Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Wall Street Journal - November 18, 2003
David Rogers, Staff Reporter
Monday night's action came as lawmakers neared agreement on an estimated $17.3 billion foreign-assistance budget that also promises $405 million in additional U.S. aid for Afghanistan, on top of emergency funds approved within recent weeks.
Africa is the major focus of the $1.65 billion provided to combat AIDS and infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis. Together with money in the forthcoming budget for the Department of Health and Human Services, a total of $2.4 billion would be provided for the coming year -- a 60% increase over current levels and $400 million over the administration's request.
By contrast, the president's Millennium Challenge Account is promised just $650 million, half his $1.3 billion request. The decision is a blow to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who mounted a belated lobbying campaign for more money. But the White House will have a second chance to recover in the year-end bargaining over a giant omnibus spending bill taking shape in Congress.
Meetings are scheduled Tuesday on the measure which covers 10 cabinet-level departments as well as major regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose $841 million budget request is likely to be trimmed by lawmakers. The massive $700 billion-plus package covers the heart of the domestic budget, and its very size makes it a magnet for special pleadings.
Four Supreme Court justices, for example, met with Speaker Dennis Hastert last week to make their case for a 16.5% pay increase for themselves and other members of the federal judiciary. "I told them I would take a look at it," the speaker said. But apparently not for long, as the estimated $36 million request won't be part of the package.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens complained Monday night that the White House is angling for leverage by raising as many as 16 year-end veto threats. But the Alaska Republican shows no sign of backing down from his plan to use the omnibus bill to overturn portions of the Federal Communications Commission ruling last June relaxing media-ownership rules for broadcasters.
Among individual spending accounts, preliminary agreements thus far include $5.6 billion, or a 5% increase, for the National Science Foundation and $8.4 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA funding levels restore most of the administration's proposed cuts from clean-water programs, but elsewhere they fall short of Mr. Bush's request for the hazardous waste Superfund to clean up toxic-waste sites.
In a victory for the White House, the measure is expected to include $13 million for a long-sought school-voucher experiment in the District of Columbia bitterly opposed by many Democrats. But as part of the compromise, more money is also provided to the city to help the public schools that might qualify for less aid as a result of losing students.
Write to David Rogers at david.rogers@wsj.com
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