*EPF507 07/14/00
Text: House Passes Foreign Operations Budget
(OMB says overall funding inadequate) (1070)
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a foreign operations budget of $13,344 million for fiscal year 2001 that provides full funding for the president's requests for international debt relief and HIV/AIDS programs.
In a July 13 vote, the House added $155.6 million to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief initiative, bringing total funding to the president's $225 million request, the House Appropriations Committee said in a press release July 13. House Appropriations Committee originally designated $69.4 million for HIPC.
The House also amended the original appropriation for HIV/AIDS with an additional $42 million, fulfilling the president's request of $244 million for FY01, which begins October 1, the press release said.
The extra funding for HIPC and HIV/AIDS was taken from Foreign Military Financing.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said, while it is pleased with the debt relief and AIDS funding, it will recommend a veto. The budget, as it stands now, provides inadequate funding on "many, many issues," said OMB spokeswoman Linda Richie. The White House requested $15,177 million for foreign operations.
The spokeswoman said the cuts in Foreign Military Financing would damage the Middle East peace process and peacekeeping operations in other parts of the world.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank, the multilateral development banks, the International Development Association, the fight against terrorism, and scientific and nuclear exchanges are a few of the long list of budget items the president considers to have inadequate funding, she said.
In June, the Senate passed a foreign operations budget of $13,428 million, slightly higher than the House version. The Senate and House must reconcile the two versions in a unified bill before it arrives on the desk of the president.
A source at the House Appropriations Committee said the leaders of the House and Senate have not decided yet whether to produce a foreign operations budget bill the president will veto or one he will sign.
Following is the text of the press release:
(Note: In text, "billion" means 1,000 million.)
(begin text)
House Appropriations Committee
Chairman C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
Website address: www.house.gov/appropriations
July 13, 2000
FUNDING TAXPAYERS' OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS
House Approves FY01 Foreign Operations Bill, H.R. 4811
FY01 Bill: $13.344 billion
FY01 President's Request: $15.177 billion
FY00 Enacted: $13.776 billion
Major Amendments Adopted on House Floor:
(Waters): Adds $155.6 million to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPIC) debt relief, which brings total funding up to the President's $225 million request. Offset with funding from Foreign Military Financing.
(Lee): Adds $42 million to international HIV/AIDS. Offset with funding from Foreign Military Financing.
(Brown/OH): Prohibits funds from being used in violation of existing laws against the importation of goods made by forced labor.
(Sherman): Adds $10 million to the Child Survival and Disease Programs Fund, intended for HIV/AIDS. Offset with funds from the International Development Association.
(Bereuter): Limits the assumption by the United States Government of liability for nuclear accidents in North Korea.
Major Priorities and Initiatives:
-- Increases the Child Survival and Disease Programs Fund $155.7 million over the President's request and $119 million over FY00. Total FY01 funding is $834 million, which includes $110 million for UNICEF -- the same as FY00.
-- Provides up to $254 million for HIV/AIDS within the Child Survival and Disease Programs Fund.
-- Provides $160 million in emergency disaster assistance for Southern Africa, including Mozambique.
-- Preserves International Narcotics Control funding at $305 million, the same as FY00, $7 million below the President's request.
-- Fully funds the President's $840 million request for economic assistance to Israel, $120 million below FY00. Allows for early disbursal of funds.
-- Fully funds the President's $695 million request for economic assistance to Egypt, $40 million below FY00.
-- Fully funds the President's $150 million request for economic assistance to Jordan, the same as FY00.
-- Increases the International Fund for Ireland $5.4 million over FY00 and the President's request to express, bringing FY01 funding to $25 million to support the Good Friday Agreement.
-- Fully funds the President's $225 million request for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief, with an emphasis on Bolivia and Mozambique.
-- Increases the Agency for International Development (AID) $34.2 million over FY00, bringing FY01 funding to $2.87 billion, $90 million below the President's request.
-- Increases Peace Corps $13 million over FY00, bringing FY01 funding to $258 million, $17 million below the President's request.
-- Fully funds President's $40 million request for demining activities.
Major Reforms/Cuts:
-- Reduces the Global Environment Facility (GEF) $139.7 million below the President's request, bringing FY01 funding to the FY00 level of $35.8 million. Reduces total World Bank Group funding $246.3 million below the President, bringing FY01 funding to $780.8 million, $34 million below FY00.
-- Funds for international family planning assistance are frozen at the FY00 level of $385 million (for the third year in a row). Retains FY00 language imposing certain prohibitions on the expenditure of these funds.
-- Reduces the contribution to the International Development Association $269 million below the President's request, $208.4 million below FY00. Total FY01 funding is $566.6 million.
-- Reduces the Trade and Development Agency $8 million below the President's request, bringing FY01 funding to $46 million, $2 million more than FY00.
-- Reduces the Export-Import Bank $139 million below the President's request, bringing FY01 funding to $872 million, $73 million more than FY00.
Other Items of Interest:
-- Limits funding for the Korean Peninsula Economic Development Organization (KEDO) to the FY00 level of $35 million, $20 million below the President's request. Prohibits funds if North Korea breaks its agreement on freezing nuclear development (same as last year).
-- Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is funded at $61 million, $2 million below the President's request, $2 million more than FY00.
-- Assistance for the Independent States of the former Soviet Union is funded at $740 million, $90 million below the President and $99 million below FY00.
-- Fully funds the President's $33 million programmatic request for anti-terrorism, the same as FY00.
-- Funds International Military Education Training (IMET) at $52.5 million, $2.5 million below the President's request.
-- Retains bill language requiring the Secretary of Defense to certify that the School of the Americas includes human rights courses.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN