DPC REPORTS
LEGISLATIVE BULLETIN | September 25, 2008
Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009
Summary and Background
On September 25, 2008, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (2009 Continuing Resolution).Using the Senate amendment to H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 as a vehicle,the House of Representatives passed the 2009 Continuing Resolution on September 24. The bill includes:
1) appropriations for certain government operations at Fiscal Year 2008 levels through March 6, 2009;
2) a Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental disaster relief package;
3) Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations for the Department of Defense;
4) Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security; and
5) Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations for Military Construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Economic Recovery Act of 2008 is expected to be offered as an amendment to H.R. 2638.
Major Provisions
The following highlights are taken from the summaries prepared by the House Committee on Appropriations, which maybe accessed here. For additional, more in-depth summaries, please see the Senate Committee on Appropriations' summaries, which maybe accessed here.
Division A -- Continuing Resolution
Division A would fund the federal government through March 6, 2009 at Fiscal Year 2008 levels, with a limited number of appropriations being made above those enacted levels. Highlights include appropriations for:
·Auto Efficiency Loans: $7.5 billion to support $25 billion in loans to assist American automakers update their factories and build more fuel efficient cars and trucks.
·Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): $1 billion above the 2008 enacted level to provide mothers and children with proper nutrition.
·Commodity Supplemental Food Program: $23.5 million above the 2008 enacted level to prevent nearly 70,000 low-income women, infants, children, and elderly citizens from losing access to food.
·Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP): $2.5 billion above the 2008 enacted level to help families pay rising home energy bills, helping an additional two million households and raising the average grant from $355 to $550.
·Weatherization: $250 million above the 2008 enacted level to improve the energy efficiency of low-income housing. This amount will weatherize about 100,000 homes, saving each household about $400 in energy costs this coming year.
·Pell Grants: $2.5 billion above the 2008 enacted level to prevent cuts to student aid midway through the year.
·Census: $2.9 billion to help the Census Bureau adequately plan for the 2010 Census.
·Offshore Drilling Ban: Allows the ban to expire on September 30. All other laws and regulations concerning offshore leasing and development would remain in place.
Division B -- Disaster Assistance
Division B would provide $22.9 billion in Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental funding to help families and communities rebuild after the Midwest floods, Western wildfires, and Gulf Coast hurricanes. Highlights include appropriations for:
·Disaster Relief Fund: $7.9 billion to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sufficient funding to assist communities after the recent disasters and to ensure that they have the resources necessary to respond to future disasters.
·Community Development Block Grants: $6.5 billion to provide communities with flexible grants for recovery measures, including providing temporary housing, repairing and replacing damaged homes and public infrastructure, and economic development.
·Social Services Block Grants: $600 million to provide states with flexible sources of funding to provide emergency assistance in the wake of a disaster, including food and healthcare assistance.
·Wildfires: $910 million for firefighting, including funds for fire prevention and recovery.
·Emergency Highway Relief: $850 million for the Federal Highway Administration to help states repair roads and bridges damaged by disasters.
·New Orleans Levees: $1.5 billion to allow the greater New Orleans area to pay the local cost share of hurricane and storm damage reduction projects over a 30-year period and ensure work is done by 2011.
·Army Corps of Engineers: $1.3 billion to repair damage to infrastructure caused by disasters, including the Midwest floods and Gulf Coast hurricanes.
·Small Business Administration: $799 million for loans and technical assistance to businesses and homeowners hit hard by disasters and for increased oversight of these funds.
·Economic Development Assistance Programs: $400 million to help communities hit by disasters create strategies for economic recovery.
·Bilateral Economic Assistance: $465 million for the Economic Support Fund ($365 million of which will aid the country of Georgia in humanitarian and economic relief, reconstruction, energy-related programs and democracy activities; the remaining $100 million will help Haiti recover from Ike and other hurricanes).
·International Food Aid: $100 million to provide international emergency food assistance.
