Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2127 - Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1996

(House Floor)
(Sponsors: Livingston (R), Louisiana; Porter (R), Illinois)

This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views on H.R. 2127, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 1996, as reported by the House Appropriations Committee.

The Administration is committed to balancing the Federal budget by FY 2005. In FY 1996 alone, the President's budget proposes to reduce discretionary spending by cutting $S billion in outlays from the FY 1995 level. However, the Administration does not share the priorities reflected in the Committee's mark or support the level of funding adopted in the committee's 602(b) allocations. The Administration must evaluate each bill both in terms of funding levels provided and the share of total resources available for remaining priorities. The Committee bill is over $12 billion below the President's request.

The President strongly believes that we must invest in our country's future by supporting education and training. Investments in these areas will promote long-term economic growth and higher living standards. The committee bill would imprudently cut valuable, proven programs that educate our Nation's children, aid the disadvantaged, invest in working people, and protect our Nation's health and safety. Many of the programs funded in this bill are aimed at protecting and aiding the most vulnerable in our society. Reductions proposed by the Committee would have a particularly harmful effect on our Nation's children, our youth, and the disadvantaged by cutting funding for numerous education programs, training programs, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment demonstration grants.

For these reasons, discussed more fully below, the President would veto the bill if it were presented to him in its current form.

Cutting Programs for Pre-School Children

The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's reduction in the Head Start program. This program plays a vital role in preparing disadvantaged young children for school; its expansion should be continued, not reversed. The President would add $400 million and 32,000 new slots to the Head Start program in FY 1996. The Committee, in contrast, would reduce funding by $137 million below the FY 1995 level ($537 million below the President's request). If program quality were to be maintained at such a reduced level, the Committee action would cut between 45,000 and 50,000 children from the program. The Administration strongly urges the House to provide FY 1996 funding at the level requested by the President.

Cutting Programs for Education and Training

The Administration is committed to ensuring adequate funding for key education programs that help average Americans build a better future for themselves and their families. More than ever before in our Nation's history, what you earn depends on what you learn. Yet, the Committee would reduce the President's request for education programs by $5 billion. The Committee's recommended overall funding level is $4 billion, or 16 percent, below the FY 1995 enacted level. The President is committed to investing in our children's education. The Committee has systematically targeted those key programs designed to serve our Nation's youth for the most debilitating cuts. The Committee would reduce — by 30 percent below the President's request — the Administration's highest priority programs, programs that focus on improving student achievement in our Nation's elementary and secondary schools.

These draconian reductions would be achieved through the termination of critical education programs. The Committee's ill- advised decision to terminate funding for Coals 2000 would set back State-based efforts to improve learning for all students and to build a more competitive workforce. Drastic reductions in other programs, including Education for the Disadvantaged and safe and Drug Free schools, are unacceptable. These reductions are short-sighted and would have a devastating effect on our Nation's future.

The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's elimination of the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program. The committee's action would eliminate the opportunity for 615,000 disadvantaged youth per year to acquire valuable job experience and learn essential job skills. The Administration continues to support the program and will work with Congress in the FY 1996 appropriations process to ensure that the program for the summer of 1996 is funded.

The Committee bill would drastically reduce the President's request for the Department of Labor's youth job training programs and the bipartisan school-to-work initiative — by 46 percent, or $1.3 billion. At a time when it is more evident than ever that America's youth are not receiving enough opportunities to acquire the job skills necessary to succeed in today's economy, these reductions are unacceptable.

At a time of increased workforce anxiety and major labor market dislocations, the Committee bill would impose unacceptably large reductions in resources to retrain dislocated workers and low-income adults and help them find jobs through One-Stop Career centers. The bill would reduce funding for dislocated workers and disadvantaged adults by $545 million, or 25 percent, below the FY 1995 comparable level. The bill would cut $1.4 billion, or 46 percent, from the President's request and would deny training and reemployment services to about 506,100 dislocated workers and 84,000 low-income adults. While corporate and military downsizing continues to displace hard-working Americans, shrinking these critical services is unconscionable.

