two HHS rules pertaining to organ
donation: a HCFA rule that seeks to expand the number of organs available
for donation through more vigorous procurement efforts; and, a Health
Resources and Services Administration rule that would require the national
organ transplant network to develop policies that would allocate organs
based on patientsD, medical need, not their geographic location.
Other troublesome HHS-related funding and language issues, with
which the Administration has serious concerns, include the following:
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The Committee mark eliminates
funding for data collection activities of the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, including the National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse, which is our single best source of information on youth drug us
e and youth smoking and is important for evaluating the impact of
substance abuse prevention, treatment, and enforcement efforts.
Family Planning. The Committee bill requires family planning grantees
either to receive written parental consent'or provide advance notification
to parents before giving contraceptives to minors. Mandating parental
consent could discourage sexually active minors from seeking health care
and reproductive counseling services and thus lead to more unintended
pregnancies, more abortions and more sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV, among our nation's youth. [Need to discuss.]
Needle Exchange. The Committee includes a total ban on the use of funds
appropriated in this Act for needle exchange programs rather than making
the use of funds for such programs conditional upon the certification of
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Although the Committee has
fully funded the President's program level request for HCFA Program
Management (with the exception of the Medicare+Choice information
campaign), no action has been taken on the $265 million in new
discretionary HCFA user fees. We urge the House to enact the PresidentO,s
requested user fees to finance HCFA activities and to ensure that
sufficient resources remain available for education and other priorities.
Bio-Terrorism. The Administration urges the House to provide the full
$111 million requested to improve HHSO, ability to respond to attacks of
biological and chemical terrorism.
Health Disparities. The Committee has failed to include $30 million
requested for demonstration projects to address racial and ethnic health
disparities in infant mortality, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and
stroke, HIV/AIDS, and immunizations.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Committee would
eliminate funding for LIHEAP. Over 36 percent of LIHEAP households have
elderly residents, 32 percent have disabled residents, 27 percent have
children under the age of six, and 27 percent are the working poor who do
not receive any other public assistance. The Administration urges the
House to restore funds to the President's requested level.
Foster Care and Adoption Assistance. The Committee bill fails to provide
the Administration's request for a $200 million contingency reserve. This
language is critical to ensure grant awards should the definite
appropriations be insufficient for authorized eligible expenditures in
either Foster Care or Adoption Assistance. The House should restore
funding to the requested level of $200 million, or approximately four
percent of total program costs.
Office of AIDS Research. The Committee bill does not appropriate a
specific amount for AIDS research through a single appropriation for the
National Institutes of Health's (NIHO,s) Office of AIDS Research. The
single appropriation would help NIH plan and target research funds
effectively, minimizing duplication and inefficiencies across the 21
institutes and centers that carry out HIV/AIDS research.
Prevention Research. The Committee has provided only $10 million of the
$25 million requested for the Centers for Disease Control to expand
research in ways to prevent disease and reduce the need for medical care.
Medicaid Drug Coverage. The Committee bill would prohibit HCFA [rom
paying for a specific pharmaceutical agent under Medicaid except for
post-surgical treatment. We oppose the use of the appropriations process
to make selective coverage determinations and judgments regarding how best
to treat specific medical problems. Further, the provision is unnecessary
because the Secretary already has authority to limit coverage for
pharmaceutical agents if prescribed inappropriately, and States already
have broad latitude to limit the use of drugs under Federal law through
drug utilization review and prior authorization programs.
Social Services Block Grant. The Administration opposes a provision that
would restrict State authority to transfer Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families (TANF) funds to SSBG in FY 1999 up to the amounts transferred by
individual States in FY 1998. Enacting such a provision so late in FY1998
would inequitably limit State flexibility for the future.
General Departmental Management. A provision of the bill would require
that HHS' Office of the Secretary contract with the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) for an $890,000 study on repetitive tasks in the
workplace. This provision duplicates current NIH efforts with NAS in this
area.
