[House Document 108-197]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 108-197
REQUESTS FOR FY 2005 BUDGET AMENDMENTS
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
REQUESTS FOR FY 2005 BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE,
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, JUSTICE, STATE, AND TRANSPORTATION; AS WELL
AS THE GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, THE ELECTION ASSISTANCE
COMMISSION, AND THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
June 25, 2004.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and ordered
to be printed
The White House,
Washington, June 25, 2004.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC
Dear Mr. Speaker: I ask the Congress to consider the
enclosed FY 2005 budget amendments for the Departments of
Commerce, Health and Human Services, Justice, State, and
Transportation; as well as the General Services Administration,
the Election Assistance Commission, and the Federal
Communications Commission. In total, these amendments would not
increase the discretionary budget authority proposed in my FY
2005 Budget.
The details of these proposals are set forth in the
enclosed letter from the Director of the Office of Management
and Budget.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
Enclosure.
[Estimate No. 6, 108th Cong., 2d Sess.]
Executive Office of the President,
Office of Management and Budget,
Washington, DC, June 24, 2004.
The President,
The White House.
Submitted for your consideration are requests for FY 2005
budget amendments for the Departments of Commerce, Health and
Human Services, Justice, State, and Transportation; as well as
the General Services Administration, the Election Assistance
Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission.
The discretionary budget authority proposed in your FY 2005
Budget would not be increased by these amendments.
As described below and in more detail in the enclosures,
the requests include the following:
Department of Health and Human Services
$15 million is proposed for a new HIV Vaccine
Research and Development Center in the United States to support
the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, which you announced at the
recent G-8 Summit. The increase in budget authority would be
fully offset within the Department.
Department of State
Appropriations language is proposed, consistent
with the FY 2005 Budget, which would permit initiation of a
surcharge on passports and immigration visa application fees.
General Services Administration
Language is proposed that would transfer the
authority to oversee the Panama Canal Revolving Fund from the
Panama Canal Commission to the General Services Administration.
Election Assistance Commission
An additional $10 million is proposed to enable
the Commission to proceed with important studies mandated by
the Help America Vote Act. This increase in budget authority
would be fully offset within the Commission.
Other FY 2005 Amendments
Several other amendments to your FY 2005 Budget
are included in this transmittal for the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Justice, the Department of
Transportation, and the Federal Communications Commission.
Recommendation
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 agencies in recommending
that you transmit these amendments to the Congress.
Sincerely,
Joshua B. Bolten,
Director.
Enclosures.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 214
FY 2005 Pending Request: $393,513,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $393,513,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading,
delete the second proviso.)
This proposal would delete language that was inadvertently
included in the FY 2005 Budget Appendix, which is inconsistent
with Administration policy.
This amendment would not affect the Department of
Commerce's pending FY 2005 budget authority request.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
PACIFIC COASTAL SALMON RECOVERY
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 221
FY 2005 Pending Request: $100,000,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $100,000,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading,
after ``Pacific salmon populations'' insert including grants to
the State of Idaho,)
This proposal would clarify that Idaho is an authorized
recipient of grant funds for salmon habitat restoration, salmon
stock enhancement, and salmon research.
This amendment would not affect the Department of
Commerce's pending FY 2005 budget authority request.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Pages: 436-437
FY 2005 Pending Request: $28,607,357,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $28,607,357,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading,
the following sections are amended:)
(1) Under the ``National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases'' section, delete
``$4,425,507,000'' and substitute $4,440,007,000;
(2) under the ``National Institute on Drug Abuse''
section, delete ``$1,019,060,000'' and substitute
$1,012,760,000: Provided, That in addition to amounts
provided herein, $6,300,000 shall be available from
amounts under section 241 of the Act to carry out
national surveys on drug abuse and related analysis;
and
(3) under the ``National Library of Medicine''
section, delete ``$325,147,000'' and substitute
$316,947,000; and insert the following before the
period, : Provided further, That in addition to amounts
provided herein, $8,200,000 shall be available from
amounts under section 241 of the Act to carry out
National Information Center on Health Services Research
and Health Care Technology and related health services.
This proposal would increase HIV vaccine research funding
in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) by $14.5 million, by reallocating $6.3 million in
budget authority from the National Institute on Drug Abuse
(NIDA) and $8.2 million in budget authority from the National
Library of Medicine (NLM) to the NIAID.