The Administration strongly opposes the House Committee's reduction of $94 million for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) programs funded in this appropriations bill. The Committee would cut the Volunteers in Service to America program (VISTA) by 57 percent, reducing the number of VISTA volunteers working to alleviate poverty in low-income communities nationwide to 2,000 volunteers, less than half the requested level. The Committee level also would deny nearly 170,000 older Americans the opportunity to help the homebound elderly, disabled children, and others in their communities. The Administration urges the House to provide the funding level requested in the President's budget.

Cutting Programs That Protect Our Nation's Health

The Administration opposes the provision in the Committee bill that would prohibit funding of the Surgeon General position. This micromanagement of the Executive Branch would severely curtail the leadership that the public has traditionally looked to for guidance on personal and societal health issues. The Administration urges the House to remove this provision.

The Administration is concerned that the Committee mark for programs funded under the Ryan White CARE Act is $67 million less than the $723 million request. The funding level proposed by the President represents the minimum amount necessary to maintain funding for the 42 cities already receiving Ryan White assistance; to fund the seven to ten new cities expected to qualify for Ryan White assistance in FY 1996; and to provide sufficient funding to keep up with increasing AIDS caseloads in States, cities, and local clinics currently receiving Ryan White grants.

The Committee bill does not appropriate a specific amount for AIDS research through a single appropriation for the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) office of AIDS Research as requested by the Director of NIH in the President's budget, unlike research on other diseases, HIV research is spread among all of the institutes and centers of NTH, rather than being focused essentially in one institute. By failing to provide a single appropriation, the Congress makes less explicit its intentions regarding funding to fight the disease that is now the leading cause of death for people aged 25 to 44. The current single appropriation helps target NIH research dollars effectively, minimizing duplication and inefficiencies across the 21 institutes and centers that carry out HIV/AIDS research.

Cutting Programs for Individuals with Disabilities

The Administration is very concerned about the significant reductions made by the Committee in programs for individuals with disabilities. While allowing funding for direct services to remain essentially intact, the Committee bill would systematically reduce or eliminate funds available for research, demonstration, training, and technical assistance programs focusing on individuals with disabilities and would phase out the Federal appropriation for the National Council on Disability. These programs provide essential support for the State direct service programs and help the Administration and the Congress understand and respond to disability issues.

Family Planning and Abortion

The President believes that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. The Committee bill would effectively end the Family Planning Program, which Republicans and Democrats have long agreed is instrumental in helping to prevent the need for abortion. The Administration opposes this action and would support the amendment to restore this funding.

The Administration strongly opposes the provision of the Committee bill that would change existing law by allowing States to deny Medicaid funding for abortions for victims of rape and incest. The provision that the Committee has approved would prevent poor women from having access to abortion services even in situations where they are victims of rape or incest. This change in the law would unfairly target the most vulnerable poor women and their families. The Administration strongly opposes any effort to curtail the ability of poor women to choose abortion in cases of rape or incest and urges the House to delete this provision.

The Administration also opposes the provision in the Committee version of the bill that appears to be designed to discourage medical residency programs from conforming with certain accreditation standards regarding training in abortion procedures. This provision could have the effect of denying all Federal funding or assistance to States that require medical residency programs to comply with these accreditation procedures. The Administration objects to this unwarranted intrusion into determinations made by private medical accreditation councils about appropriate standards for the training of doctors.

Striker Replacement

The Administration strongly opposes a provision of the Committee bill that would prohibit the Executive Branch from using FY 1996 funds to implement, administer, or enforce any Executive Order or other rule or order that prohibits Federal contracts with companies that hire permanent replacements for striking employees. This provision would impinge upon the Executive Branch's ability to ensure a stable supply of quality goods and services for the government's programs.

Prohibition on Political Advocacy

The Committee has included a provision, "Prohibition on the Use of Federal Funds for Political Advocacy," that presents a broad attack upon the exercise of fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment. Congress may, under some circumstances, restrict the uses to Which Federal monies are put; however, insofar as this provision forecloses the exercise of protected rights with other than Federal funds, it would be deemed a penalty for that exercise and thus would be unconstitutional. It would limit the ability of organizations to participate in administrative or judicial proceedings and appearances before State and local entities. In addition, it is now widely agreed that much is to be gained when private organizations and charities work in partnership with the government to implement social policies. The House is urged to delete this provision.

Additional Administration concerns with the bill as reported by the Committee are contained in the attachment.

