Order Code RL31803
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Appropriations for FY2004:
Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education
Updated August 29, 2003
Paul M. Irwin
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Appropriations are one part of a complex federal budget process that includes budget
resolutions, appropriations (regular, supplemental, and continuing) bills, rescissions, and
budget reconciliation bills. The process begins with the President’s budget request and is
bound by the rules of the House and Senate, the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
Control Act of 1974 (as amended), the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990, and current
program authorizations.
This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress considers
each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittees. It
summarizes the current legislative status of the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels,
and related legislative activity. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues
covered and related CRS products.
This report is updated as soon as possible after major legislative developments, especially
following legislative action in the committees and on the floor of the House and Senate.
NOTE: A Web version of this document with active links is
available to congressional staff at:
[http://www.crs.gov/products/appropriations/apppage.shtml].


Appropriations for FY2004: Labor, Health and
Human Services, and Education
Summary
This report tracks the progress of the bill providing FY2004 appropriations for
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies (L-HHS-ED). This legislation provides discretionary funds for three
federal departments and related agencies. The report summarizes L-HHS-ED
discretionary funding issues but not authorization or entitlement issues.
On February 3, 2003, the President submitted the FY2004 budget request to the
Congress. The L-HHS-ED request is $135.6 billion in discretionary funds; the
comparable FY2003 amount is $134.7 billion, enacted primarily through P.L. 108-7.
On July 10, 2003, the House amended and passed its version of the FY2004 bill,
H.R. 2660 (H.Rept. 108-188), with a discretionary total of $138.3 billion. On June
26, 2003, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported its version, S. 1356
(S.Rept. 108-81)
, with a discretionary total of $138.0 billion.
Department of Labor (DOL): DOL discretionary appropriations are $11.8
billion in FY2003, the FY2004 request is for $11.6 billion, the House bill is for $11.7
billion, and the Senate bill is for $11.8 billion. Programs include the Workforce
Investment Act and the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB).
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): HHS discretionary
appropriations are $60.1 billion in FY2003, the FY2004 request is $60.9 billion, the
House bill is $61.2 billion, and the Senate bill is $61.2 billion. Major programs
include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Health Professions, Children’s
Hospital Graduate Medical Education, Community Health Centers, Community
Access, Ryan White AIDS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Head Start, Promoting Safe
and Stable Families, and the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund.
Department of Education (ED): ED discretionary appropriations are $53.1
billion in FY2003, $53.2 billion is requested, the House bill is $55.4 billion, and the
Senate bill is $54.6 billion. Major programs include Title I Part A Grants to Local
Educational Agencies, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B
Grants to States, Reading First, Teacher Quality, Impact Aid, 21st Century
Community Learning Centers, Rural Education, Fund for the Improvement of
Education (FIE), Perkins Vocational Education, and Reading First State Grants.
Related Agencies: Discretionary appropriations for related agencies are $9.6
billion in FY2003, $9.9 billion is requested for FY2004, the House bill is $10.0
billion, and the Senate bill is $10.3 billion. Major programs include the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Corporation for
National and Community Service (CNCS), and Administrative Expenses of the
Social Security Administration (SSA).

