[House Document 108-98] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 108th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-98 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST FY 2003 __________ COMMUNICATION from THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES REQUESTS FOR FY 2003 EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONSJuly 8, 2003.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered to be printed The White House, Washington, July 7, 2003. Hon. J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider expeditiously the enclosed requests, totaling $1.9 billion, for emergency FY 2003 supplemental appropriations. I hereby designate the specific proposals in the amounts requested herein as emergency requirements. The details of these requests are set forth in the enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Sincerely, George W. Bush. [Estimate No. 12] Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, July 7, 2003. The President, The White House. Submitted for your consideration are FY 2003 supplemental proposals, totaling $1,889 million, for the Departments of Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Interior, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. As described below and in more detail in the enclosures, the requests include the following: Wildland Firefighting--Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior (DOI) An additional $289 million is proposed for USDA's Forest Service ($253 million) and DOI's Bureau of Land Management ($36 million). These funds are needed to ensure that sufficient funding is available for the 2003 fire season as large portions of the West remain at risk for major fire activity this summer. Specifically, these supplemental requests would provide funding for wildland fire suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities. These requests would bring the total FY 2003 funding available for wildland fire suppression to a level equal to the 10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 fire season. It is essential that Congress provide at least the same total amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 through the regular appropriations process. Disaster Response--Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) A total of $1,600 million is proposed for emergency disaster response expenses. Of this amount:
$1,550 million is requested for DHS to provide support for ongoing disaster efforts and to ensure the capacity to respond to future disasters and emergencies. This has been the most costly and deadly tornado season in years and the National Weather Service Hurricane Outlook suggests that disaster costs for the hurricane season just entered could be higher than anticipated. It is estimated that the Disaster Relief Fund will exhaust its current resources by the end of July 2003 and that additional resources are needed to continue to provide emergency assistance. $50 million is requested for NASA to respond to the unanticipated costs associated with the recovery and investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in excess of the $50 million provided by the Congress in the FY 2003 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-7). All of the requests in the transmittal are for the purpose of fulfilling known and urgent requirements that cannot reasonably be met through the use of existing agency funds. I recommend that you designate the specific proposals contained in this transmittal as emergency requirements. I have carefully reviewed these proposals and am satisfied that they are necessary at this time. Therefore, I join the heads of the affected Departments and the NASA Administrator in recommending you transmit the proposals to the Congress. Sincerely, Joshua B. Bolten, Director. Enclosures. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for wildfire suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities of the Forest Service, $253,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose is designated as an emergency requirement. This request would provide an additional $253 million to the Forest Service for wildland fire suppression and emergency rehabilitation of burned areas to ensure sufficient funding for the 2003 fire season. This request would bring the total FY 2003 funding available for wildland fire suppression to a level equal to the 10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 fire season. It is essential that Congress provide at least the same total amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 through the regular appropriations process. ------ DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for wildfire suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities of the Bureau of Land Management, $36,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose is designated as an emergency requirement. This proposal would provide an additional $36 million for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for wildland fire suppression and emergency rehabilitation of burned areas to ensure that sufficient funding is available for the 2003 fire season. This request would bring the total FY 2003 funding available for wildland fire suppression to a level equal to the 10-year average, which includes the severe 2002 fire season. It is essential that Congress provide at least the same total amount for fire suppression funding in FY 2004 through the regular appropriations process. ------ DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Emergency Preparedness and Response DISASTER RELIEF FUND For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), $1,550,000,000, and notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 5203, to remain available until expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose is designated as an emergency requirement. This request would provide an additional $1,550 million for the Department of Homeland Security for disaster response. It is estimated that the Disaster Relief Fund will exhaust its current funding by the end of July 2003 in part due to higher- than-expected costs for disaster relief, including funding for tornadoes and winter storms. These additional resources are needed to continue to provide necessary emergency assistance. With the approval of this supplemental request, there will still be a need to fully fund the FY 2004 request for the Disaster Relief Fund. ------ NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT For an additional amount to cover necessary expenses for responding to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, $50,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That this amount for this specific purpose is designated as an emergency requirement. This request would provide an additional $50 million for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The request will cover additional and unanticipated costs associated with the recovery and investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, such as collection and reconstruction of the orbiter Columbia, computer analyses of potential failure scenarios and impact testing of Space wing components, in excess of the $50 million provided by the Congress for such purposes on Public Law 108-7, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003.