Attachment

Attachment (House Floor)

ADDITIONAL CONCERNS

H.R. 2127 — DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES! APPROPRIATIONS BILL. FY 1996 (AS REPORTED BY THE HOUSE FULL COMMITTEE)

The Administration looks forward to working with the Congress to address the following concerns.

Department of Education

• Goals 2000. The Administration strongly opposes the Committee's proposed termination of Goals 2000. The President has requested $750 million in FY 1996 for Goals 2000, which would essentially double the size of the program. At this funding level, Goals 2000 would raise academic standards in 48 states and 16,000 schools. The Committee would eliminate this program entirely. Raising academic standards provides a necessary framework for improving all aspects of education.
  
  
• Title I — Education for the Disadvantaged. The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce funding for the Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies Program by $1.1 billion, cutting as many as 1.1 million children from the program. The President has requested $7 billion for this program, an increase over the FY 1995 enacted level of $302 million. This funding level would assist States in raising the academic achievement of 6.4 million disadvantaged children.
  
  
• Safe-and Drug-Free Schools and Communities. The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce this program by 60 percent — to $200 million. This action would deprive over 23 million students services in FY 1996 alone. The Committee proposal is a 57-percent reduction from the FY 1995 post-rescission funding level. The President has requested $500 million in FY 1996 for this program to combat violence and drug use in 97 percent of school districts (over 14,000) serving 39 million students. The Administration also opposes the Committee's decision to strike funding for a key crime prevention program, the Family and Community Endeavor Schools program.
  
  
• School-to-Work (Departments of Labor and Education). The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce funding for School-to-Work to $190 million, or less than half of the Administration's request. The President has requested $400 million (split between Labor and Education), a 60 percent increase over the FY 1995 comparable level, to finance a third wave of temporary, seed capital grants. This initiative supports States building school-to-work systems with one-year planning and five-year implementation grants. Once these systems are in place, the program will sunset. The Committee mark would seriously hamper the efforts of 28 States to complete their reforms started in FYs 1994 and 1995. Twenty-two States would be denied the chance to implement their reform plans to raise student skills.
  
  
• Vocational and Adult Education. The President has requested $l.6 billion for the vocational education, adult education, and family literacy programs. The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce funding for these programs to $1.2 billion. A reduction of $325 million from the FY 199S enacted level would adversely affect over 3.1 million students nationally and would eliminate adult education services to over 125,000 adults who need to improve their basic and literacy skills in order to succeed in their roles as workers, citizens, and parents.
  
  
• Federal Direct Student Loan Program. The Student Loan Reform Act (SLRA) of 1993 provided $550 million in mandatory funds in FY 1996 for the administration of the direct student loan program and the transition from the guaranteed student loan program to direct loans. The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce this funding to $320 million — an amount insufficient to administer the direct loan program under the Committee's direction that $160 million of those funds must be available for payments to guaranty agencies in the guaranteed loan program. This action would stop the growth of cost-effective, efficient direct lending in order to keep providing unnecessary payments to banks. State agencies, and secondary markets.
  
  
• Student Financial Assistance Programs. The President has proposed to increase the Pell grant maximum award to $2,620, which is $280 over the FY 1995 level of $2,340. The Administration is concerned that the Committee has increased the maximum by only $l00, to $2,440. Furthermore, the Administration is deeply concerned that the Committee's minimum award proposal would eliminate approximately 300,000 students from the program who would receive awards of between $400 and $600 under the President's proposal.
  
  
• Educational Technology. The President has requested $122 million in FY 1996 for four educational technology programs. The Administration opposes the Committee's action that would provide only $25 million for this program, funding only the K-12 Technology Learning Challenge program. This funding level would significantly limit efforts to create new private- public partnerships to raise student achievement through advanced technology. The elimination of three technology programs would reduce learning opportunities for educationally and economically disadvantaged students.
  
  
• Eisenhower Professional Development and Technical Assistance Centers. The President has requested $785 million in FY 1996 to train teachers to help students achieve high academic standards in 90 percent of all school districts. The Administration opposes the Committee's action that would eliminate this program and, instead, appropriate a reduced funding level of $500 million in anticipation of the passage of a block grant proposal currently under consideration in the Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee, with unclear performance standards and accountability structures. In addition, the Administration opposes the elimination of funds for the comprehensive technical assistance centers for improving elementary and secondary education programs. The President has requested $55 million in FY 1996 for 15 consolidated centers that will provide training and assistance to States, school districts, and schools in upgrading all aspects of education.
  