Key Policy Staff for L-HHS-ED Appropriations
Area of Expertise
Name
Telephone
Coordinator
Paul M. Irwin
7-7573
Department of Labor
Job training and employment services
Ann Lordeman
7-2323
Labor market information
Linda Levine
7-7756
Labor standards enforcement
William G. Whittaker
7-7759
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Edward B. Rappaport
7-7740
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Edward B. Rappaport
7-7740
Older Americans Act, employment programs
Carol V. O’Shaughnessy
7-7329
Pension and Welfare Benefits
Paul J. Graney
7-2290
Trade Adjustment Assistance
Paul J. Graney
7-2290
Unemployment compensation
Celinda Franco
7-7360
Welfare-to-Work
Gene Falk
7-7344
Workforce Investment Act
Ann Lordeman
7-2323
Department of Health and Human Services
Abortion, legal issues
Karen J. Lewis
7-6190
Abortion, legal issues
Jon Shimabakuro
7-7990
Abortion procedures
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
AIDS, Ryan White programs
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
Bioterrorism, HHS funding
Holly Harvey
7-4913
Bioterrorism, HHS funding
C. Stephen Redhead
7-2261
Bioterrorism, HHS funding
Pamela W. Smith
7-7048
Cancer research
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Pamela W. Smith
7-7048
Child care and development
Melinda Gish
7-4618
Child welfare
Emilie Stoltzfus
7-2324
Child welfare
Karen Spar
7-7319
Cloning, Stem Cell Research
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
Community Health Centers
Sharon Kearney Coleman
7-7367
Family Planning, Title X
Sharon Kearney Coleman
7-7367
Head Start
Melinda Gish
7-4618
Health professions education and training
Bernice Reyes-Akinbileje
7-2260
Immigration and refugee policy
Ruth Wasem
7-7342
Immunization
Pamela W. Smith
7-7048
Maternal and Child Health Block Grant
Sharon Kearney Coleman
7-7367
Medicaid
Elicia Herz
7-1377
Medicare
Jennifer O’Sullivan
7-7359
Needle exchange, AIDS
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
NIH, health research policy
Pamela W. Smith
7-7048
NIH, health research policy
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077
Older Americans Act
Carol V. O’Shaughnessy
7-7329
Social Services Block Grant
Melinda Gish
7-4618
State Children’s Health Insurance Program
Evelyne Baumrucker
7-8913
Stem Cell Research, Cloning
Judith A. Johnson
7-7077

Area of Expertise
Name
Telephone
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
C. Stephen Redhead
7-2261
Welfare reform
Vee Burke
7-7304
Welfare reform
Gene Falk
7-7344
Department of Education
Adult education and literacy
Paul M. Irwin
7-7573
After-school programs
Gail McCallion
7-7758
Assessment in education
Wayne C. Riddle
7-7382
Bilingual education
Jeffrey J. Kuenzi
7-8645
Charter Schools
David Smole
7-0624
Education block grants
Rebecca R. Skinner
7-6600
Education of the Disadvantaged, Title I
Wayne C. Riddle
7-7382
Education technology
Charmaine Jackson
7-4894
English Language Acquisition
Jeffrey J. Kuenzi
7-8645
Impact Aid
Rebecca R. Skinner
7-6600
Indian Education
Roger Walke
7-8641
Pell Grants
James B. Stedman
7-7356
Reading programs
Gail McCallion
7-7758
Rehabilitation Act
Sidath Panangala
7-0623
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities
Edith Fairman Cooper
7-7019
School facilities
Susan Boren
7-6899
Special education, IDEA
Richard N. Apling
7-7352
Special education, IDEA, legal issues
Nancy Lee Jones
7-6976
Student aid
James B. Stedman
7-7356
Student loans
Adam Stoll
7-4375
Teacher recruitment, preparation, and training
Jeffrey J. Kuenzi
7-8645
21st Century Community Learning Centers
Gail McCallion
7-7758
Vocational and Technical Education
Rebecca R. Skinner
7-6600
Related Agencies
Corporation for National and Community Service
Ann Lordeman
7-2323
(VISTA, Senior Corps)
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Glenn McLoughlin
7-7073
Library Services
Gail McCallion
7-7758
Museum Services
Susan Boren
7-6899
National Labor Relations Board
Gail McCallion
7-7758
National Labor Relations Board, legal issues
Jon Shimabukuro
7-7990
Railroad Retirement Board
Dawn Nuschler
7-6283
Social Security Administration
Geoffrey Kollmann
7-7316
Supplemental Security Income
Alexa Matthews
7-7382