Social Security Administration
The Committee bill does not provide $19 million for administrative
expenses, contingent on the authorization of a user fee for services
provided by the Social Security Administration to attorneys who represent
claimants for benefits. These services include withholding money from
certain past due benefits and issuing payments to certain claimant
representatives. The Administration continues to support enactment of
this user fee and appropriation of the anticipated collections for
administrative expenses.
In addition, the Committee bill does not provide $50 million for
administrative expenses for the conduct of additional non-disability
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) redeterminations of eligibility. These
resources and the resulting redeterminations are essential to ensuring the
integrity of the SSI program and reducing unnecessary benefit payments.
Failure to provide this funding would result in serious staffing
shortfalls.
Other Issues
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Committee provides funding
for the NLRB at the FY 1997 level. This would result in a loss of over
100 staff, an increase in case backlogs, and could result in furloughs and
office closings. This reduction would cripple an agency key to protecting
workersO, rights on the job, and we urge the House to restore the NLRB to
the requested level.
Section 516 amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the NLRB to
adjust its dollar jurisdictional standards for inflation on October 1,
1998, and every five years thereafter. This change would deny workers in
some small businesses the protection afforded to others to organize and
bargain collectively. This change to substantive law raising the
jurisdictional thresholds more than five-fold should not be done through
the appropriations process, but only after hearings and debate.
Corporation for National and Community Service. The Administration is
deeply concerned about the CommitteeO,s $27 million reduction to the
request for the Corporation for National and Community Service. This
reduction freezes the CorporationO,s Senior Service program at the FY 1998
level and cuts VISTA $5 million below FY 1998. These reductions would
deny more than 500 VISTA members the opportunity to serve in low-income
communities Nation-wide and would reduce the number of seniors serving
their communities by 15,000. The Administration urges the House to fully
fund the Corporation at the $279 million level proposed in the FY 1999
Budget.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Administration strongly objects
to the lack of funding provided for the President's initiative to assist
public broadcasters in converting to digital technology. The transition
to digital technology promises to create tremendous opportunities for
expanded and enhanced educational and public service programming while
promoting innovative technology applications. Providing the Corporation
with
funding in FY 1999 will allow public broadcasting to convert to digital
technology on a schedule similar to that of commercial stations. This
will facilitate fundraising efforts and allow public broadcasters to
participate in the establishment of digital standards.
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The Committee bill does not include
language to provide the RRB with authority to offer voluntary separation
incentive payments (or O&buyouts08) through the end of calendar year
1998. RRBO,s experience has shown that reducing employment through buyouts
is much less disruptive to agency operations than conducting a
reduction-in-force. The Administration urges the House to provide this
buyout authority.
The Committee bill includes language prohibiting the RRB Inspector General
from using funds for any audit, investigation, or review of the Medicare
program. The Administration believes that this language should be
dropped. RRB has statutory authority to administer a separate contract
for RRB, Part B Medicare claims. As long as RRB has authority to
negotiate and administer a separate Medicare contract, the RRB Inspector
General ought not to be prohibited from using funds to review, audit, or
investigate activity related to that contract.
Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH). The Subcommittee provides FY 1999
funding at the requested dollar level, but does not provide the necessary
multi-year authority or requested advance appropriations to contract for
the medical facility at the Mississippi Home. Without the advance appro
priation or last year's language, AFRH will have to reallocate these funds
away from the Mississippi Home to the Washington Home for smaller,
lower-priority capital projects that are ready for contract.
