Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 5677 - Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 1993

(House Floor)
(Sponsors: Whitten (D), Mississippi; Natcher (D), Kentucky)

This Statement of Administration Policy expresses the Administration's views on H.R. 5677, the FY 1993 Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, as reported by the House Committee.

Although the Administration endorses many provisions of the bill, we have a number of concerns that are discussed in more detail below. The Committee has not approved a number of recommended program terminations that were proposed in the President's Budget and has instead approved funding for low priority or duplicative programs. Instead of reducing such programs, the Committee has reduced many programs, including high priority programs of proven value including Healthy Start, immunization initiatives, and other programs targeted to the needy. The House is urged to reconsider the proposals included in the President's Budget so that other programs discussed in the letter and in the enclosure can be funded.

The Administration is aware that an amendment may be offered that would jeopardize the executive order that implements the Supreme Court's decision in Communications Workers of America v. Beck. That decision ensures that employees working for Federal contractors are not forced, through mandatory union dues, to support political causes with which they disagree. If an amendment were adopted to this effect, the President's senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.

Given the growing number of disability applications, the Administration is concerned about the Committee's reduction of $100 million in the administrative expenses of the SSA. SSA has experienced a surge of disability claimants in the past two years. That surge is projected to continue into FY 1993. The Committee's action could lead to a serious deterioration in service to individuals with disabilities. The House is urged to take action that allows SSA to operate at the requested level.

The Administration supports the Committee's adoption of the initial portion of the proposed Supplemental Security Income (SSI) administrative fee. The Committee action will make $60 million available to the Social Security Administration (SSA) in FY 1993.

The Administration also supports actions taken by the Committee to allocate fairly to all payers the costs of surveying and certifying health facilities. This action will better reflect the benefits of assuring quality health care to all persons using these facilities.

The Administration does not support language in the Committee bill concerning the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This language would make $600 million in funding available only after submission to Congress of a formal budget request by the President designating the entire amount of the request as an emergency requirement. Annual appropriations for programs such as LIHEAP, whose requirements can be — and have been for many years — reasonably estimated in advance, should not be designated as an "emergency." Therefore, the President's senior advisers would not recommend to the President that he designate any of these funds as an emergency. If Congressional priorities include higher spending for LIHEAP, Congress should appropriate a larger regular appropriation.

The Administration is concerned that the Committee bill contains only $60 million for the Healthy Start program, a reduction of $82 million below the President's request of $143 million. The Administration views Healthy Start as an important step in making a significant impact in reducing infant mortality. Given the importance of Healthy Start, the Administration urges the House to realign its priorities and to fund fully the President's request of $143 million.

The Committee bill does not include any FY 1993 funding for activities proposed by the President to advance activities related to the President's AMERICA 2000 initiative or for State and local "GI Bills for Children" scholarship demonstration grants. The House is urged to shift funding from lower priority programs to these important education initiatives.

The Administration is concerned that the Committee has not provided adequate funding for priority programs for the disadvantaged. They include compensatory education, drug-free schools, rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities, and support services to help minorities and low-income students attend and finish college.

The Administration is also concerned that the Committee has reduced funding for Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs and existing Job Corps centers to fund expansion of new Job Corps facilities. This misdirection of resources could reduce services to needy trainees in order to build unneeded new facilities.

The Committee bill designates $500 million in budget authority ($403 million in outlays) for Impact Aid funding as defense discretionary funding. The scoring of this provision is currently under review. If this $500 million were to be scored as domestic discretionary the House Committee bill would be, on a preliminary basis, $294 million above the House 602(b) allocation in budget authority and $650 million above the House 602(b) allocation in outlays.

Additional Administration concerns regarding the Committee bill are contained in attachment.

Attachment

Attachment
(House Floor)

ADDITIONAL CONCERNS
H.R. 5677 — DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AMD RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, FY 1993

MAJOR PROVISIONS OPPOSED BY THE ADMINISTRATION

A. Funding Levels

Department of Health and Human Services:

Alcohol. Drug Abuse. Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA). The Administration supports the Committee's decision to end funding for certain training and community activity grants that are low-priority programs and that were proposed for termination in the President's Budget. However, the Administration is disappointed that the Committee has reduced funding for drug treatment and prevention programs. The Committee's proposed funding for ADAMHA grants and the Capacity Expansion Program could deny needed drug treatment to over 25,000 people.