Contents
Most Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
House Bill, H.R. 2660, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Senate Bill, S. 1356, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
President’s FY2004 Budget, as Submitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Summary and Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Program Level and Current Year Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Funding Changes Requested by the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
House Proposal, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Senate Proposal, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Earmarks for Specific Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
302(a) and 302(b) Allocation Ceilings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Advance Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Major Funding Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Department of Labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
President’s Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
House Bill, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Senate Bill, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Detailed Appropriations Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Department of Health and Human Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
President’s Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
House Bill, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Senate Bill, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Abortion: Funding Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Funding Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Detailed Appropriations Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Department of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
President’s Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
House Bill, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Senate Bill, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Pell Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Student Aid Program Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
IDEA Part B Grants to States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Forward Funding and Advance Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Detailed Appropriations Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Related Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Key Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
President’s Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
House Bill, as Passed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Senate Bill, as Reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
World Wide Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Detailed Appropriations Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Related Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
FY2004 Budget Resolution, H.Con.Res. 95/S.Con.Res. 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
FY2003 Wartime Supplemental, P.L. 108-11 (H.R. 1559) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
FY2003 Omnibus Appropriations, P.L. 108-7 (H.J.Res. 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
FY2003 Reduction in Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
FY2003 Continuing Resolution, P.L. 107-229 (H.J.Res. 111) . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appendix A: Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appendix B: Scope of L-HHS-ED Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
List of Tables
Table 1. Legislative Status of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education Appropriations, FY2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Table 2. Summary of L-HHS-ED Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 3. FY2004 302(b) Discretionary Allocations for L-HHS-ED . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Table 4. L-HHS-ED Discretionary Funding Trends from FY1999 . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table 5. Department of Labor Discretionary Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Table 6. Detailed Department of Labor Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 7. Department of Health and Human Services Discretionary
Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 8. Detailed Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations . 21
Table 9. Department of Education Discretionary Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Table 10. Detailed Department of Education Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Table 11. Related Agencies Discretionary Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Table 12. Detailed Related Agencies Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Table B.1. Scope of the L-HHS-ED Bill, FY2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Appropriations for FY2004:
Labor, Health and Human Services,
and Education
Most Recent Developments
House Bill, H.R. 2660, as Passed. On July 10, 2003, the House amended
and passed H.R. 2660 (H.Rept. 108-188) by a vote of 215 to 208; the bill would
provide $138.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education (L-HHS-ED) programs.
Senate Bill, S. 1356, as Reported. On June 26, 2003, the Senate
Committee on Appropriations reported S. 1356 (S.Rept. 108-81) by a vote of 25 to
4; the bill would provide $138.0 billion in discretionary appropriations for
L-HHS-ED programs.
President’s FY2004 Budget, as Submitted. On February 3, 2003, the
President submitted the FY2004 budget request to Congress, proposing $135.6
billion in discretionary funds for L-HHS-ED programs. The comparable FY2003
L-HHS-ED discretionary total was $134.7 billion.
Status
Table 1. Legislative Status of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Appropriations, FY2004
Subcommittee
Conference
markup
House
House
Senate
Senate
Confer.
report approval
Public
report
passage
report
passage
report
law
House
Senate
House
Senate
6/25/03
6/26/03
33-23
7/10/03
6/19/03 6/25/03
25-4
H.Rept. 215-208





11-7
11-3
S.Rept.
108-188
(b)
108-81
(a)
a The House Committee on Appropriations approved its version of the FY2004 L-HHS-ED
appropriations on June 25, and ordered the bill reported. H.R. 2660 (H.Rept. 108-188) was
introduced and reported on July 8, 2003.
b The House passed H.Res. 312 (H.Rept. 108-192), the rule for the floor consideration of H.R. 2660,
by voice vote; see Congressional Record, Daily Edition, July 9, 2003, p. H6396-6417. The House
amended and passed H.R. 2660; see Congressional Record, Daily Edition, July 10, 2003, p. H6470-
6581. House approval was by a vote of 215-208 (Roll Call no. 353), p. H6581.