  
• Education for Children with-Disabilities. The President has requested $254 million, the FY 1995 enacted level, to support several research, demonstration, training, and technical assistance activities that assist State efforts to serve children with disabilities in the least restrictive educational environments. The Administration opposes the Committee's action that would reduce funding for these programs by $162 million, or 64 percent, by eliminating such programs as grants for early childhood education, innovation and development grants, and training personnel for the education of children with disabilities.
  
  
• Bilingual and Immigrant Education. The President has requested $200 million for Bilingual Education and $100 million for Immigrant Education. The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would reduce funding for Bilingual Education by almost 75 percent, to $53 million, and reduce the amount available for Immigrant Education by 50 percent, to $50 million. The combined Committee funding of $103 million is a 50-percent reduction from the FY 1995 enacted level. This would severely reduce instructional services for over 700,000 limited-English-speaking children and adults. School districts that are heavily impacted by recently arrived immigrant students would also be adversely affected.
  
  
• Howard University. The Administration opposes the Committee mark of $170 million, which is $26 Million, or 13 percent, below the Administration's request. Such a large decrease in one year would cause immediate and major layoffs of approximately 500 faculty and administrative staff. Since the university has already taken decisive action during FYs 1994, 1995 to balance its budget by eliminating nearly 400 staff positions, further reductions in staff levels would be difficult to achieve without harming the overall quality of undergraduate and graduate education. The Administration is also concerned that the bill would eliminate earmarks for strengthening endowment and research efforts, a counterproductive move in light of a mutual goal to help Howard University plan for future financial independence.
  
  
• Advisory Councils. The Administration is concerned that the Committee bill would prohibit the funding of certain advisory boards, including the President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, the National Board of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Capital Financing Board.
  
  
• Gender Discrimination. The Administration objects to the unprecedented provision of the Committee bill that would halt the Department of Education's enforcement of Title IX's prohibition on gender discrimination in intercollegiate athletics until the Department's Office for Civil Rights issues certain guidance in that area. The Department has already committed to issuing updated policy guidance in this area by clarifying existing guidance, describing what steps colleges and universities should take to comply with Title IX. That guidance will be issued by the beginning of the fall semester. The provision in the bill is unwarranted micromanagement and should be deleted.
  
  
• Staffing Levels. The Administration opposes the provision in Section 305 of the bill that would prohibit the Department from hiring staff "if such hiring would increase on-board employment." The Federal Workforce Restructuring Act (FWRA) already imposes limits on Federal employment. The President must have the authority to manage within those strict limits. As long as the FWRA limits are met, agencies should have the authority and flexibility to manage employment to best meet program needs within appropriated funding levels. An on-board employment ceiling is a particularly arbitrary constraint because it ignores seasonal employment fluctuations and full-time/part-time employment mixes. It was fox this reason that the Federal Employees Part-Time Career Employment Act of 1978 required the use of the full-time equivalent employment measure in the management of Federal employment.

Department of Labor

• Enforcing Worker Protection Laws and Improving the Workplace. The Administration opposes the Committee's reductions to agencies and programs that, among other things, strive to ensure that workers have safe and healthy working environments, protect their pensions, and meet the challenges of the global economy. Overall, the funding provided by the bill is approximately 20 percent below the President's request for these important activities. The Committee level includes major reductions to the Occupational safety and Health Administration's enforcement activity (cut by one-third), the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and to programs that enforce wage and hour laws and promote affirmative action among Federal contractors. The Committee also proposes virtual elimination of the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, which helps our Nation compete in the global marketplace, and the Office of the American Workplace, which helps companies evolve into high performance workplaces. The Administration urges the House to restore funding for these programs.
  
  
• One-Stop Career Centers. The Administration is concerned with the Committee's funding level of $100 million — half the President's request — for this important, system-building investment. At the Committee's level, only two or three States would receive new implementation grants in FY 1996, and the second- and third- year funding levels for the 14-l5 States that received awards in PY l994 and FY 1995 would be reduced. Production of enhanced labor market information products and services that will help people find jobs more efficiently would be postponed. In addition, the $89 million cut from the FY 1995 level in the Employment Service would undermine the States' One- Stop system-building efforts.
  