Division C -- Defense Appropriations
Division C would provide $487.7 billion in funding for the Department of Defense. The amount is above the 2008 enacted level of $459.3 billion, but slightly below the President Fiscal Year 2009 budget request of $491.7 billion. Highlights include appropriations for:
Troops and Families
·Guard and Reserve Equipment Shortfalls: $750 million to ensure the National Guard and Reserve have adequate supplies after years of budget shortfalls under the Bush Administration. Even this year, the President did not request specific funding for the National Guard and Reserve.
·Quality Training: $23.6 billion, $1.2 billion above the 2008 enacted level, for mission preparedness for troops.
·Compensation for Stop Loss: $72 million, not requested by the President, for a new initiative to pay troops $500 for every month their term of service will be involuntarily and arbitrarily extended in 2009.
·First Class Medical Care: $25.8 billion, $1 billion above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $2.4 billion above the 2008 enacted level, to provide the best medical care for troops, including $300 million for traumatic brain injury and psychological treatment.
·Military Families: $2.8 billion, $102 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, for family advocacy efforts, dependents' education, and daycare programs.
·Barracks and Military Hospitals: $3 billion, $734 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, to improve army barracks, military hospitals, and other facilities.
Weapons Programs
·Shipbuilding: $14.1 billion, matching the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, for construction of eight ships (one more than the President's request), including one LPD-17 Amphibious Transport Dock, one DDG-1000 Guided Missile Destroyer, one Virginia Class Submarine, two Littoral Combat Ships, 2 T-AKE cargo ships, and one Intra-Theater Troop Transport Ship.
·Joint Strike Fighter (JSF): $6.3 billion, matching the President's overall request for JSF, including $2.9 billion for the procurement of 14 aircraft (two fewer than the President's request) and $3.4 billion to continue program development, including $430 million not requested by the President for alternate engine development.
·F-22: $2.9 billion, for 20 F-22s, as requested in the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, and $523 million, not requested by the President, for advance procurement of an additional 20 F-22 Raptors.
·Future Combat Systems: $3.6 billion, $26 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, to accelerate the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Unmanned Ground Vehicle programs.
·Satellite Communications: $150 million, not requested by the President, for the advance procurement of the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency military communications satellite.
·Urgent Intelligence Needs: $750 million, not requested by the President in his Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, to address the services' urgent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) needs identified by the Secretary of Defense's ISR Task Force.
Improving Fiscal Responsibility
·Inspector General Oversight: $262 million, $24 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, for much needed additional personnel to increase oversight of Defense contractors.
·Reigning in Outsourcing: $12.5 billion, $650 million below the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, as outsourcing efforts have failed to produce promised cost savings.
·Presidential Helicopter: $835 million, $212 million below the President's request, due to uncertainty associated with Increment II aircraft. The appropriated amount includes $735 million for five Increment I aircrafts and $100 million for Increment II aircraft. Additionally, $20 million is provided for reliability enhancements to the existing presidential helicopter fleet.
·Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter: $198 million for 12 aircraft, $161 million (16 aircraft) below the President's request, as the program is currently behind schedule, with costs rising.
Policy
·Detention Facility at Guantanamo: Requires the Secretary of Defense to produce a report within 180 days of enactment detailing plans for the potential closure of the Guantanamo detention facility.
·US Africa Command (AFRICOM): $266 million, $123 million below the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request. Cuts were made due to the failure to establish an AFRICOM presence on the continent and to correctly account for a funding transfer.
·Torture:Continues to carry a provision prohibiting torture.
Division D -- Homeland Security
Division D would provide $39.98 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The amount is above the 2008 enacted level of $37.67 billion and the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request of $37.62 billion. Highlights include appropriations for:
First Responder and Port Security Grant Programs: $4.2 billion, $2 billion above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $24 million above the 2008 enacted level. These grants were funded at $4.8 billion in 2004, but the President succeeded in cutting them from 2005-2007, even after the 9/11 Commission Report recommended they be increased and local communities continued to see security costs rise. This appropriation includes funding for:
·State Grants:$950 million, rejecting the President's proposed $777 million cut, for grants used to plan, equip, and train local first responders to respond to terrorist attacks and catastrophic incidents.