CRS-2
Data Note. In this report, data on FY2003 and FY2004 appropriations are
based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations, except
for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. In most cases data represent net funding for specific
programs and activities and take into account current and forward funding and
advance appropriations; however, all data are subject to additional budgetary
scorekeeping. Except where noted, budget data refer only to those programs within
the purview of the L-HHS-ED appropriations bill, and not to all programs within the
jurisdiction of the relevant departments and agencies. It should be noted that FY2003
amounts reflect reductions required for most FY2003 discretionary appropriations
under the provisions of P.L. 108-7; for additional information, see “FY2003
Reduction in Funds,” p. 37.
FY2003 Appropriations. FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations were enacted
in several stages, including: eight continuing resolutions — P.L. 107-229, as
amended; regular FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations — P.L. 108-7 (H.J.Res. 2,
H.Rept. 108-10), February 20, 2003; and the Emergency Wartime Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2003 — P.L. 108-11 (H.R. 1559, H.Rept. 108-76), April 16,
2003. For additional legislative details, see “Related Legislation,” page 36.
Summary and Key Issues
This report describes the President’s proposal for FY2004 appropriations for
L-HHS-ED programs, as submitted to the Congress February 3, 2003, and the
congressional response to that proposal. It compares the President’s FY2004 request
to the FY2003 L-HHS-ED amounts. It tracks legislative action and congressional
issues related to the FY2004 L-HHS-ED appropriations bill, with particular attention
paid to discretionary programs. In addition, the report summarizes activities related
to the annual budget process, such as the congressional budget resolution, continuing
resolutions, and supplemental appropriations (see “Related Legislation,” page 36).
However, the report does not follow specific funding issues related to mandatory
L-HHS-ED programs — such as Medicare or Social Security — nor will it follow the
authorizing legislation necessary prior to funding some of the President’s initiatives.
For a glossary of budget terms, see “Appendix A: Terminology,” page 39. For a
discussion of the jurisdiction of the L-HHS-ED bill, see “Appendix B: Scope of the
L-HHS-ED Bill,” page 40.
The L-HHS-ED bill typically is one of the more controversial of the 13 regular
appropriations bills, not only because of the size of its funding total and the scope of
its programs, but also because of the continuing importance of various related issues,
such as restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion and stem cell research.
This bill provides most of the discretionary funds for three federal departments and
several related agencies including the Social Security Administration (SSA). Of the
13 annual appropriations bills, the L-HHS-ED bill is the largest single source of
discretionary funds for domestic federal programs; the Defense bill is the largest
source of discretionary funds among all federal programs. For FY2003, the
L-HHS-ED bill accounted for $130.2 billion (16.6%) and the Defense bill accounted
for $371.0 billion (47.4%) of the estimated $782.2 billion total for all federal

CRS-3
discretionary budget authority, as reported in Budget of the United States Government
Fiscal Year 2004
, Table S-8. This section summarizes the larger funding changes
proposed for L-HHS-ED and related issues such as earmarks for specific projects,
302(b) allocations, and advance appropriations. Later sections will provide
additional details for each L-HHS-ED department.
Program Level and Current Year Appropriations
Table 2 summarizes the L-HHS-ED appropriations for FY2004, including both
discretionary and mandatory appropriations. The table shows various aggregate
measures of FY2003 enacted and FY2004 proposed L-HHS-ED appropriations,
including discretionary program level, current year, and advance appropriations, as
well as scorekeeping adjustments.
Table 2. Summary of L-HHS-ED Appropriations
($ in billions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Type of budget authority
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Discretionary appropriations
Program level: current bill for
$134.7
$135.6
$138.3
$138.0

any year
Current year: current year from
132.4
138.0
138.0
137.6

any bill
Advances for future years (from
21.5
18.9
19.2
19.3

the current bill)
Advances from prior years
19.2
21.5
19.3
19.3

(from previous bills)
Scorekeeping adjustments
0.0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.4

Current year discretionary and mandatory funding
Discretionary
132.4
138.0
138.0
137.6

Mandatory
290.8
325.9
332.0
326.0

Total current year
423.2
463.9
470.0
463.6

Grand total of funding for L-HHS-ED bill, any year
Grand total any year
$431.0
$469.7
$478.4
$472.2

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations.
Note: Both FY2003 and FY2004 mandatory amounts are estimates that are subject to adjustments
after the close of their respective fiscal years.
a The FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.

