On October 18, 1999, the Conference Committee approved a FY2000 CJS bill totaling $39 billion--$2.8 billion (or 7.7%)above the FY1999 appropriation and $1.3 billion below the President's request. The bill passed the House andSenate,without amendment, on October 20. The President vetoed the bill on October 25, because, among other things, it(1) didnot provide enough money for his community policing program (better known as the COPS program), (2) containednofunding for its lawsuit against the tobacco industry, and (3) did not provide adequate funding for direct payment ofduesand arrears to the United Nations and for other peacekeeping operations abroad. Following negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House, these issues and number of other issues wereapparently resolved. A second CJS bill approved by Conference ( H.Rept. 106-479 ) included in H.R. 3194 ,the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2000, was passed by the House on November 18, 1999. The numberfor theCJS bill is H.R. 3421 , which is in Division B of H.R. 3194 , Section 1000(a). The legislation waspassed by the Senate on November 19, 1999. The bill approves total funding of $39.63 billion which is about $625millionabove the level initially approved by Congress, $3.4 billion (or 9.5%) above the FY1999 appropriation, and $920millionbelow the President's request. The President signed the bill into law on November 29, 1999 ( P.L. 106-113 ; 113 Stat.1501 ). This report tracks legislative action by the first session of the 106th Congress on FY2000 appropriations fortheDepartments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and other related agencies (often referred to as CJSappropriations). Congress appropriated $36.2 billion for these agencies in FY1999 ( P.L. 105-777 ; H.R. 4328 ). (1) The President's FY2000 budget sent toCongress on February 1, 1999, requested about $40.5 billion for theseagencies, about a $4.3 billion increase or 12.0% above the FY1999 total. (2) Among the major agencies, this request calledfor substantial increases in appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and State, and a moderate increase fortheDepartment of Justice. The Senate, on July 22, 1999, approved a total of $35.4 billion, $5.2 billion below the Administration's request and $813million below the FY1999 appropriation ( S. 1217 , S.Rept. 106-76 ). On August 5, 1999, the House approveda total of $37.7 billion ( H.R. 2670 , H.Rept. 106-283 ), $2.9 billion below the President's request, $2.3 billionabove the level approved by the Senate and $1.5 billion above the FY1999 appropriation. This amount included$4.5billion for the decennial census, designated as emergency spending. The Senate measure did not include thisfunding. (3) OnOctober 18, the Conference Committee approved a CJS bill totaling $39 billion--$2.8 billion above the FY1999appropriation and $1.5 billion below the President's request. The bill was approved in the House and Senate,withoutamendment, on October 20, 1999. (4) The Presidentvetoed the bill on October 25, because, among other things, it (1) didnot provide enough money for his community policing program (better known as the COPS program), (2) containednofunding for its lawsuit against the tobacco industry, and (3) did not provide adequate funding for direct payment ofduesand arrears to the United Nations and for other peacekeeping operations abroad. Following negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House, these issues were apparently resolved. Asecond CJS bill approved by Conference ( H.Rept. 106-479 ) included in H.R. 3194 , the ConsolidatedAppropriations Act for FY 2000, was passed by the House on November 18 by a vote of 296-135, and the SenateonNovember 19, 1999 by a vote of 74-24. (5) The numberfor the CJS bill is H.R. 3421 which is in Division B of H.R. 3194 , Section 1000(a). The President signed the bill into law on November 29, 1999. ( P.L. 106-113 ). (6) The law approves total funding of $39.63 billion which is about $625 million above the level initially approved byCongress, $3.4 billion (or 9.5%) above FY1999 appropriation and $920 million below the President's request. Government-wide rescissions. It is important to note that the ConsolidatedAppropriations Act also includes a provision which mandates a 0.38 percent government-wide recission ofdiscretionarybudget authority for FY2000. The Act further provides in carrying out these rescissions: (1) no program, project or activity of any department, agency, instrumentality or entity may be reduced by more than 15percent (with "programs, projects, and activities" as delineated in the appropriations Act or accompanying reportfor therelevant account, or for accounts and items not included in appropriations Acts, as delineated in the most recentlysubmitted President's budget), (2) no reduction shall be taken from any military personnel account, and (3) the reduction for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy Defense Activities shall be applied proportionately to all Defense accounts. The Act provides further that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall include in the President's budgetsubmitted for fiscal year 2001 a report specifying the reductions made to each account pursuant to requirements ofthisprovision this section (Section 301 (a) of H.R. 3425 , included in H.R. 3194 ). (7) On January 10, 2000, the White House released a fact sheet prepared by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)which provides a general statement of actions taken by the Administration to comply with the government-widerescissionsrequirements of the Section 301 (a) of the act (included in H.R. 3194 ). To achieve the 0.38 cut, theAdministration stated it had achieved total savings of $2.356 billion, including cuts of $478 million inCongressionalearmarks (involving 2,372 projects), $192.5 from salaries and expenses, and $1.7 billion in government programs. The fact sheet did not provide further details on cuts for all federal agencies. These cuts will be reflected in agency totalsfor FY2000 contained in the forthcoming budget request of the President for FY2001. As part of the budget process, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) enacted by Congress in 1993( P.L.103-62 ; 107 Stat 285) requires that agencies develop strategic plans that contain goals, objectives, andperformancemeasures for all major programs. The GPRA requirements apply to nearly all executive branch agencies, includingindependent regulatory commissions, but not the judicial branch. According to the President's FY2000 budgetrequest toCongress, all agencies have sent their strategic plans to Congress and are now in the process of preparing annualperformance goals they plan to meet in 2000. The request goes on to say that: "In 2000. . . agencies will submit tothePresident and Congress annual reports...that compare actual and target performance levels and explain any differencebetween them." (8) Brief descriptions of the strategicplans of the major agencies covered by CJS appropriations arecontained in the discussions of the FY2000 budget requests of individual agencies included in this report. The more contentious issues that were given consideration in the House and Senate debate over FY2000 CJS appropriations included: The conduct of the 2000 decennial census, including whether statistical sampling should be used by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce to derive population data for purposes other than reapportioningtheHouse of Representatives. The adequacy of funding the Department of Justice's COPS program to hire new police officers at the community level. Changing the focus and levels of appropriations for DOJ's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Neither the 104th nor the 105th Congress reauthorized the JuvenileJustice and DelinquencyPrevention Act of 1974, as amended. Determining the level of INS detention capacity necessary to comply with the statutory mandate that certain criminal aliens be detained until deported; The payment of arrears to the United Nations. The payment of embassy security measures through an advanced appropriation; How much funding was required to maintain essential services, operations and court security in the lower courts. Other issues that received attention include the following. Department of Justice: Extending the 1994 Crime Act funding authorizations beyond FY2000 under the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund (VCRTF). Eliminating most funding under the 1994 Crime Act for Title III crime prevention programs. Increasing funding for drug-related efforts, especially interdiction, among the Department of Justice (DOJ) agencies, now that the 105th Congress has reauthorized the Office of National Drug ControlPolicy. Funding for programs that would reduce violence in schools. Determining the severity of INS budget overruns in FY1999 due to overhiring in FY1998 and other mandatory costs, e.g., rents and telecommunications. Reducing pending case loads in immigration-related claims, particularly naturalization cases. Meeting the statutory mandate that the Border Patrol be increased by 1,000 agents in FY2000. Restructuring INS internally as proposed by the Administration or dismantling the agency by legislation.