Administration for Children and Families. The Administration is pleased that the Committee bill provides $2.7 billion for Head Start, an increase of $518 million over the FY 1992 enacted level of $2.2 billion. However, the Administration observes that the House Committee mark is $82 million less than the FY 1993 President's Budget request of $2.8 billion.

The Administration recognizes the importance of Head Start, which offers a wide range of comprehensive services to children from disadvantaged backgrounds and to children with disabilities.. The Administration urges the House to fund Head Start consistent with the President's request.

Health Resources and Services Administration. The Administration is pleased that the Committee bill contains reduced funding for health professions curriculum assistance grants. However, the Administration is disappointed that the bill does not fund several important health programs serving medically underserved populations at the requested level, including Healthy Start, community health centers, and homeless health care. The Administration urges the House to seek further reductions in these low priority health professions curriculum assistance grants and redirect some funds towards serving the medically underserved.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Alcohol. Drug Abuse and Mental Health Administration (ADAMHA). The Administration is pleased that the Committee has included more than $290 million over the FY 1992 enacted level for NIH and ADAMHA research. The Administration notes that this is below the level included in the President's FY 1993 Budget. The Committee has recommended funding 98 percent of the $10.5 billion request for NIH. Thus, fewer investigator-initiated research grants would be funded.

Department of Education:

Education Research. The Committee's mark for education research activities would seriously damage efforts to improve the information dissemination system. Further, the funding level proposed by the Committee would hamper efforts to carry out research on standards to define children's performance levels and on assessments to determine whether all children can meet those performance level standards.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Committee has eliminated all funds needed to continue to expand and improve NAEP, the only established national system for measuring what the nation's students know. The Committee has eliminated funds that would be used to convert NAEP to an annual (instead of biennial) cycle and would permit State-by- State assessments in three grades and three subjects, beginning in FY 1994. The House is urged to address this issue.

Mathematics and Science Education. The Committee has rejected key elements in the national strategy to help States and localities improve the skills of mathematics and science teachers in schools throughout the country. It has eliminated proposed funding for a teacher training demonstration and eliminated language that would have focused Federal funding resources on longer duration programs that have the greatest benefit. The House is urged to restore funding for this important program.

Drug-Free Schools. The Committee has not fully funded the President's request to target at-risk populations for important prevention initiatives with respect to the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act grant programs. In addition, the Committee has not supported the President's proposals for treatment efforts that target at-risk populations. The House is urged to address these important issues.

Department of Labor:

State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations. The Committee has increased the amount of funds to be provided if workload (measured by Average Weekly Insured Unemployment, AWIU) exceeds a specified level. The contingency reserve fund would provide $30 million for every 100,000 increase in AWIU instead of $26 million as requested in the budget. Based on this increase, the scoring of the contingency fund is increased by $10.1 million in budget authority.

The Committee has specified that the contingency reserve fund be made available when AWIU exceeds 3.54 million; the President's budget had specified an AWIU of 3.11 million. While the Committee report does not explain the reason for this increase in AWIU, the recently enacted Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-318) provides that administrative costs attributable to the Act be funded out of general funds.

The Administration objects to the Committee's adjustment of the AWIU to take into account workload attributable to P.L. 102-318. Workload is difficult to predict, and an overestimate of the AWIU attributable to the new legislation could impede the availability of contingency reserve funds to the States.

Community Service Employment for Older Americans/Training and Employment Services. The Committee has added $48 million to the Administration's request of $343 million for the Community Service Employment for Older Americans (CSEOA) program. The Administration's request for CSEOA reflects the severe budget constraints facing domestic discretionary programs, which limit the availability of funds for this program. The Administration urges the House to adopt the funding level contained in the President's Budget for this program.

Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The Committee has reduced the Administration's FY 1993 request for the Job Training Partnership Act's title 11-A State grant program by $16 million. As a result, about 5,000 fewer disadvantaged youth and adults will receive job training and placement assistance in FY 1993.

The Committee has provided a net increase of $28 million to the Administration's request for JTPA national programs. Additional funding is targeted as follows: $20 million for the migrant worker program; $4 million for the Native American program; and $8 million for three smaller programs. However, the Committee reduced the Administration's $17 million request for the McKinney Act Job Training for the Homeless demonstration program by $4 million. The Administration urges the House to adopt the Administration's request for the homeless and fully fund job training services for this very needy population.

