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This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on S. 2168, the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1999, as
reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Your consideration of the
Administration's views would be appreciated.
The Administration appreciates efforts by the Committee to accommodate the
President's priorities within the 302(b) allocation. However, the
allocation is simply insufficient to make the necessary investments in
programs funded by this bill. As a result, a variety of critical programs
are underfunded, as discussed below.
The only way to achieve the appropriate investment level is to offset
discretionary spending by using savings in other areas. The President's FY
1999 Budget proposes levels of discretionary spending for FY 1999 that
conform to the Bipartisan Budget Agreement by making savings in mandatory
and other programs available to help finance this spending. In the
recently enacted Transportation Equity Act, Congress -- on a broad,
bipartisan basis -- took similar action in approving funding for surface
transportation programs paid for with mandatory offsets. The Committee has
used part of one such offset in its version of the bill, and we encourage
the Congress to take advantage of such additional offsets.
Below is a discussion of our specific concerns with the Committee-reported
bill. We look forward to working with you to resolve these concerns as the
bill moves forward.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
The Administration is deeply concerned about the funding levels provided
for key programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
particularly for welfare-to-work housing vouchers and other programs such
as the Community Empowerment Fund that would expand job opportunities.
The Administration is very disappointed by the Committee's decision to fund
only 7,000 incremental vouchers through a $40 million "Self-Sufficiency"
housing vouchers pilot program that earmarks funds for eight specified
localities. In light of recent studies that show historically high unmet
housing need among very low-income Americans, the Administration believes
it is critical for the Congress to fund the entire 50,000 welfare-to-work
housing vouchers provided for in the President's request. Moreover, these
welfare-to-work housing vouchers should be made available in a way that
ensures vouchers are distributed to places with both the greatest need and
the most effective program design. Full funding for welfare-to-work
housing vouchers will support implementation of welfare reform by assisting
those welfare recipients who need housing assistance to get or keep a job.
The Administration encourages the Congress to fund fully the President's
request for $400 million for a Community Empowerment Fund to generate jobs
in distressed communities. The Committee provides only $85 million as a
set-aside within the existing CDBG program, with over 75 percent earmarked
for specific projects.
The Administration appreciates the Committee's decision to fund a number of
programs at the levels requested and to renew all expiring Section 8
contracts. Likewise, we appreciate the Committee's decision to increase
funding for Homeless Assistance Grants above FY 1998 levels. We would
strongly oppose, however, a rigid set-aside for permanent housing, which
would reduce the ability of each local entity to adopt the most effective
response to the homeless challenge unique to that area. Further, the
Administration is disappointed by the absence of funding for Regional
Opportunity Counseling, a voluntary effort to expand the housing and
employment opportunities available to low-income families. We urge the
Senate to provide additional resources for the Fair Housing Initiatives
Program in order to reduce housing discrimination that remains all too
common. The Administration encourages the Senate to fund fully a number of
other areas -- Brownfields, Regional Connections, Office of Lead Hazard
Control, and the Partnership for Advancing Technologies in Housing (PATH)
Initiative.
The Administration appreciates the Committee's decision to raise the limit
on FHA single-family loans. The Administration urges the Congress to
provide even greater homeownership opportunities by increasing FHA's loan
limit to the GSE "conforming" limit. In addition, the Administration urges
the Congress to adopt the Administration's proposal to reform HUD's
single-family property disposition program, which would produce substantial
savings by improving the efficiency of FHA's property disposition
processes.
Finally, the Administration is concerned about the Committee's decision not
to fund FHA administrative expenses. Appropriated funds are FHA's only
source for contracting for vital management services for its insurance
funds.
Environmental Protection Agency
The Administration has several major concerns with the Committee's mark for
the Environmental Protection Agency. In particular, the Administration
strongly objects to the action of the Committee to reallocate approximately
$600 million of funds that were already agreed to last year to accelerate
Superfund cleanups. This reduction would delay cleanups at sites
nationwide and needlessly jeopardize public health. The Administration
urges the Senate to restore Superfund to the levels agreed to last year for
FY 1999 and to delete restrictive language preventing use of brownfields
funding for revolving loan funds.
While the Administration appreciates the increases provided for the Clean
Water Action Plan, we urge the Senate to provide the President's full
request to prevent pollution run-off and protect public health. In
addition, the Administration strongly urges the Congress to restore the $50
million request to help improve water quality in Boston Harbor and prevent
beach closings.