  
• Job Corps. The Committee's mark for Job Corps is $107 million below the President's request. The Administration urges full funding of Job Corps. Without this funding, the long-term expansion plans would be severely undercut and several existing centers would likely have to be closed. The Committee's mark would mean that thousands fewer disadvantaged youth would have the opportunity to learn necessary basic education and job skills than would be the case under the President's request.
  
  
• Unemployment Insurance Administration. The Administration is concerned that the Committee freezes the program at the FY 19S5 level, cutting $156 million from the President's request. This level of funding could result in delays in benefit payments as well as increased errors in benefit payments and tax collections, adversely affecting trust fund balances. States might also lay off staff or close local offices in an effort to cut costs.
  
  
• Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Administration opposes the Committee's mark, which is a $29 million, or eight- percent reduction to the President's request. The reduction would undercut the Bureau's ongoing efforts to improve its existing data series and would certainly require program reductions in several data series, such as the SIC and SOC revision, Emerging Labor Market Data, or Local Area Wage Surveys. Given the bipartisan support for improved statistical measures of the Nation's economy, the House is urged to fund the Bureau's activities fully.
  
  
• Community Service Employment for Older Americans. The Administration opposes the Committee's reduction to Title V of the Older Americans' Act, the Senior Community Service Employment program. The reduction of $46 million (11.6 percent) below the FY 1995 level would provide almost 8,000 fewer opportunities for the low-income elderly to be employed in community service organizations within their communities. We urge the House to fully fund this program. In addition, we urge that House to include language that has been included in the bill for the past several years that would specify the amounts appropriated for grants to the States and for grants or contracts with public agencies and public or private nonprofit organizations.
  
  
• OSHA Regulations. The Committee bill would prevent OSHA from developing or issuing any proposed or final ergonomics protection standards or guidelines and would require OSHA to change its fall protection standard. The Administration objects to congressional micromanagement of workplace safety standards. The fall protection standard was developed after careful consideration of scientific evidence. OSHA should not be prevented from continuing its work related to issuing a proposed rule to address work-related musculoskeletal injuries, which have increased an estimated seven times in the last ten years. The bill would also prohibit recordkeeping and reporting requirements directly related to ergonomic-related injuries or illnesses. The Administration objects to Congressional interference in the collection of data, treating one type of illness differently than others.
  
  
• Child Labor Regulations. The Committee has included language that restricts the Department of Labor's efforts to protect the Nation's working minors. The language would limit the ability of the Department to implement and enforce both Hazardous Orders #12 and #2 on minor's use of paper balers and motor vehicles, respectively. The Administration urges the House to delete this provision.
  
  
• Davis-Bacon Helpers. The Committee did not include language requested by the Administration that would prohibit the Department of Labor from implementing the Davis-Bacon helper regulation. The Administration urges the House to restore this provision to allow the Department time to rework the helper regulation to insure the continuation of viable apprenticeship programs on Federal construction projects.
  
  
• Economically Targeted Investments. The Administration objects to language that the Committee has included that would prevent the Department of Labor front promoting economically targeted investments or even providing pension plans with information about such investment alternatives. Economically targeted investments provide collateral benefits to communities without sacrificing either investment safety or financial return for pension plan participants. This language is objectionable because it places an unwarranted restriction on the Department's responsibility to interpret and enforce pension law.

Department of Health and Human Services

• AIDS Education and Training Centers (ETCs). The Administration is concerned that the Committee eliminates funding for AIDS Education and Training Centers, which help train tens of thousands of health professionals about constantly evolving HIV care and treatment procedures. The President's budget includes $16 million for AIDS ETCs, the same level as in FY 1995.
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Administration is very concerned about the Committee's $456 Million (25- percent) reduction to the President's request for total SAMHSA funding. The Administration notes that the overall funding for SAMHSA's demonstration and training grants is reduced from $566 million to $202 million, a $364 million, or 64 percent, decrease from the FY 1996 President's request. This reduction would seriously undermine the National Drug Control Strategy and jeopardize substance abuse treatment and prevention and mental health services for tens of thousands of pregnant women, high risk youths, and other underserved Americans. It would also erode SAMHSA's ability to improve service delivery, ensure quality standards, and educate consumers and providers of services. Reductions from the President's request in substance abuse treatment funding alone would result in 40,000 fewer persons being treated.
  