The increase in NIAID would support the Global HIV Vaccine
Enterprise, which was announced by President Bush during the
June 2004, G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia. The Vaccine
Enterprise concept is a virtual consortium to accelerate HIV
vaccine development by enhancing coordination, information
sharing, and collaboration globally. The U.S. commitment of
$14.5 million would fund a new HIV Vaccine Research and
Development Center in the United States and is intended to
encourage other countries to make their own commitments to
establish virtual centers and better coordinate vaccine
research efforts.
The funds reallocated by NIDA and NLM would be restored
within the overall request for the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) for evaluation activities through the use of the
Secretary's authority under Section 241 of the Public Health
Service Act, which allows the allocation of a portion of total
amounts appropriated for programs under the Act to be use for
evaluation activities. Therefore, total discretionary budget
authority proposed for NIH in FY 2005 would not be affected by
this amendment.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 685
FY 2005 Pending Request: $1,661,503,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $1,661,503,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading,
delete ``$5,000,000'' before the phrase ``for construction''
and substitute $13,100,000.)
This proposal would increase by $8.1 million the allocation
of funding within the Salaries and Expenses account available
for construction of a training facility for detecting and
destroying illegal clandestine drug laboratories. The lease
recently expired for the Drug Enforcement Administration's
current training facilities, which are located on the Quantico
Marine Corps Base, and the Marines are expected to occupy the
facility by December 2005.
This amendment would not affect the Department of Justice's
pending FY 2005 budget authority request.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Administration of Foreign Affairs
DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR PROGRAMS
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 737
FY 2005 Pending Request: $4,285,044,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $4,285,044,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading,
insert the following after the second paragraph:)
Beginning in fiscal year 2005 and thereafter, the Secretary
of State is authorized to charge surcharges related to consular
services in support of enhanced border security that are in
addition to the passport and immigrant visa fees in effect on
January 1, 2004. Funds collected pursuant to this authority
shall be credited to this account, and shall be available until
expended for the purposes of such account. Such surcharges
shall be $10 on passport fees and $45 on immigrant visa fees.
These amounts may be amended by the Secretary through
administrative procedures after fiscal year 2005 as
appropriate.
In order to comply with the Border Security Act and other
legislation requiring the inclusion of new information,
including biometrics, in passports and visas, the FY 2005
President's Budget included a proposal for later transmittal
relating to consular fees. The appropriations language now
proposed would permit initiation of a surcharge on passport and
immigration visa applications and allow expenditures of the
amounts collected for the provision of consular services under
the Diplomatic and Consular Programs account. The amount
collected under this proposal is estimated to be $95 million.
An additional $5 million will be collected through
administrative changes to the Diversity Visa program in FY
2005.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) is in the midst of a
multi-year effort to increase border security by strengthening
the security of the passport adjudication process, the physical
passport, the immigrant visa adjudication process, and the
physical immigrant visa document itself. All of these changes
impose a variety of developmental and operating costs on CA.
With respect to passport services, improvements involving
the use of other agency and commercial databases are underway
to prevent identify theft and provide a more robust name check
system for passport adjudicators. Changes to the passport book
itself began most recently with the introduction of photo
digitization. Changes currently underway include the redesign
of the passport book to incorporate the most recent advances in
document security, as well as the introduction of a contactless
chip to store biometric information about the authorized bearer
of the passport. The collection of a $10 security surcharge is
directly linked to the implementation of these security-related
improvements. In addition, the Department of State plans to
help ensure the security of U.S. passports through an enhanced
mail delivery system.
The effort to enhance immigrant visa services includes
migration of the immigrant visa to a machine-readable format
using a secure visa template and implementation of digital
photo and electronic fingerprint collection as required by
recent legislative mandates. CA is also working closely with
the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in an ongoing effort
to more fully integrate the immigrant visa process into plans
for enhanced electronic case processing and tracking throughout
Department of State and DHS activities. The collection of a $45
surcharge is directly linked to implementation of these
security-related improvements.
This amendment would not affect the Department of State's
pending FY 2005 budget authority request. The Department of
State will also transmit corresponding authorization language.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 761
FY 2005 Pending Request: $102,689,000
Proposed Amendment: $5.658,000
Revised Amendment: $108,347,000
This amendment would place the operational responsibility
for the Office of Emergency Transportation and Crisis
Management Center with the Office of the Secretary. An
accompanying proposal would move it from the Research and
Special Programs Administration.