Job Corps. The Committee has added a net increase of $88 million to the Administration's $900.8 million request for new budget authority for the Job Corps in FY 1993. However, the Committee has denied the budget proposal to use $32 million of funds appropriated in prior years for routine repairs and renovations in FY 1993, Instead, the Committee has directed the Administration to "proceed expeditiously" with program expansion, providing an additional $42 million for new centers.

Finally, the Committee has provided $15 million for center relocations and special projects. The Administration believes that the Committee's priorities for the Job Corps program are misdirected and believes that expansion should be halted with three new centers and resources directed to improving the physical plant and operation of current centers. Diverting limited resources to finance program expansion could hurt program outcomes at existing centers. Expanding the program by five additional centers would boost operations costs by at least $25 million annually.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Committee's reduction in salaries and expenses funding across the Department of Labor may jeopardize the timely implementation of locality pay required by the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990. The House is urged to adopt the President's request for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Office of the Inspector General. The Committee's action regarding funding for the Office of Inspector General in both the Department of Labor and the Department of Education would seriously affect the performance of legislatively mandated audits of financial statements. It would also curtail audits or investigations of high risk areas or other priority audits and investigations.

Other Independent Agencies:

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). The Administration urges the House to finance the FMCS at the level requested in the President's budget. The addition of $1 million for an unrequested labor- management cooperative grant program, which Congress chose not to finance in FY 1992, is unnecessary, especially when other continuing programs are being reduced below the President's request or below the FY 1992 level.

B. Language Provisions

Department of Education:

Student Financial Assistance. The Committee would once again restrict access to Pell grants for students who are studying for a degree on a less than half-time basis. Current authorizing law makes very needy persons studying one course at a time eligible for Pell grants. The Administration has worked closely with the Congress to ensure that all needy persons pursuing a degree, even if studying only one course at a time, could be eligible for Pell grants. This proposal was part of the Administration's "Lifelong Learning Act" and is included in the Conference bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The House is urged to address this issue.

Department of Labor:

Job Corps/Training and Employment Services. Section 103 of the Labor Department's General Provisions in the Committee bill would prohibit the use of funds to contract for operations of a Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center with a non-governmental entity. This provision would limit the Administration's flexibility to administer the Job Corps program in an efficient, cost effective manner. The House is urged to strike this provision.

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The Administration objects to the inclusion of the provision in MSHA's appropriations language that would excludes sand, surface limestone, and similar mine operations from coverage under Section 115 of the Mine Act. The hazards faced by these mining operations are similar to and, in many cases, identical to the hazards faced in other mining operations. Statistics show that these mines are no safer than other metal and non-metal mines.

MAJOR PROVISIONS SUPPORTED BY THE ADMINISTRATION

A. Funding Levels

Department of Health and Human Services:

Health Care Financing Administration: Medicare. The Administration appreciates the Committee's inclusion of the Administration's proposal to prompt health care providers to file electronic claims. These claims are more accurate, quicker, and easier to process.

Administration for Children and Families. The Administration is pleased that the Committee bill contains funding of $394 million for the Community Services Block Grant. This phasedown of $43 million from the FY 1992 enacted level of $437 million is 10 percent below the FY 1992 enacted level. The Administration observes that the Committee mark is $389 million above the FY 1993 President's request. The Administration urges the House to seek further reductions in these grants. Community action agencies are now mature and do not need this special administrative funding.

B. Language Provisions

Department of Labor:

Job Corps. The Administration is pleased that the Committee has agreed — in report language — with its recommendation to conduct a multi-year outcomes evaluation of the Job Corps program. The Administration will be happy to work with the Committee and share cost estimates as we develop the evaluation design.

Other Independent Agencies:

Railroad Retirement Board (RRB). The Administration commends the Committee for adopting the President's budget proposal to assign clearly the auditing of railroads to the Board. The Administration believes that the Board will conduct this function so as to protect the integrity of the railroad retirement trust funds.

The Administration commends the Committee for adopting the data acquisition and dissemination proposal to reduce erroneous Federal benefit payments to deceased individuals. Sharing information on deceased individuals between States and the Federal government will curb such wasteful payments and protect the integrity of the public's funds. It is expected to save $5 million in FY 1993 and if continued, more in later years.