·Urban Area Grants:$837.5 million, $12.5 million above the President's request and $17.5 million above the 2008 enacted level, to help high-risk urban communities prevent, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks.
·Transit Grants: $400 million, rejecting the President's $225 million cut and equal to the 2008 enacted level, to protect critical transit infrastructure, including freight rail, Amtrak, and ferry systems, in high-threat areas.
·Emergency Management Performance Grants: $315 million, rejecting the President's $100 million cut and $15 million above the 2008 enacted level, for all-hazard grants for state and local emergency managers.
·Fire Grants (including SAFER): $775 million, rejecting the President's $450 million cut and $25 million above the 2008 enacted level, to help local fire departments address communication, equipment and staffing problems.
·Metropolitan Medical Response System:$41 million, rejecting the President's proposal to eliminate aid to help high-threat communities respond to mass casualty incidents.
·Interoperable Communications: $50 million, rejecting the President's proposal to eliminate aid to help police, firefighters and emergency responders to talk to each other during a crisis.
·Emergency Operations Centers:$35 million, rejecting the President's proposal to eliminate assistance for states and local communities to construct, equip, and upgrade central command facilities used by emergency personnel during disasters. The appropriation is $20 million above the 2008 enacted level.
·Customs and Border Protection:$9.82 billion, $334 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $398 million above the 2008 enacted level, for:
-4,361 Additional Staff, including 2,200 border patrol agents, 1,373 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and Agriculture specialists (834 more than requested), 139 Air and Marine Interdiction agents, 27 conduct and integrity officers, and 722 technical and support staff for border security and customs revenue activities.
-Retirement for Customs Officers: $200 million to provide CBP officers with law enforcement retirement, thereby helping DHS recruit and retain officers.
-Border Security Fencing, Infrastructure, and Technology: $775 million, as requested by the President, including $30 million to address problems with communications interoperability at the border.
-Container Security: $404 million, $29 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, for programs within CBP, including the Secure Freight Initiative pilots and overseas container inspection programs; and $514 million for Domestic Nuclear Detection efforts.
·Operation Stonegarden:$60 million, rejecting the President's proposal to eliminate the program, to assist border communities with law enforcement costs.
·Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):$4.99 billion, $241 million above the President's request and $254 million above the 2008 enacted level, including:
-Prioritizing Criminal Aliens: $1 billion to identify dangerous criminal aliens and prioritize these individuals for removal once an immigration judge orders them deported.
-Reviewing Medical Care: $2 million for independent medical experts to review detainee medical care. Recent IG, GAO and media reports have highlighted cases of inadequate and questionable medical care.
-Detention Standards: Funds 33,400 detention beds (1,400 more than in 2008) and requires ICE to cancel contracts with detention facilities that fail to meet ICE standards. The appropriation also provides $63 million for Alternatives to Detention, which $9.1 million above the 2008 enacted level and $7.2 above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request.
-State and Local Programs, Including 287(g):$99.7 million, $2.2 million more than request by the President. Moreover, to continue and expand coordination between ICE and local law enforcement and better enable ICE to identify deportable criminal aliens, the 287(g) program is funded at $54 million, which is $14 million above the 2008 enacted level and equal to the President's request.
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center:$333 million, $44 million above the 2008 enacted level and $59 million above the President's request, to train additional CBP officers and for a replacement dormitory.
Maritime Security, Safety and Environmental Protection
·Port Security Grants: $400 million, rejecting the President's $190 million cut and matching the 2008 enacted level, for grants to protect critical port facilities and infrastructure, as authorized in theSafe Ports Act.
