108th Congress

Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004

H.R. 2861/H. Rept. 108-235, S. 1584/S. Rept. 108-143, H.R. 2673/H. Rept. 108-401

Background

NIEHS

The fiscal year (FY) 2004 spending bill for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and 20 independent agencies would provide direct funding for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Prior to FY 2001, NIEHS received funding for the Superfund activities described below through a transfer from the Hazardous Substance Superfund account within the Environmental Protection Agency budget via an interagency agreement. In this measure, NIEHS has a separate appropriation in order to carry out legislatively mandated research and worker training activities set forth in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The House funding level for NIEHS was $80,000,000; the Senate level was $78,774,000, and the conference level is the same as the Senate level.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Report Language

In addition to the direct appropriation for NIEHS, the NSF section of the House bill contained report language directly relevant to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as follows:

“While the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has principal responsibility for research involving human health and disease, NSF has historically played a critical role in funding long range basic research and technology development which have been critical to NIH’s more focused mission. NSF’s work on the basic chemical processes which made possible the mapping of the human genome is perhaps the best known example of this extraordinarily important collaboration. The Committee believes that the future of scientific advancement in both the physical sciences and the life sciences will increasingly rely on such collaborations and urges the NSF to work aggressively with NIH to determine how this research can be strengthened. The Committee has recently asked NIH to convene a conference of all the stakeholder agencies within the Federal Government whose missions involve the conduct or support of research at the scientific interface between the life sciences and the physical sciences. NSF is encouraged to play a leading role in this conference, which will hopefully occur during 2003.”

Similar language was included in the House Report accompanying the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. NIH is planning an Interagency Conference on the Interface of Life Sciences and Physical Sciences in 2004 in response to the NIH and NSF report language.

As in FY 2003, there was no appropriations legislation passed and signed before Congress adjourned the first session of the 108th Congress. VA/HUD, along with all other non-defense related agencies, have been provided funding for FY 2004 through a series of continuing resolutions at the current rate of spending for FY 2003, as follows:

(1) Continuing Resolution (through 10/31/03) P.L. 108-84 9/30/03
(2) Continuing Resolution (through 11/17/03) P.L. 108-104 10/31/03
(3) Continuing Resolution (through 11/21/03) P.L. 108-107 11/7/03
(4) Continuing Resolution (through 1/31/04) P.L. 108-135 11/22/03

Provisions of the Legislation/Impact on NIH

H.R. 2673

Division G—Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations, FY 2004

NIEHS: If enacted, the bill would appropriate $78,744,000 for NIEHS to carry out activities set forth in section 311(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, and section 126(g) of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986.

Status and Outlook

H.R. 2861, Appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, was introduced on July 24, 2003, by Representative James T. Walsh (R-NY) after being reported out of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent Agencies on July 15 and the House Appropriations Committee on July 21. The bill was passed by the House on July 25. S. 1584 was introduced by Senator Christopher S. “Kit” Bond (R-MO) on September 5, 2003, after being reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on September 4. The bill was passed by the Senate on November 18.

H.R. 2861 was incorporated into the conference report for H.R. 2673, the Agriculture Appropriations, FY 2004 (now known as the Omnibus Appropriations, FY 2004). This bill contains Governmentwide funding provisions for seven separate appropriations bills, including VA/HUD, and was passed by the House on December 8. Other bills in this omnibus measure include Labor, Health and Human Services (H.R. 2660), which funds NIH; Transportation and Treasury (H.R. 2989); Foreign Operations (H.R. 2800); Commerce/Justice/State (H.R. 2799); District of Columbia (H.R. 2765); and Agriculture (H.R. 2673). The Senate did not take up this measure before it adjourned. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) filed a cloture motion to limit debate on the measure; a vote is set for 2:30 p.m. on January 20, 2004, the day Congress reconvenes for the second session. In the interim, Federal agencies that would be funded through this omnibus measure will operate at FY 2003 levels through midnight on January 31, 2004, as provided by P.L. 108-135.