  
• SAMHSA - Homeless Services. The Administration is concerned about the Committee's elimination of the Projects for Assistance in Transition From Homelessness (PATH) formula grant program. These grants provide drug treatment and mental health services to the homeless, who are particularly vulnerable to substance abuse and mental health problems. An estimated one- third of the people living on America's streets and in shelters have severe mental illness, and another one- third suffer from substance abuse problems. Over 127,000 individuals would no longer receive services if this program were eliminated.
  
  
• Health Immigration Initiative. The Committee has failed to fund the President's immigration initiative for Medicaid, withholding Federal financial assistance to the seven states most heavily affected by illegal immigration. The President's proposal would provide $150 million in FY 1996 to help States pay for their share of the Medicaid costs of providing emergency medical services for undocumented aliens.
  
  
• Crime Prevention. The Committee would eliminate practically all of the Administration for Families and Children's (ACF's) violent crime reduction funding, providing only $800 thousand of the President's requested $l05 million. The violent crime prevention programs are needed to help complement law enforcement activities with crime prevention. Programs approved in last year's Crime Bill that would be eliminated by the Committee are prevention grants for runaway and homeless street youth at risk of sexual abuse, grants for battered women's shelters, and a community economic investment partnership fund to stimulate business opportunities in low-income areas. The Administration also opposes the Committee's decision to strike funding for the Community Schools program.
  
  
• Administration on Aging (AOA). The Committee would eliminate seven of 12 AOA programs and reduce the funding for all but one. Total funding would be reduced by $119 million (or 13 percent) below the President's request of $897 million. Funding for AOA's two primary nutrition programs, which includes funding for Meals on Wheels, which provide meals for over five million older Americans, was cut back by $23 million, or 5 percent. At the Committee's funding level, nearly 12 million fewer meals would be reimbursed. In addition, funding for programs that provide supportive services for the elderly, many of whom are at risk of being institutionalized, is reduced by over $15 million, and similar funding for Native Americans is reduced by over $2 million.
  
  
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The Committee would eliminate LIHEAP entirely in FY 1996, ending heating and cooling assistance to between five and six million low-income families. Approximately 30 percent of the households receiving LIHEAP benefits have at least one elderly member and at least 20 percent have one disabled member. The President's request would maintain LIHEAP at the FY 1995 level and provide resources for LIHEAP's emergency fund in FY 1996 using the existing FY 1995 emergency fund balance.
  
  
• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The Committee has not funded the President's request for a $114 million increase above the FY 1995 level in the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The CCDBG provides child care assistance to low-income families who need child care to remain in the workforce and off welfare. The Committee funds the program at the FY l995 level and eliminates two programs, totaling $l4 million, that are proposed for consolidation under CCDBG in the President's Budget.
  
  
• Community Services Programs. The Committee would eliminate the $20 million in grants to States for homeless services while maintaining $39 million in direct Federal grants. The Administration urges the House to devolve more power to the States for these programs by ending direct Federal grants rather than cutting grants to the States to assist homeless people. The President has proposed to terminate the $12 million National Youth Sports program, but the Committee would continue this program at the expense of other, much more vulnerable populations.
  
  
• Other ACF Children and Families Services Programs. The Committee proposes significant reductions below the President's request in ACF services programs. The Committee would eliminate the Community-Based Resource Centers Program, which supports vital child abuse and neglect prevention activities in local communities, the Runaway and Homeless Youth preventive drug activities ($14 million) and Youth Gang Substance Abuse ($11 million). The Committee would reduce Abandoned Infants Assistance, Adoption Opportunities, and Temporary Child Care and Crisis Nurseries ($6 million); and Native American Programs ($3 million). The Committee would also reduce Developmental Disabilities programs by $45 million, or more than one-third.