·Coast Guard: $9.36 billion, $290 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $729 million above the 2008 enacted level. The appropriation would include an additional: $23.5 million for additional watchstanders, marine inspection staff and environmental response; $10 million to address aviation hour and maintenance backlogs; and $97.6 million to start work on the new Coast Guard headquarters at St. Elizabeth's.
9/11 ActAviation Security Mandates
·Transportation Security Administration (TSA):$4.62 billion (excluding $2.36 billion in user fees), which is $301 million above the President's request and $96 million above the 2008 enacted level. Of this amount, $1.1 billion, $300 million above the President's request, is to implement 9/11 Act requirements, including: $544 million to increase the purchase of explosive detection systems for baggage; $123 million for air cargo security; $390 million for specialized screening programs; and $62 million for response teams, inspectors, regulations, and new activities.
REAL ID:$100 million, $50 million above the 2008 enacted level, to help states to comply with REAL ID, which requires state licenses to meet new standards in order to be used for federal identification purposes. This includes $50 million for DHS to develop a data "hub" that links state DMVs to other record-keeping agencies and allows State governments to verify applicants' identification documents when they apply for new drivers' licenses.
Emergency Food and Shelter:$200 million, which is double the President's request and $47 million above the 2008 enacted level, to provide emergency food and housing for those hit hardest by rising food prices and the economic downturn.
Cyber Security:$313.5 million, $20 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request, to protect Federal computer networks from cyber attack and strengthen the security of our nation's computer infrastructure.
FEMA Management:$943 million, $219 million above the 2008 enacted level and $27.5 million above the President's request, to increase the number of staff available to respond to disasters and improve FEMA's Mt. Weather facility, financial systems, and Emergency Alert System.
Disaster Relief Fund:$1.4 billion, matching the 2008 enacted level, for assistance to state and local governments and individuals following a declared disaster or emergency. This includes $16 million to continue the Inspector General's audit of FEMA disaster programs, including in the Gulf Coast.
Flood Map Modernization:$220 million, $70 million above the President's request, to update, review, and maintain flood maps used to determine rates for the National Flood Insurance Program.
Science and Technology:$933 million, $64 million above the President's request, to, amongst other things, conduct research on improvised explosive devices and cyber security.
Significant cuts
·US-VISIT: $90 million below the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request because DHS was behind schedule in producing expenditure plans.
·Domestic Nuclear Detection Office:$50 million below the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request because of continued procurement delays.
Policy
·Oversight:Requires DHS submit plans on how it will implement: Deepwater; the Security Border Initiative; National Cyber Security Initiative; Next Generation Networks program; US-VISIT; and the Automated Commercial Environment.
·Federal Protective Service (FPS): Requires at least 900 FPS police to protect Federal buildings and requires the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to review FPS needs after GAO found staff cuts left federal buildings vulnerable to crimes and terrorist attacks.
·Principal Federal Official (PFO) Positions: Limits the appointment ofPFOs during declared disasters or emergencies to eliminate confusion when these positions overlap with FEMA's responsibilities.
·DHS Personnel System: Prohibits DHS from implementing a new personnel system.
·National Applications Office:Prohibits DHS from using satellites other than for existing purposes until DHS submits, and GAO reviews, an explanation of its legality. GAO recently raised questions about the strength of internal controls for DHS' proposed approach.
·US-VISIT Air Exit Program: DHS is required to complete two pilot programs before proceeding with its biometric air exit plan.
Division E -- Military Construction and Veterans Affairs
Division E would provide $72.9 billion in funding for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The amount is above the 2008 enacted level of $63.9 billion and the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request of $69.3 billion. Highlights include appropriations for:
VA: $47.6 billion, $4.5 billion above the 2008 enacted level and $2.8 billion above the President's request, for veterans' medical care, claims processors, and facility improvements.