8:38 PM 03 Aug 1998
| from: |
Kate P. |
| to: |
RUDMAN M, Elena Kagan, G. E., Jeffrey M., John, Joshua, Kathleen A., Kerri A., Lisa M., Martha, Paul J. Weinstein Jr., Rahm I. Emanuel, Ron, Sally, Todd, Wesley P., William P. |
| cc: |
FARRAR J, Adrienne C., Charles, Charles R. Marr, Elizabeth, Emil E., Jessica L., Jill M. Blickstein, Judy, Kevin S., Laura, Lisa, Melissa G., Michelle, Paul J. Weinstein, Peter, Robert L., Rosemary, Shannon, Victoria A. |
House Rules is expected to meet Tuesday at 2:30pm on the
Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill. Please note that we do not aim
to provide a "road map" to the Administration's priorities listed under
the Education section. Tomorrow morning, we will re-order the programs in
"bill order." If you have a problem with this ordering - please let me
know immediately. Otherwise, we will proceed with that route. please
review the draft SAP and provide comments/clearance by 11am Tuesday.
Thanks.
H.R. 4274 -- DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, FY 1999
(Sponsors: Livingston (R), Louisiana; Porter (R), Illinois)
This Statement of Administration Policy provides the
AdministrationD,s views on H.R. 4274, the Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1999, as
reported by the House Appropriations Committee. Your consideration of the
AdministrationD,s views would be appreciated.
Due to the very serious funding and language issues present in the
Committee bill, discussed below, the President would veto the bill in its
current form.
The only way to achieve the appropriate investment level for
programs funded by this bill is to offset discretionary spending by using
savings in other areas. The PresidentD,s FY 1999 Budget proposes levels
of discretionary spending for FY 1999 that conform to the Bipartisan
Budget Agreement by making savings through user fees and certain mandatory
programs to help finance this spending. In the Transportation Equity Act,
Congress -- on a broad, bipartisan basis -- took similar action in
approving funding for surface transportation programs paid for with
mandatory offsets. We want to work with the Congress on
mutually-agreeable mandatory and other offsets that could be used to
increase funding for high-priority discretionary programs, including those
funded by this bill. In addition, we hope that the House will reduce
funding for lower priority discretionary programs and redirect funding to
programs of higher priority.
Department of Education
The Committee bill cuts $2 billion from the President ,5 overa~~
request for education program funding. As a result, the bill does not
adequately support the Nation's efforts to raise student achievement, make
schools safe, and improve the capabilities of teachers. High priority
programs inadequately funded include:
Goals 2000. Funding for Goals 2000 is cut $255 million below the
President's request, which would reverse momentum in alISO States to
raise academic standards and deny 6,000 schools serving over three million
students the funds needed to implement innovative education reforms.
Title I (Education for the Disadvantaged) Grants to Local Educational
Agencies. The Committee bill cuts $392 million from the request, which
would leave nearly 520,000 students in high-poverty communities without
the extra help they need to master the basics and develop the capability
to reach high academic standards.
Eisenhower Professional Development. The CommitteeD,s $50 million
reduction would leave over 100,000 teachers without the training they need
to help them teach to rigorous academic standards.
America Reads. America Reads is denied the $210 million provided in last
year's Bipartisan Budget Agreement for children's literacy, which would
prevent thousands of young children from receiving the extra help they
need to learn to read well and independently by the end of the third grade.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. The CommitteeD,s $50 million
reduction would deny funding for School Coordinators in nearly one-half of
the Nation's middle schools needed to implement effective drug and
violence prevention programs.
After School programs (21st Century Community Learning Centers). A $140
million cut to this program, part of the PresidentD,s child care
initiative, would result in 3,000 fewer centers and no services to nearly
400,000 children.
Education Opportunity Zones. The Committee bill does not provide the
requested $200 million, which would deny high-poverty urban and rural
districts the extra assistance they need to implement effective reforms
with tough accountability for performance.
Technology in Education. The CommitteeD,s $137 million reduction from
the request would make it increasingly difficult for States to meet school
children's education technology needs, especially in training teachers to
integrate educational technology into their curriculum effectively.
School-to-Work. School-to-Work is cut by a total of $100 million
(between the Departments of Education and Labor) below the President's
$250 million request, which would seriously hamper all States' efforts to
help young people of all backgrounds move from high school to careers or
postsecondary training and education.