Taken together with the accompanying amendment, the
discretionary budget authority total proposed in the FY 2005
budget for the Department of Transportation would not be
increased by this amendment.
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Special Programs Administration
RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Pages: 806-807
FY 2005 Pending Request $52,936,000
Proposed Amendment: -$5,658,000
Revised Request: $47,278,000
This proposal would move the operational responsibility for
the Office of Emergency Transportation and Crisis Management
Center from the Research and Special Programs Administration.
An accompanying amendment proposes that this responsibility be
moved to the Office of the Secretary.
Taken together with the accompanying amendment, the
discretionary budget authority total proposed in the FY 2005
Budget for the Department of Transportation would not be
increased by this amendment.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
GENERAL PROVISIONS--GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Pages: 974-975
FY 2005 Pending Request: --
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: --
(In the appropriations language under this heading, add the
following new section after section 409:)
Sec. 410. Section 3712 of title 22, U.S.C., is amended by
adding the following new subsection at the end:
(e) Termination; Transfer of Revolving Fund.--
(1) The Panama Canal Commission and the Office of
Transition Administration (P.L. 106-65, div. C, title
XXXV, Sec. 3504b), (c),) shall terminate on October 1,
2004. To the extent that the Administrator of General
Services determines that any functions of the
Commission or the Office being performed immediately
prior to such termination should continue in connection
with winding up the affairs of the Commission or the
Office, such functions are transferred to the
Administrator.
Upon termination pursuant to paragraph (1), the Fund
shall be transferred to the General Services
Administration (GSA). GSA shall use amounts in the Fund
to make payments of any outstanding liabilities of the
Commission, as well as any expenses required to perform
the transferred functions.
This proposal would transfer the remaining functions of the
Panama Canal Commission (PCC) Office of Transition
Administration (OTA) to the General Services Administration
(GSA) on October 1, 2004, the date of the Office's effective
termination under law. The OTA and PCC are effectively
terminated with the expiration of authorities under current
law. However, this provision would make clear the intent to
affirmatively terminate the agency rather than merely allowing
its statutory authority to expire. The proposal would also
transfer the authority to manage and make expenditures from the
Panama Canal Revolving Fund to GSA. This proposal will have no
budgetary effect on any other GSA program or responsibility.
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
ELECTION REFORM PROGRAMS
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 1115
FY 2005 Pending Request: $40,000,000
Proposed Amendment: -$10,000,000
Revised Request: $30,000,000
This amendment would reduce by $10 million the pending FY
2005 request for the Election Reform Programs account.
Sufficient funding will be available from prior-year
unobligated balances, now projected to be carried forward into
FY 2005. This reduction would fully offset the proposed
increase to the Commission's Salaries and Expenses account, as
described in an accompanying amendment.
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 1115
FY 2005 Pending Request: $10,000,000
Proposed Amendment: $10,000,000
Revised Request: $20,000,000
This proposal would provide an additional $10 million to
the Election Assistance Commission's Salaries and Expenses
account to allow the Commission to proceed with important
studies mandated by the Help America Vote Act. This increase in
budget authority would be fully offset by a corresponding
reduction to the Commission's Election Reform Programs account,
as proposed in an accompanying amendment.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
FY 2005 Budget Appendix Page: 1125
FY 2005 Pending Request: $20,000,000
Proposed Amendment: Language
Revised Request: $20,000,000
(In the appropriations language under the above heading
after the last paragraph, add the following new proviso before
the period:)
: Provided further, That not to exceed $33,200,000 may be
transferred from the Universal Service Fund to monitor the
Universal Service Fund program to prevent and remedy waste,
fraud, and abuse, and to conduct audits and investigations by
the Office of Inspector General: Provided further, That after
notification, as provided in section 605 of this Act,
additional sums may be transferred from such Fund for such
purposes.
This proposal would allow the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to transfer funds from the Universal Service
Fund (USF) to fund USF audit efforts. FCC anticipates a
substantial increase in the number of audits conducted on the
USF, in fulfillment of the Improper Payments Act. Senate Report
108-144 advised the FCC to utilize funds in the USF to pay for
costs associated with the auditing of the USF. This proposal
would clarify the statutory language.
This amendment would not increase the discretionary budget
authority proposed in the FY 2005 Budget.