·Veterans Health Administration (VHA):$41 billion, $1.8 billion above the President's request and $4.1 billion above the 2008 enacted level, for veterans' medical care. VHA estimates they will treat more than 5.8 million patients in 2009, including more than 333,275 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan (40,000 more than 2008). This appropriation includes funding for:
·Medical Services: $30.97 billion, $1.2 billion above the President's request and $2.9 billion above the 2008 enacted level, to improve access to medical services for all veterans, including:
-Enrollment of Priority 8 Veterans:$375 million, not requested by the President, to start enrolling additional Priority 8 veterans. An estimated one half of all uninsured veterans are Priority 8. Priority 8 veterans have not been enrolled since 2003 as part of an Administration effort to cut costs.
-Mental Health and Substance Abuse: $3.8 billion for specialty mental health care and $584 million for substance abuse programs.
-Fee-Based Care: $200 million, not requested by the President and not funded in 2008, for fee-based services to improve access to care where VHA facilities are not available.
-Rural Health Initiative: $250 million to improve access to medical care for veterans in rural areas.
-Patient Travel Reimbursements: $133 million above the President's request to increase the travel reimbursement rate from 28.5 cents per mile to 41.5 cents per mile, while freezing the deductible.
-Assistance for Homeless Vets:$130 million for the homeless grants and per diem program, rejecting the President's $8 million cut and the same as 2008, in addition to $30 million to hire additional personnel for the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program.
-New Generation Prosthetics: $1.6 billion, $250 million above the 2008 enacted level and $116 million above the President's request, to provide veterans with appropriate prosthetic support and sensory aids.
·Medical Support and Compliance: $4.5 billion, $194 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $388 million above the 2008 enacted level, to ensure the efficient operation of the VA's health care system and to support plans to increase enrollment of Priority 8 veterans.
·Medical Facilities: $5 billion, $368 million above the President's request and $769 million above the 2008 enacted level, including a $300 million increase for on-going maintenance and renovations of existing facilities to address identified shortfalls and to ensure the Department's facilities remain capable of delivering world class medicine. The Department currently estimates a maintenance backlog of over $5 billion.
·Medical and Prosthetic Research: $510 million, rejecting the President's $38 million cut and $30 million above the 2008 enacted level, for research to help improve the quality of life for injured and aging veterans. Rejects cuts to trauma and mental health research - important to veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.
·Major and Minor Construction:$1.7 billion, $754 million above the President's request, to fund recommendations made by the Capitol Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission, which was established to look at facilities and determine their construction needs. The increase in minor construction will enable the Department to complete over 100 projects in 2009.
-Extended Care Facilities: $175 million, rejecting the President's $80 million cut and $10 million above the 2008 enacted level, for grants to states for construction and renovation of extended care facilities.
·General Operating Expenses: $1.8 billion, $102 million above the President's request and $197 million above the 2008 enacted level, to enable the Department to hire roughly 2,000 additional claims processors to work down the backlog of benefits claims and to reduce the time to process new claims. The most recent VA quarterly status report estimates that nearly 396,000 claims are pending which is 20,000 more than their goal. Public Law 110-252 provided $100 million for implementation of the "Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008" that was not included in this comparison.
·Information Technology:$2.5 billion, $229 million above the 2008 enacted level and $47 million above the President's request, including $35 million for an emergency fund to address critical unplanned needs at medical facilities.
·Inspector General: $87.8 million, rejecting the President's $4 million cut and $7.3 million above the 2008 enacted level, to provide additional oversight personnel.
Military Construction: $25 billion, $649 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request and $4.4 billion above the 2008 enacted level. The large increase is mostly due to the costs of implementing Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and plans to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps.
·Quality of Life Initiative:$233 million, not requested by the President, to continue a quality of life initiative for troops and their families started in the Fiscal Year 2008 supplemental including: $122 million for three new trainee and recruit housing facilities for the Army and Marine Corps to improve the barracks soldiers and marines live in when they train; and $111 million for medical military construction and planning activities to upgrade substandard medical treatment facilities. For years, service members and their families have said that quality of life issues are their top priority, but they have been neglected by this Administration.