CRS-4
! Program level appropriations reflect the total discretionary
appropriations in a given bill, regardless of the year in which they
will be spent, and therefore include advance funding for future years.
Unless otherwise specified, appropriations levels in this report refer
to program level amounts
.
! Current year appropriations represent discretionary
appropriations in a given bill for the current year, plus discretionary
appropriations for the current year that were enacted in prior years.
Current year discretionary appropriations are similar to the amount
counted for the 302(b) allocations ceilings (discussed later, page 8).
! Advance appropriations are funds that will not become available
until after the fiscal year for which the appropriations are enacted —
for example, funds included in the FY2004 Act that cannot be spent
before FY2005 at the earliest (discussed later, page 9).
! Scorekeeping adjustments are made to account for special funding
situations; the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) monitors these
adjustments.
Because appropriations may consist of mixtures of budget authority enacted in
various years, two summary measures are frequently used — program level
appropriations and current year appropriations. How are these measures related? For
an “operational definition,” program level funding equals (a) current year, plus (b)
advances for future years, minus (c) advances from prior years, and minus (d)
scorekeeping adjustments. Table 2 shows these amounts, along with current year
funding for mandatory programs and some grand totals for the L-HHS-ED bill.
Funding Changes Requested by the President
With regard to the President’s budget, the primary issues raised during
congressional consideration of any appropriations request generally relate to
proposed funding changes. The summary below notes changes proposed for FY2004
discretionary budget authority of at least $100 million compared to the FY2003
amount. Viewing this list by itself should be done with caution, since the relative
impact of a $100 million funding change to a $500 million program (a 20% increase
or decrease) is greater than a $100 million change to a $5 billion program (a 2%
increase or decrease). Later in this report, the discussions of budgets for individual
departments include tables to compare the FY2004 request with the FY2003 funding
for many of the major programs in the L-HHS-ED bill. Overall, $135.6 billion in
discretionary appropriations at the program level is requested for L-HHS-ED, a 0.7%
increase over the comparable FY2003 amount of $134.7 billion. At the time that the
President’s FY2004 request was submitted to the Congress (February 3, 2003), the
regular FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations provided by P.L. 108-7, had not yet been
enacted (February 20, 2003).
! For Department of Labor (DOL) programs, the FY2004 request
includes a reduction of $248 million for job training programs
authorized by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and a
reduction of $136 million for the Bureau of International Labor
Affairs (ILAB). Overall, $11.6 billion in discretionary

CRS-5
appropriations is requested for DOL, a 1.7% decrease compared to
the FY2003 amount of $11.8 billion.
! For Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) programs, the
request proposes an increase of $681 million for National Institutes
of Health (NIH). An additional $122 million is proposed for
Community Health Centers; however, the $104 million Community
Access Program would be eliminated. Other increases include an
additional $169 million for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) Program Management, $311 million for Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), $148 million
for Head Start, and $101 million for Safe and Stable Families.
Requested decreases include reductions of $312 million for Health
Professions, $255 million for Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), and $151 million for
Community Services Block Grant (CSBG). The request would
eliminate the $295 million Health Care and Other Facilities
program. Overall, $60.9 billion in discretionary appropriations is
requested for HHS, a 1.3% increase over the FY2003 amount of
$60.1 billion.
! For Department of Education (ED) programs, the request would
provide increases of $1.4 billion for Pell Grants, $666 million for
Title I Part A Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) for the
Education of the Disadvantaged, and $655 million for Special
Education Part B Grants to States under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Proposed decreases would
include reductions of $172 million for Impact Aid, $394 million for
21st Century Community Learning Centers (21CCLC), $414 million
for the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE), $326 million
for the Perkins Vocational Education program, and $132 million for
the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
Funding would be eliminated for the $168 million Rural Education
and $161 million Smaller Learning Communities programs.
Discretionary funding of $842 million is requested to support the
creation of a new unified discretionary account for the
administration of federal student aid programs. This proposal would
be offset in part by a savings of $795 million from the consolidation
of certain related expenses for student aid administrative activities.
Overall, $53.2 billion in discretionary appropriations is requested for
ED, a 0.2% increase over the FY2003 amount of $53.1 billion.
! For the related agencies, the budget proposes increases of $218
million for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) discretionary
activities and $427 million for the Limitation on Administrative
Expenses at the Social Security Administration (SSA). The budget
would not provide a 2-year advance appropriations for the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for FY2006; $390
million was provided in the FY2003 bill (for FY2005). Overall,