Bilingual Education. The Committee has cut by $25 million the
PresidentD,s plan for training teachers to help limited-English proficient
children.
Work-Study. Roughly 57,000 needy students would be denied the
opportunity to work to finance their college education because of the
CommitteeD,s $50 million reduction.
Higher Education Initiatives. No funds are provided for three
Presidential initiatives for which the President has requested $237
million: High Hopes, to help prepare students at high poverty middle
schools for college; Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnership grants for
pilot projects using distance learning technology; and, teacher
recruitment and preparation programs.
civil Rights Enforcement. Ensuring that civil rights laws and
regulations are adequately enforced is a fundamental responsibility of
government. The Committee fails to provide the increase of $6.5 million
(for a total of $68 million) requested by the Office for Civil Rights in
the Education Department and reduced by $2.4 million the request for $67.8
million for the Labor DepartmentD,s Office of Federal Contract
Compliance. Both activities should be restored to the full requests.
In addition to inadequate funding for priority education programs,
the Administration is concerned with several language provisions of the
Committee bill that would severely restrict the AdministrationU,s ability
to continue the development of programs designed to raise academic
standards.
National Tests. The Administration strongly objects to the language
limitation and $15 million funding cut that would bring a halt to the
President's efforts to help States and parents raise academic standards
through a voluntary national test. The Committee billD,s language would
prohibit the development, implementation, and administration of the tests
unless explicitly authorized. The language prohibition should be deleted
and the funding restored.
Unfocused Block Grants. The Administration strongly objects to language
that would, in effect, turn the Goals 2000 and the Eisenhower Professional
Development programs into block grants by allowing those funds to be used
under the broad Title VI block grant authority. Title VI has no
performance or accountability standards. The language should be deleted
so that these Federal funds can address national needs and continue to be
guided by strong accountability measures.
Special Education (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act -- IDEA).
The bill contains two objectionable IDEA riders. One would undermine the
due process protections and parental rights for disabled students who are
regarded as violent. The other would, in effect, allow States to
discontinue special education services for youth ages 18 to 21 in adult
prisons, violating the principle that all disabled youth ages three to 21
have a right to a free, appropriate public education and undermining the
Department of EducationD,s ability to enforce the Individuals with Disabili
ties Education Act. Both provisions would unnecessarily re-open IDEA
before last year's bipartisan reauthorization has had a chance to be
implemented and fairly assessed. Both provisions should be stricken.
Bilingual Education. While we agree with the Committee on the need for
some reforms to Bilingual Education, we are opposed to any provision that
would set an absolute limit on student participation in bilingual
education or
alternative programs. Such a step would deny help to students who need it
and
violate the civil rights of Limited English Proficient students to an
equal
education. Because of individual differences, students will vary in how
long it
takes to develop English proficiency. We are also opposed to provisions
that
would establish a two-year goal for becoming proficient in English, since
research has shown that this timetable is unrealistically short.
Internet Access in Schools and Libraries. The bill contains
objectionable language that would deny Federal funds to schools and
libraries that have not installed software on their computers to block
Internet access to indecent materials to minors. While the Administration
strongly supports efforts to ensure that schools and libraries protect
minors from indecent materials, it objects to such overly prescriptive
language. Most local education agencies have already developed their own
acceptable-use policies, many of which are not based on software.
Instead, the Administration favors less burdensome and restrictive
language that would require that schools and libraries develop their own
acceptable-use plans at the local level and certify their implementation.
Department of Labor
Summer Jobs Program. The Administration strongly opposes the
CommitteeD,s elimination of the $871 million Summer Jobs program, which
could finance 530,000 summer jobs for economically disadvantaged youth.
