**FACT SHEET: ALTHOUGH OMNIBUS CONFERENCE REPORT**

**HAS NUMEROUS GOOD PROVISIONS, IT ALSO UNDERFUNDS CERTAIN KEY
PRIORITIES**

***Omnibus Also Fails to Include House-Passed Provisions on Such Key
Issues as Overtime and Reimportation***

Today, the House will consider the Omnibus Appropriations Conference
Report. The Omnibus Appropriations Conference Report includes the
remaining nine appropriations bills: Foreign Operations, VA-HUD,
Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-State, Transportation-Treasury,
Legislative Branch, Interior, Energy-Water and Agriculture. This is one
of the largest Omnibus Appropriations bills that Congress has ever
considered.

The fact that this Omnibus conference report fails to fully fund some
key priorities goes back to the decisions House Republicans made in the
spring when they adopted the Republican budget plan. The Republican
budget plan reflects the [wrong]{.underline} priorities for the country
-- super-sized tax cuts for those who need them least, tax breaks for
corporations that export U.S. jobs overseas, new subsidies for HMOs, and
special favors for big drug companies, at the expense of key investments
in our nation's future. Democrats have fought for different priorities
-- ones that reflect our values and help meet the challenges facing the
middle class.

As a result of the GOP budget plan, this Omnibus Conference Report was
given a woefully inadequate budget allocation. [Within this inadequate
budget allocation, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees worked
hard, in most cases, to fund as best they could the nation's key
initiatives and programs.]{.underline}

[Although Democrats remain concerned about the underfunding of
priorities, many Democrats point out that this Omnibus Conference Report
is better than the alternative -- which would be a full-year Continuing
Resolution at the FY 2004 funding levels.]{.underline}

Following is an overview of some of the priorities that Democrats remain
concerned were not fully funded and some of the House-passed provisions
that Democrats were concerned were dropped.

**[Labor-HHS-Education]{.underline}**

**Rejects Obey-Miller amendment blocking cuts in overtime pay, which had
been adopted by House by 223 to 193.** In a blow to America's workers,
the conference agreement fails to include the Obey-Miller amendment to
the Labor-HHS-Education bill that would have blocked the
Administration's new overtime rules -- with one exception, the portion
of the new rules that expanded overtime protection for low-income
workers. [The GOP leadership stripped the Obey-Miller amendment from the
final bill despite the fact that the House had adopted the amendment by
a vote of 223 to 193 on September 9 and that the Senate bill also
included identical provisions.]{.underline} The Administration's new
overtime rules cut the pay and lengthen the hours for at least 6 million
workers making as little as \$23,660 at a time when household incomes
are down, prices are up, and there is a 1.3 million private-sector jobs
deficit. Indeed, over the years, millions of Americans have depended on
overtime to make ends meet. For example, in 2000, overtime pay accounted
for about 25 percent of the income of employees who worked overtime.

**Underfunds No Child Left Behind overall by \$9.6 billion.** The
President's budget provided \$9.4 billion less than was promised in the
No Child Left Behind Act in FY 2005. The conference agreement provides
\$24.7 billion for NCLB, a shortfall of \$9.6 billion below the NCLB
funding promise. The agreement actually cuts the President's NCLB
request by \$193 million.

**Denies 2.5 million children Title I math and reading assistance.**
Title I is the primary federal program to help the nation's low-income
students achieve to the rigorous academic standards of No Child Left
Behind (NCLB). And yet the agreement provides only \$12.8 billion for
Title I, \$7.7 billion less than was promised by NCLB -- meaning that
2.5 million children will be denied the Title I math and reading
assistance promised. The agreement actually cuts the \$1 billion Title I
increase proposed by the Administration by \$500 million or 50 percent.

**Denies 1.3 million children after-school learning opportunities.** A
key concept of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is that students who
are falling behind are able to receive tutoring and a broad array of
related services in school and community-based after-school centers. And
yet, the agreement provides only \$999 million for after-school
programs, \$1 billion less than was promised by NCLB -- meaning that 1.3
million children will be left without a safe place to play and learn
after school.