CRS-6
$9.9 billion in discretionary appropriations is requested for related
agencies, a 3.1% increase over the FY2003 amount of $9.6 billion.
House Proposal, as Passed
On July 8, 2003, the House Committee on Appropriations reported its version
of the L-HHS-ED appropriations for FY2004, as H.R. 2660 (H.Rept. 108-188). On
July 10, 2003, the House amended and passed H.R. 2660.
House Highlights. Overall, the House bill would provide program level
discretionary appropriations of $138.3 billion for L-HHS-ED programs. The
comparable amount requested by the President is $135.6 billion; the FY2003 amount
is $134.7 billion. The House bill differs from the President’s request in a number of
details.
! For DOL programs, the House bill proposes that WIA programs
would be funded at $5.1 billion, $125 million more than the FY2004
request. Overall, the House bill would provide $11.7 billion for
discretionary appropriations for DOL, $0.1 billion more than
requested but $0.1 billion less than the FY2003 amount.
! For HHS programs, the House bill would fund Health Professions
at a level $382 million higher than requested; the Children’s
Hospital Graduate Medical Education at $106 million higher; and
the CDC at $322 million higher. The request would eliminate the
Community Access program; the House would maintain FY2003
funding at $104 million. The House bill would reduce LIHEAP
funding by $200 million; Safe and Stable Families would be $100
million less than the request; and the Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF) would receive $119 million
less than requested. Overall, the House bill would provide $61.2
billion for discretionary appropriations for HHS, $0.3 billion more
than requested and $1.1 billion more than the FY2003 amount.
! For ED programs, compared to the FY2004 request by the President,
the House bill would provide $1.5 billion more for all ESEA
programs in aggregate, $222 million more for Impact Aid, $400
million more for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, $107
million more for FIE, $345 million more for IDEA Part B Grants to
States, and $319 million more for Perkins Vocational Education.
The House would maintain funding for two programs that would be
eliminated under the request: Rural Education and Smaller Learning
Communities. The House bill would not agree to the President’s
request to consolidate student loan administrative activities.
Overall, the House bill would provide $55.4 billion for discretionary
appropriations for ED, $2.2 billion more than requested and $2.3
billion more than the FY2003 amount.
! For related agencies, the House bill would provide a 2-year advance
appropriations of $330 million for the CPB, which would not receive
funding under the request. It would provide $107 million less than

CRS-7
requested for the SSA Limitation on Administrative Expenses.
Overall, the House bill would provide $10.0 billion for discretionary
appropriations for related agencies, $0.1 billion more than the
amount requested and $0.4 million more than the FY2003 amount.
Senate Proposal, as Reported
On June 26, 2003, the Senate Committee on Appropriations reported its version
of the FY2004 L-HHS-ED appropriations, as S. 1356 (S.Rept. 108-81).
Senate Highlights. Overall, the FY2004 Senate bill would provide program
level discretionary appropriations of $138.0 billion for L-HHS-ED programs. The
comparable amount requested by the President is $135.6 billion. The House bill
would provide $138.3 billion; the FY2003 amount is $134.7 billion.
! For DOL programs, the Senate bill differs in a number of respects
from the House bill, but not by as much as $100 million for any
single program. Overall, the Senate bill would provide $11.8 billion
in discretionary appropriations for DOL, $0.1 billion more than the
House bill, $0.2 billion more than requested, and the same as the
FY2003 amount.
! For HHS programs, the Senate bill differs in several respects from
the House bill. The Senate bill would provide $319 million more
than the House bill for NIH, $200 million more for LIHEAP, and
$151 million more for the Community Services Block Grant. The
Senate would provide $157 million less than the House bill for the
CDC, and $171 million less for SAMHSA. Funding would be
eliminated for the $104 million Community Access program. The
Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education would not receive
specific funding but would be consolidated with Health Professions.
Overall, the Senate bill would provide $61.2 billion in discretionary
appropriations for HHS, the same as the House bill, but $0.3 billion
more than requested and $1.1 billion more than the FY2003 amount
of $60.1 billion.
! For ED programs, the Senate bill differs by at least $100 million in
discretionary appropriations for the aggregate funding level for all
ESEA programs. These programs would be funded at $23.4 billion,
$591 million less than the House amount, but $948 million more
than requested; the FY2003 amount is $23.6 billion. Overall, the
Senate bill would provide $54.6 billion in discretionary
appropriations for ED, $0.8 billion less than the House amount, but
$1.4 billion more than requested, and $1.5 billion more than the
FY2003 amount of $53.1 billion.
! For related agencies, the Senate bill differs with the House bill for
a number of programs, but with only one program is the difference
as great as $100 million. The Senate bill would provide $5.4 billion
for the SSA Limitation on Administrative Expenses, $107 million
more than what the House bill would provide. Overall, the Senate