The unemployment rate for teens continues to far exceed the overall
unemployment rate. The Summer Jobs program plays a vital role in
supporting employment among these teens, especially among African-American
youths -- approximately 25 percent of summer jobs held by African-American
14-15 year olds come through this program -- and serves as a valuable
introduction to the world of work. We urge the House to restore the full
request for this program.
PresidentD,s Youth Opportunity Areas Initiative. The Committee provides
no funding for the PresidentD,s Youth Opportunity Areas initiative and
rescinds the $250 million appropriated last year for this program. This
program would address the problem of pervasive joblessness in high-poverty
neighborhoods by making large investments in these areas to effect
community-wide change and help 50,000 out-of-school youth. We strongly
oppose elimination
of this program, which is an essential component of the AdministrationD,s
Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities initiative. We urge the House to
provide full funding as requested.
The Administration has strong concerns with the inadequate funding
levels provided for the following Labor programs:
Adult Job Training. The Committee has provided none of the requested
increases for the Dislocated Worker ($100 million) and low-income adult
($45 million) job training programs. Freezing these programs would mean
that some 67,000 fewer workers in need of assistance would be helped.
Worker Protection. The Committee has cut nearly in half the requested
increase for programs that protect our workers on the job. For example,
the Committee mark for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) redirects resources to State consultation and is nine-percent below
the requested level for Federal enforcement, while funding for the Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is frozen at the 1998 level and
virtually no funding is provided for implementing the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. We urge the House to restore
financing for such critical workplace protection programs.
Unemployment Insurance. The House Committee mark does not fund the $90
million requested for the Unemployment Insurance (UI) integrity
initiative. This initiative was authorized in the Balanced Budget Act of
1997 and would, over five years, achieve $763 million in mandatory savings
assumed in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement. Failure to fund this
initiative would mean .a continuation of errors in benefit payments and UI
taxes.
Child Labor. The $3 million increase to combat international child labor
abuses is inadequate in light of the magnitUde of the problem, and
provides only a small fraction of the $27 million requested.
The Committee bill contains several objectionable language riders
addressing regulatory issues in the Department of Labor. These include
language imposing new, unnecessary, and burdensome review procedures
before the Department can issue Black Lung regulations, a new requirement
for OSHA to conduct duplicative peer review panels for its new
regulations, and a continuation of the rider that prohibits MSHA from
enforcing training requirements at certain mines, which have a growing
numbers of deaths. These riders would make it more difficult for the
Department of Labor to carry out its programs and should be dropped.
The Administration objects to the continuation of last year's
rider that prohibits the use of funds for supervising the Teamster's
election, despite a court order requiring the Federal Government to pay
for a supervised election.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Administration appreciates the CommitteeD,s efforts to provide
much needed funding for important programs crucial to the healthy lives of
all Americans. Unfortunately, the committee has not provided adequate
funding for several important programs of the Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS). In addition, the committee bill contains several
language provisions that are troubling to the Administration.
Abortion. The Administration urges the House to strike sections 508 and
509 of the Committee bill, which would prohibit the use of funds for
abortion. The President believes that abortion should be safe, legal, and
rare. These provisions would continue to limit the range of conditions
under which a woman's health would permit access to abortion services.
Furthermore, section 509 requires a physician to make a legal
determination that these conditions have been met. The Administration
proposes to work with the Congress to address the issue of abortion
funding.
Head Start. The Committee funds Head Start at $4.5 billion, $160 million
below the President's request -- denying slots to up to 25,000 low-income
children in FY 1999 and undermining efforts to serve one million children
by the year 2002. Head Start has a track record of success in readying
disadvantaged children for school, supporting working families by helping
parents to get involved in their children's lives and providing services
to the entire family. We urge the House to restore Head Start funding to
the President's requested level.