Other Independent Agencies:

• Social Security Administration (SSA). The Committee provides SSA with $5.9 billion, $0.3 billion less than the President's request of $6.2 billion. The Committee reduces the President's request for the Automation Investment Fund by $129 million, a reduction of 36 percent — from $357 million to $228 million — in the FY 1996 portion of this priority, multi-year investment. SSA's automation investment is critical to ensuring continued quality in the delivery of basic services like claims processing for the elderly and disabled. Only by replacing aging terminals and antiquated l$70s-style systems with new technology in all 1,400 field offices can S$A increase the productivity of a smaller workforce. Funding to date (through FY 1995) pays for new equipment in just over 40 percent of SSA's field offices. The funding level proposed by the Committee would allow SSA to equip only another 25 percent of its offices.
  
  The Committee reduces the President's request for the Disability Investment Fund by $127 million. This represents a reduction of 24 percent, from $534 million to $407 million. Such a reduction would slow SSA's efforts to reduce the backlogs in initial disability claims and in hearings on disability appeals. These cuts would make it more difficult to ensure that persons with severe disabilities begin to receive Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance payments in a timely manner, and, persons who are no longer severely disabled but are still on the rolls are reevaluated.
  
  The Committee strikes the language in the President's request that would require that not less than $215 million shall be available to conduct continuing disability reviews (CDRs). The Administration believes that this language is critical to ensuring that a sufficient number of CDRs are conducted to enhance the integrity of both the Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance programs.
  
  
• Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The Committee provides the RRB Inspector General (IG) with $5.1 million, nearly 25 percent ($1.6 million) less than the President's request. This level apparently reflects the Committee's desire that the RRB IG devote less effort to Medicare fraud investigation. The Administration believes that, as long as the RRB retains independent Medicare contracting authority, the RRB IG should be funded to continue Medicare investigations.
  
  
• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). The Administration opposes the House Committee's reduction of $94 million for the CNCS programs financed in this appropriation. This is 36 percent below the President's request of $263 million for these National Service activities. These activities include: volunteers in Service to America (VISTA); the Retired senior Volunteer Program (RSVP); the Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); and the Senior Companion Program (SCP).
  
  The Committee level would cut the VISTA program by 57 percent, reducing the number of VISTA volunteers working to alleviate poverty in low-income communities nationwide to 2,000 volunteers, less than half the requested level. The Committee level also would deny nearly 170,000 older Americans the opportunity to help the homebound elderly, disabled children, and others in their communities. The Administration opposes reductions to National Service activities and urges the House to provide the funding level requested in the President's budget.
  
  
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Committee reduces funding for the NLRB by $53 million (30 percent) below the FY 1995 level, and $58 million (nearly one-third) below the FY 1996 request. This would paralyze the NLRB's ability to enforce the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and protect employers and workers from unfair labor practices. In addition, the Committee has included language that restricts the agency's flexibility to use certain powers granted to it by the NLRA to effect justice in the workplace. The Administration objects to such arbitrary limitations on the agency's operations and urges the House to restore funding for this important workplace protection agency.
  
  
• Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Public broadcasting television and radio stations, led by CPB, are in the process of creating a more efficient, cost-effective, and healthy future public broadcasting system. The Administration supports funding for the CPB at a level consistent with the President's request. This level would provide the restructuring funds needed to achieve system-wide savings in the future.
  
  
• National Council on Disability. The Committee would reduce the President's request of $1.8 million for the National Council on Disability to $1.4 million, 22 percent below the FY 1995 enacted level. The Committee, in report language, indicates its intention to eliminate Federal support for the Council by FY 1998. The Council is in a unique position to provide independent, objective information to the Congress and the Administration about the impact of existing or proposed Federal policies on people with disabilities.
  
  
• National Education Goals Panel (NEGP). The Administration opposes the Committee mark, which would eliminate funding for the National Education Goals Panel. The President requested $2.8 million in FY 1996 for NEGP, Which plays an integral role in improving schools by charting our Nation's progress toward achieving the National Education Goals. The bipartisan Panel, with the membership of Governors, Senators, Congressmen, State legislators, and others, represents true education partnership designed to mobilize the Nation toward increasing student achievement.

Other Provisions:

• General Provision — Section 509. The Administration is concerned that the intent of section 509 is not clear. For example, some might read it as precluding any transfers permanently authorized by prior appropriation bills. Others might interpret it as ending efficient bill collecting procedures enacted in the l993 general provisions. This section's intent needs to be made clear to preclude unintended effects and so it can be judged on its merits. Alternatively, the section could be deleted.