**Underfunds grants to ensure a "highly qualified" teacher in every
classroom.** The conference agreement provides only \$2.94 billion for
teacher training programs, which are designed to ensure a "highly
qualified" teacher in every classroom \-- \$235 million less than
promised by the No Child Left Behind Act. Approximately 50,000 teachers
will not get the professional development promised under the Act.

**Underfunds Head Start.** The conference agreement provides an increase
of \$115 million (1.7 percent) for Head Start, even though Head Start
currently serves only about half of the eligible 3 and 4 years olds, and
only about 3 percent of eligible children less than three years old.

**Reneges on the funding promise on special education.** The conference
agreement provides \$10.7 billion for IDEA Part B Grants, cutting the
\$1 billion increase proposed by the Administration by nearly \$400
million or 40 percent. On the same day that the Republicans promised to
provide \$12.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2005 for IDEA in the latest IDEA
Reauthorization conference report (which the House passed today), this
agreement reneges on that new promise and falls \$1.6 billion short.

**Freezes maximum Pell Grant.** Although college tuition has risen 36
percent since 2001 and the buying power of grants continues to erode,
the conference agreement freezes the maximum Pell Grant at \$4,050 for
the second year in a row, and grows the program's budget deficit by
nearly \$400 million to \$3.8 billion. Pell Grants are the most
important source of grants for low-income college students.

**May eliminate Pell Grants for nearly 100,000 students.** Pell Grants
may be eliminated for nearly 100,000 students and thousands more could
receive smaller awards under the conference agreement, which drops the
Corzine amendment that would have prohibited the Administration from
cutting the credit families receive for the payment of state and local
taxes in the calculation of their federal student aid.

**Inadequately funds NIH.** The conference agreement provides an
inadequate increase of only 2.9 percent for NIH. This is the smallest
percentage increase in NIH appropriations since FY 1986, and well short
of the 3.5 percent increase needed to keep up with estimated inflation
in research costs. According to patient and research advocates, NIH must
receive budget increases of 8 to 10 percent to capitalize on the
progress being made in biomedical research.

**Underfunds HIV/AIDS programs.** The conference agreement provides an
inadequate increase of only 3.3 percent, or \$25 million, for the AIDS
Drug Assistance Program -- millions below the amount needed to ensure
that all eligible people with HIV have access to this important program.
In addition, the agreement freezes all other components of the Ryan
White CARE Act, which helps support medical care, dental care, and
various supportive services for HIV/AIDS patients lacking other sources
of care -- for the second year in a row.

**Underfunds services to seniors.** The Administration on Aging provides
funding for several programs that provide vital services to seniors,
including the Meals-on-Wheels program, a nursing home ombudsman program,
senior centers, and a program providing support for family caregivers.
And yet the agency's budget has been virtually frozen over the last few
years. The conference agreement provides only a modest increase --
leaving the agency's budget at only 4.2 percent above the level three
years ago -- despite inflation and the growing number of seniors.

**[Agriculture]{.underline}**

**Rejects Kaptur amendment on drug reimportation, which had been
included in House-passed bill.** The conference agreement
[fails]{.underline} to include the provisions in the House-passed
Agriculture bill that would allow the reimportation of FDA-approved
prescription drugs from abroad -- a policy that is supported by a large
majority of Americans. It is outrageous that these drug reimportation
provisions would be stripped from the final bill. (The Agriculture
Subcommittee had added these reimportation provisions to the bill, as
the Kaptur amendment, on June 14, by a vote of 8 to 6.) These
reimportation provisions would result in savings in drug purchases of as
much as 40 percent, for [all]{.underline} Americans, including
hard-pressed seniors. For example, this year alone, experts at Boston
University estimate that Americans would save \$59.7 billion by paying
Canadian prices for brand name drugs.

**Underfunds key rural programs.** The agreement underfunds several key
rural programs, including cutting rural water and sewer grants, rural
water and sewer loans, and rural community facility loans (that are used
for health care, fire and day care facilities) below the FY 2004 level.