The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's $91 million reduction
in EPA funding for the Climate Change Technology Initiative. This
high-priority program should be fully funded to cut energy usage, save
consumers money, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We will work with
the Congress to restore requested funding as the bill moves forward. The
Administration is also concerned about the report language relating to this
initiative, which is so broad that it could be interpreted to preclude or
terminate many on-going activities that are already authorized by existing
laws and treaties. In addition, the Administration objects to the report
language requiring a detailed Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
plan relating to Climate Change activities. Such a plan is premature and
appears to require us to set goals for implementing the Kyoto Protocol
before it has been ratified by the Senate.
The Administration is also concerned with the large number of unrequested,
earmarked projects in the Committee mark for EPA, particularly when the
Committee has reduced several other high-priority Administration
initiatives, including right-to-know programs, Montreal Protocol, GLOBE,
global change research, and Mexican border wastewater treatment funding.
Council on Environmental Quality
The Administration appreciates the modest increase over the FY 1998 level
provided for the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). However, we
strongly believe that in order to allow CEQ to carry out its environmental
mission and reinvention efforts, the full requested level should be
provided, and language prohibiting use of detailees should be deleted.
Corporation for National and Community Service
The Administration is deeply concerned that freezing funding for the
Corporation for National and Community Service at the FY 1998 level, $74
million below the President's request, will not allow the Corporation to
finance nearly 5,000 AmeriCorps tutors targeted to recruit, organize, and
manage more than 60,000 volunteers as part of America Reads, the
Administration's effort to raise student literacy through the use of tutors
to supplement the school day activities.
Community Development Financial Institutions Fund
The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's decision to reduce the
request for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund by $70
million. This cut would severely reduce the Fund's ability to leverage
investments, loans, and financial services in the country's most distressed
communities.
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation
The Administration is disappointed by the Committee's decision not to fund
the full request for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NRC). The
NRC has a proven successful record of leveraging private sector resources
to promote homeownership and helping to strengthen Americas communities.
The Administration urges the Senate to fully fund the President's request
of $90 million, which includes a $25 million homeownership initiative that
seeks to create 10,000 new homeowners through FY 2000.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
The Administration is pleased that the Committee has fully funded the
President's request for NASA. We hope that it is possible to reach an
accommodation on overall funding in the bill that can satisfy both the
Administration's unfunded priorities in other agencies and the Committee's
interest in providing increased funding for NASA. As indicated above, the
Administration looks forward to working with Congress to identify mandatory
and other program savings so that increases in spending, such as the
additional spending for NASA, is possible.
We are concerned by the increased number of appropriation accounts for
Space Station and other activities. The redirection of key resources to
implement this change could threaten NASA's Year 2000 conversion effort and
pose an audit risk. The Administration is prepared to work with the
Congress to control development costs of the International Space Station
better, while also providing the flexibility necessary to deal with
unanticipated requirements. The Administration is also concerned about the
very large number of unrequested, site-specific earmarks, which would have
the effect of circumventing the competitive, peer review process.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Administration appreciates the level of funding provided by the
Committee for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. However, we believe
that the $25 million reduction to the President's request for pre-disaster
mitigation grants is shortsighted. These grants would help reduce the
costs of future disasters by leveraging local and private-sector support
for enhanced mitigation efforts at the State and community level. We urge
the Senate to fund fully the President's request for this important
initiative. In addition, we urge the Senate to approve the President's
recent request for funding to help States and communities prepare for
potential terrorist incidents involving chemical and/or biological weapons.
National Science Foundation
Given the budget constraints facing the Committee, the Administration
appreciates the effort to provide a $215 million increase over the FY 1998
level for the National Science Foundation (NSF). However, the
Administration is concerned that the elimination of funding for the
proposed Polar Cap Observatory (PCO) would hamper scientists' further
understanding of the Earth's upper atmosphere as well as the study of
conditions in the space environment that can influence the performance and
reliability of satellites, communications, navigation, and electric power
distribution systems. The Administration is firmly committed to NSF's
basic research function, which not only promotes scientific advancement but
also contributes to economic development. We strongly urge the Senate to
provide the full increase requested for NSF. The Administration is also
concerned about the number and specificity of earmarks related to NSF,
which come dangerously close to infringing on the merit-based review and
decision-making process.
Administrative Provision
Finally, the Administration supports the Committee's goal of ensuring a
safe and environmentally sound ship scrapping policy. The specific
requirements in the bill, however, raise implementation issues such as
EPA's certification of the enforcement of other countries' laws. The
Administration believes that a starting point to develop a more workable
approach to achieve these protection aims would be to build on the
recommendations of the Interagency Ship Scrapping Review Panel. The
Administration is committed to working with Congress to resolve these
concerns and to finding mutually acceptable solutions that achieve these
important objectives.
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