House Approves $2.4B for Anti-AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in Other Countries, $28.6B for Veterans’ Health Care as Part of Omnibus Spending Bill

The House on Monday voted 242-176 to approve an omnibus spending bill (HR 2673) that would allow as much as $820 billion in spending during fiscal year 2004, which began Oct. 1, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports (AP/Dallas Morning News, 12/8). The measure includes $328 billion in discretionary spending, with the remainder going to mandatory government programs, such as Medicare, CongressDaily reports (Cohn, CongressDaily, 12/9). Passage came after a "partisan fight" about provisions of the bill, which allocates money to government agencies that have been operating at FY 2003 spending levels since Oct. 1, the New York Times reports (Gay Stolberg, New York Times, 12/9). Specific health-related spending in the bill includes:

• $28.6 billion for veterans' health care, $2.9 billion more than in FY 2003 (AP/Dallas Morning News, 12/8);
  


• $447 billion for Medicare, Medicaid and other mandatory benefits;
  


• $11.4 billion for child nutrition programs, an increase of $837 million over last fiscal year;
  


• $28 billion for biomedical research at NIH, an increase of $1 billion from FY 2003; and
  


• $2.4 billion for anti-AIDS efforts in other countries, an increase of $800 million from fiscal year 2003 (Hook, Los Angeles Times, 12/9).
  

Reaction
The legislation has come "under attack" from some Democrats who maintain that it would "shortchang[e] social spending programs," the Chicago Tribune reports. In addition, some conservative Republicans criticized funding for specific projects and programs as examples of "runaway waste," according to the Tribune (Singer, Chicago Tribune, 12/9). However, Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said, "Anybody who wants to find something at fault, something to complain about in this bill, they can do it. But I can tell you, it's the best product we could provide" (AP/Dallas Morning News, 12/8).

Senate Prospects
The bill now goes to the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) appears "reluctant" to call members back to work on the bill before January, according to the Wall Street Journal (Rogers, Wall Street Journal, 12/9). CongressDaily reports that Frist on Tuesday is expected to make a final decision on whether to seek a final vote on the bill (CongressDaily, 12/9). However, all senators must give their consent to work on the bill, and some Democrats, including Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) have said they would object, which would delay debate until January (New York Times, 12/9). Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) has suggested separating foreign operations funding for a vote in order to implement "time-sensitive" AIDS funding, but that does not appear to be "a real option at this stage," the Journal reports (Wall Street Journal, 12/9). NPR's "All Things Considered" Monday reported on the House passage of the omnibus spending bill (Seabrook, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/8). The full segment is available online in RealPlayer. NPR's "Morning Edition" Tuesday reported on the Senate debate on the bill (Seabrook, "Morning Edition," NPR, 12/9). The full segment is available online in RealPlayer.