Child Care. The Administration urges the House to provide the additional
$174 million requested for a child care initiative that will improve the
availability of affordable, quality child care for working parents. This
initiative would provide States with resources to enhance child care
health and safety standards enforcement, give child care workers
scholarships to improve their skills, and increase our commitment to
understand better and evaluate how our NationD,s child care system is
working. Likewise, we ask that the Committee restore funds to the
President's requested level for a $5 million program designed to assist
States in developing support systems for families of children with
disabili ties.
Organ Donation. The Administration strongly opposes two provisions of
the Committee bill that would suspend two HHS rules pertaining to organ
donation: a HCFA rule that seeks to expand the number of organs available
for donation through more vigorous procurement efforts; and, a Health
Resources and Services Administration rule that would require the national
organ transplant network to develop policies that would allocate organs
based on patientsD, medical need, not their geographic location.
Other troublesome HHS-related funding and language issues, with
which the Administration has serious concerns, include the following:
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. The committee mark eliminates
funding for data collection activities of the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, including the National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse, which is our single best source of information on youth drug us
e and youth smoking and is important for evaluating the impact of
substance abuse prevention, treatment, and enforcement efforts.
Family Planning. The Committee bill requires family planning grantees
either to receive written parental consent or provide advance notification
to parents before giving contraceptives to minors. Mandating parental
consent could discourage sexually active minors from seeking health care
and reproductive counseling services and thus lead to more unintended
pregnancies, more abortions and more sexually transmitted diseases,
including HIV, among our nation's youth. [Need to discuss.]
Needle Exchange. The Committee includes a total ban on the use of funds
appropriated in this Act for needle exchange programs rather than making
the use of funds for such programs conditional upon the certification of
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). Although the Committee has
fully funded the President's program level request for HCFA Program
Management (with the exception of the Medicare+Choice information
campaign), no action has been taken on the $265 million in new
discretionary HCFA user fees. We urge the House to enact the President[J, s
requested user fees to finance HCFA activities and to ensure that
sufficient resources remain available for education and other priorities.
Bio-Terrorism. The Administration urges the House to provide the full
$111 million requested to improve HHSD, ability to respond to attacks of
biological and chemical terrorism.
Health Disparities. The Committee has failed to include $30 million
requested for demonstration projects to address racial and ethnic health
disparities in infant mortality, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and
stroke, HIV/AIDS, and immunizations.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Committee would
eliminate funding for LIHEAP. Over 36 percent of LIHEAP households have
elderly residents, 32 percent have disabled residents, 27 percent have
children under the age of six, and 27 percent are the working poor who do
not receive any other public assistance. The Administration urges the
House to restore funds to the President's requested level.
Foster Care and Adoption Assistance. The Committee bill fails to provide
the Administration's request for a $200 million contingency reserve. This
language is critical to ensure grant awards should the definite
appropriations be insufficient for authorized eligible expenditures in
either Foster Care or Adoption Assistance. The House should restore
funding to the requested level of $200 million, or approximately four
percent of total program costs.
Office of AIDS Research. The Committee bill does not appropriate a
specific amount for AIDS research through a single appropriation for the
National Institutes of Health's (NIHD,s) Office of AIDS Research. The
single appropriation would help NIH plan and target research funds
effectively, minimizing duplication and inefficiencies across the 21
institutes and centers that carry out HIV/AIDS research.
Prevention Research. The Committee has provided only $10 million of the
$25 million requested for the Centers for Disease Control to expand
research in ways to prevent disease and reduce the need for medical care.
Medicaid Drug Coverage. The Committee bill would prohibit HCFA from
paying for a specific pharmaceutical agent under Medicaid except for
post-surgical treatment. We oppose the use of the appropriations process
to make selective coverage determinations and judgments regarding how best
to treat specific medical problems. Further, the provision is unnecessary
because the Secretary already has authority to limit coverage for
pharmaceutical agents if prescribed inappropriately, and States already
have broad latitude to limit the use of drugs under Federal law through
drug utilization review and prior authorization programs.
social services Block Grant. The Administration opposes a provision that
would restrict State authority to transfer Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families (TANF) funds to SSBG in FY 1999 up to the amounts transferred by
individual States in FY 1998. Enacting such a provision so late in FY1998
would inequitably limit State flexibility for the future.