·2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) and Re-stationing: $8.8 billion, $667 million above the 2008 enacted level, to implement base closures and realignments, and support the re-stationing of 70,000 troops and their families from overseas to the United States. The bill also funds planning for the eventual relocation of 8,000 marines and 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to Guam.
·Growing the Force: $5.5 billion in military construction and family housing, to support the Administration's program to increase the size of the Army by 65,000, the Marine Corps by 27,000, and the Guard and Reserve by 9,200 personnel.
·BRAC 1990: $458 million, $163 million above the 2008 enacted level and $65 million above the President's request, to address an estimated $3.5 billion backlog in needed environmental cleanup for bases that were closed during the four previous BRAC rounds as identified in most recent Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report.
·Military Housing: $3.2 billion, $292 million above the 2008 enacted level, to further eliminate inadequate military housing.
Related Agencies
·American Battle Monuments Commission:$59.5 million, $15 million above the 2008 enacted level and $12 million above the President's Fiscal Year 2009 budget request. This funding provides for the care and operation of our military monuments and cemeteries around the world.
·United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims: $30.98 million, $7 million above the President's request, for the planning and design of a new facility for the Court.
·CemeterialExpenses: $36.7 million, $5.5 million above the 2008 enacted level and the President's request, for Arlington cemetery. The additional funding will enable acceleration of the cemetery's Millennium Project.
·Armed Forces Retirement Home: $63 million from the Trust Fund, the same as the President's request, for operation and maintenance of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, including $8 million for capital expenditures.
Legislative History
On September 24, 2008, the House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2638, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 - now the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 - by a vote of 370 - 58. The Senate is expected to begin consideration of this measure on September 25.
Expected Amendments
At the time of this writing, at least one amendment is expected to the 2009 Continuing Resolution. Majority Leader Reidand Senator Byrd, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, are expected to offer the Economic Recovery Act of 2008 as an amendment to H.R. 2638. The amendment would:
·Address high unemployment by extending unemployment insurance benefits;
·Address the rising cost of food by temporarily increasing food stamp benefits and providing additional funding for nutrition programs for Women, Infants, and Children, the Commodity Supplemental Food Programs, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, and Senior Meals;
·Address high energy prices by providing weatherization assistance to improve energy efficiency in low-income housing;
·Address shortfalls in state budgets by increasing the federal budget matching-rate for Medicaid;
·Promote energy independence and a clean environment efforts by investing in advanced battery technology; the Army Corps of Engineers programs; Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project Grants; the Bureau of Reclamation Energy Stimulus Work; the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund; the Bureau of Reclamation Energy Stimulus Work; rural utilities and community facilities; the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; and the Department of Energy's Environmental Cleanup program;
·Create jobs by providing funds for highways, public transportation, Amtrak, airport, and small shipyards investments, and economic adjustment assistance;
·Address the housing crisis by providing funds to implement provisions of the recent housing bill, give housing assistance to tenants displaced by foreclosure, fund FBI investigations of fraud in the mortgage market, and promote safety and energy efficiency in public housing;
·Promote education and job training for youth, the homeless, dislocated workers, and rural communities;
·Aid the National Institutes of Health in meeting the demands of biomedical inflation, support programs that help prepare for a potential pandemic flu outbreak or use of a biological weapon, and aid the Centers for Disease Control in combating infectious diseases and investigating disease clusters;
·Support reduced-fee loans to small businesses dealing with the current financial crisis;
·Increase funding for border security and traditional crime fighting, including funding for Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, the COPS hiring program, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Marshals Services; and
·Help NASA accelerate the development of the next U.S. space vehicle so that the nation will not be reliant on Russia after the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010.
A detailed summary of the Economic Recovery Act of 2008 can be found here.
Statement of Administration Policy
At the time of publishing, the Bush Administration had not issued a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) for the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009. All SAPs can be accessed here.
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CONTACTS
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- Joi Chaney (224-3232)