Appropriations for FY2005: VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies

Publication Date: December 2004

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Banking and finance

Type:

Abstract:

On February 2, 2004, the Administration presented its proposed FY2005 budget to Congress for the Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several Independent Agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). On November 20, 2004, the House and Senate approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act of FY2005 (H.Rept. 108-792, H.R. 4818) providing $129.0 billion for VA/HUD and Independent Agencies, nearly $5.5 billion (4.4%) above FY2004 appropriations of $123.5 billion and $1.7 billion more than the Administration’s request of $127.2 billion. On December 8, 2004, the President signed the funding bill into law: P.L. 108-447. However, the figures in this report do not include an across-the-board rescission of 0.80% that will be applied to all discretionary appropriations.

Some departments or agencies fared better than others as the Congress faced strong pressures to limit all non-defense discretionary spending. The Department of Veterans Affairs will be funded at nearly $66 billion, $4.1 billion more than FY2004 appropriations and $1.2 billion above the President’s budget. The Administration’s request once again included new user fees at healthcare facilities and increased copayments for pharmaceuticals — proposals that were not adopted.

HUD received $32.0 billion, $838 million more than FY2004 appropriations. The sizable increase provided for the Section 8 voucher program, about $1 billion above FY2005 and nearly $1.8 billion more than the Administration request, made it necessary to cut all other agency programs, including the Community Development Fund (down $225 million from FY2004 appropriations), HOME (down $91 million), housing for the elderly (down $27 million), housing opportunities for persons with AIDS (down $11 million), and homeless assistance grants (down $9 million). The controversial initiative proposed by the Administration, the Flexible Voucher
Program (FVP), intended to control spending under the Section 8 rental voucher program, was not adopted, but the use of budget-based funding continues.

The conferees agreed to $8.1 billion for EPA, a cut of $278 million from FY2004 appropriations of $8.4 billion, with $274 million less than last year for assistance grants to state, local, and tribal environmental protection programs, primarily involving water resources. The Superfund received $1.3 billion, equal to the FY2004 level. The National Science Foundation will be funded at $5.5 billion, about $61 million less than the prior year, including a $91 million reduction in education and human resources.

The conferees approved $16.2 billion for NASA for FY2005, an increase of $822 million (5.3%) over the prior year to cover the increased costs associated with the Hubble servicing and repair mission and the shuttle return-to-flight activities, with the agency given almost total funding flexibility.

This report will not be updated.