General Departmental Management. A provision of the bill would require
that HHS' Office of the Secretary contract with the National Academy of
Sciences (NAS) for an $890,000 study on repetitive tasks in the
workplace. This provision duplicates current NIH efforts with NAS in this
area.
Social Security Administration
The Committee bill does not provide $19 million for administrative
expenses, contingent on the authorization of a user fee for services
provided by the Social Security Administration to attorneys who represent
claimants for benefits. These services include withholding money from
certain past due benefits and issuing payments to certain claimant
representatives. The Administration continues to support enactment of
this user fee and appropriation of the anticipated collections for
administrative expenses.
In addition, the Committee bill does not provide $50 million for
administrative expenses for the conduct of additional non-disability
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) redeterminations of eligibility. These
resources and the resulting redeterminations are essential to ensuring the
integrity of the SSI program and reducing unnecessary benefit payments.
Failure to provide this funding would result in serious staffing
shortfalls.
Other Issues
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Committee provides funding
for the NLRB at the FY 1997 level. This would result in a loss of over
100 staff, an increase in case backlogs, and could result in furloughs and
office closings. This reduction would cripple an agency key to protecting
workersD, rights on the job, and we urge the House to restore the NLRB to
the requested level.
Section 516 amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the NLRB to
adjust its dollar jurisdictional standards for inflation on October 1,
1998, and every five years thereafter. This change would deny workers in
some small businesses the protection afforded to others to organize and
bargain collectively. This change to substantive law raising the
jurisdictional thresholds more than five-fold should not be done through
the appropriations process, but only after hearings and debate.
Corporation for National and Community Service. The Administration is
deeply concerned about the CommitteeO,s $27 million reduction to the
request for the Corporation for National and Community Service. This
reduction freezes the CorporationO,s Senior Service program at the FY 1998
level and cuts VISTA $5 million below FY 1998. These reductions would
deny more than 500 VISTA members the opportunity to serve in low-income
communities Nation-wide and would reduce the number of seniors serving
their communities by 15,000. The Administration urges the House to fully
fund the Corporation at the $279 million level proposed in the FY 1999
Budget.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Administration strongly objects
to the lack of funding provided for the President's initiative to assist
public broadcasters in converting to digital technology. The transition
to digital technology promises to create tremendous opportunities for
expanded and enhanced educational and public service programming while
promoting innovative technology applications. Providing the Corporation
with
funding in FY 1999 will allow public broadcasting to convert to digital
technology on a schedule similar to that of commercial stations. This
will facilitate fundraising efforts and allow public broadcasters to
participate in the establishment of digital standards.
Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The Committee bill does not include
language to provide the RRB with authority to offer voluntary separation
incentive payments (or O&buyouts08) through the end of calendar year
1998. RRBO,s experience has shown that reducing employment through buyouts
is much less disruptive to agency operations than conducting a
reduction-in-force. The Administration urges the House to provide this
buyout authority.
The Committee bill includes language prohibiting the RRB Inspector General
from using funds for any audit, investigation, or review of the Medicare
program. The Administration believes that this language should be
dropped. RRB has statutory authority to administer a separate contract
for RRB, Part B Medicare claims. As long as RRB has authority to
negotiate and administer a separate Medicare contract, the RRB Inspector
General ought not to be prohibited from using funds to review, audit, or
investigate activity related to that contract.
Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH). The Subcommittee provides FY 1999
funding at the requested dollar level, but does not provide the necessary
multi-year authority or requested advance appropriations to contract for
the medical facility at the Mississippi Home. Without the advance appro
priation or last year's language, AFRH will have to reallocate these funds
away from the Mississippi Home to the Washington Home for smaller,
lower-priority capital projects that are ready for contract.