**[VA-HUD]{.underline}**

**Underfunds veterans' health care.** The conference agreement does not
provide sufficient funding for veterans' health care. Although Democrats
are pleased that the conference agreement provides \$1.2 billion more
than the President requested, this funding level is still [\$1.3 billion
less]{.underline} than the amount that the bipartisan Veterans' Affairs
Committee has stated is needed just to maintain the current level of
veterans' health care services. The funding level in the conference
agreement is the same as in the House GOP budget, which all the major
national veterans' groups called inadequate. For example, the Veterans
of Foreign Wars had stated, "This budget will do nothing to help the
thousands of veterans waiting six months or more to see a primary care
physician; in fact, it will drive many out of the system altogether."
Similarly, Blinded Veterans of America had stated, "The budget does not
provide adequate funding to meet the needs of sick and disabled veterans
seeking care from the system. \[It\] is an insult not only to current
veterans who served their country honorably, but also to the men and
women at this moment all over the world protecting democracy."

**Cuts funding for environmental protection programs.** The conference
agreement [cuts]{.underline} funding for the Environmental Protection
Agency by \$292 million or by 3.5 percent below last year. In practical
terms, this means less money for communities to improve the quality of
their air and the safety of their water and less money for cleaning up
toxic wastes. The largest cut is a cut of \$242 million or 18 percent in
funding for the Clean Water Funds below last year -- at a time when 45
percent of the nation's lakes and 40 percent of the nation's streams
remain too polluted for fishing or swimming.

**Underfunds research and development.** The conference agreement
significantly underfunds the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is
this country's chief mechanism for supporting basic research and which
has been a key engine for economic development and advancement in such
areas as biomedical research. Two years ago, Congress passed a bill
calling for a doubling of the NSF budget over five years. And yet the
conference agreement cuts funding for NSF by \$61 million below the FY
2004 level and \$230 million below the President's request.

**Underfunds key housing programs.** Although the conference agreement
includes an increase of \$970 million for Section 8 vouchers, this
amount is inadequate to maintain even current levels of housing
assistance for this needy population. Indeed, the funding in the
agreement for tenant-based vouchers is at least \$300 million short. In
addition, all other HUD programs, except Section 8, are cut by three to
four percent below last year's level.

**[Transportation-Treasury]{.underline}**

**Underfunds FAA operations.** Many experts are concerned regarding the
underfunding of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) -- the key
agency for ensuring the safety of the flying public. Indeed, in Fiscal
Year 2004, the FAA's limited funding resulted in the attrition of over
1,000 FAA personnel. After documenting the needs, the Bush
Administration requested an increase of \$363 million for FAA operations
in FY 2005 -- and yet this agreement provides only \$240 million, which
will result in further attrition in the FAA's workforce.

**[Interior]{.underline}**

**Underfunds land acquisition programs.** Land acquisition is designed
to set aside land for conservation purposes. The conference agreement
continues the underfunding of land acquisition that has occurred over
the last couple of years. Back in FY 2001, land acquisition was being
funded at \$450 million a year. And yet, in FY 2004, land acquisition
had been cut back to \$170 million and, in this conference agreement, FY
2005 funding remains at an inadequate \$166 million, \$54 million below
the President's request.

**Rejects Chabot-Andrews amendment on Tongass subsidies, which had been
adopted by House by 222 to 205.** The conference agreement
[fails]{.underline} to include the Chabot-Andrews amendment to the
Interior bill that would stop the construction of new logging roads in
the Tongass National Forest -- taxpayer subsidies which are a
special-interest giveaway to the timber industry. [The GOP leadership
stripped the bipartisan Chabot-Andrews amendment from the final bill
despite the fact that the House had adopted the amendment by a vote of
222 to 205 on June 16.]{.underline} Taxpayer-subsidized logging in the
Tongass has cost American taxpayers over \$750 million over the past 20
years. Furthermore, the Chabot-Andrews amendment had been supported by a
broad coalition of taxpayer groups (including Taxpayers for Common Sense
and National Taxpayers Union), environmental groups, and sportsmen and
gun clubs.

![](media/image1.wmf) Office of the House Democratic Leader Nancy
Pelosi, November 20, 2004

www.HouseDemocrats.gov /
[www.DemocraticLeader.house.gov](http://www.DemocraticLeader.house.gov/)
/

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