CRS-8
bill would provide $10.3 billion in discretionary appropriations for
the related agencies, $0.3 billion more than the House bill, $0.4
billion more than requested, and $0.7 billion more than the FY2003
amount of $9.6 billion.
Earmarks for Specific Projects
The earmarking of funds for specific projects in appropriations bills has become
a topic of contention between the Administration and the Congress, and the issue
extends to L-HHS-ED projects. In some instances, L-HHS-ED appropriations are
earmarked for specific recipients or locations, either in the public law or in the
conference report. For the most part, the authorizing statute gives the general
purpose for such earmarks, such as “projects for the improvement of postsecondary
education,” but subsequently an appropriations act or conference report designates
specific recipients by means of earmarks. Such designations usually bypass standard
administrative procedures for an agency’s competitive distribution of awards. For
FY2002, P.L. 107-116 (conference report H.Rept. 107-342) included an estimated
1,600 earmarks for specific L-HHS-ED projects for which an estimated $1.0 billion
was appropriated. For FY2002, the L-HHS-ED appropriation was $411.8 billion in
aggregate, and represented $127.2 billion for current year discretionary funds. These
earmarks therefore represent 0.2% of the L-HHS-ED total — and 0.8% of the
discretionary L-HHS-ED total — in FY2002. The President has urged the
elimination of congressional earmarks in appropriations in recent years, but the
Congress has continued the practice.
302(a) and 302(b) Allocation Ceilings
The maximum budget authority for annual L-HHS-ED appropriations is
determined through a two-stage congressional budget process. In the first stage, the
Congress agrees to overall spending totals in the annual concurrent resolution on the
budget. Subsequently, these amounts are allocated among the various committees,
usually through the statement of managers for the conference report on the budget
resolution. These amounts are known as the 302(a) allocations. They include the
discretionary totals available to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations
for enactment in annual appropriations. For FY2004, the Congress agreed to the
budget resolution, H.Con.Res. 95, conference report H.Rept. 108-71, on April 11,
2003. The resolution provides for an FY2004 discretionary total of $784.5 billion.
For procedural information, see CRS Report 98-721, Introduction to the Federal
Budget Process
.
In the second stage of the process, the appropriations committees allocate the
302(a) discretionary funds among their subcommittees for each of the 13 annual
appropriations bills. These amounts are known as the 302(b) allocations. These
allocations must add up to no more than the 302(a) discretionary allocation, and form
the basis for enforcing budget discipline, since any bill reported with a total above
the ceiling is subject to a point of order. The 302(b) allocations can and often do get
adjusted during the year as the various appropriations bills progress toward final
enactment. The current 302(b) discretionary allocations for the FY2004
appropriations bills that were agreed to by the House and Senate Committees on

CRS-9
Appropriations are shown in Table 3. Comparable amounts for FY2003 and the
President’s FY2004 budget are also shown. Both the 302(a) and the 302(b)
allocations regularly become contested issues in their own right.
Table 3. FY2004 302(b) Discretionary Allocations for L-HHS-ED
(budget authority in billions of dollars)
FY2004
FY2004
FY2003
request
FY2004 House
FY2004 Senate
enacted
comparable
comparable
allocation
allocation
comparable
$132.4
$138.0
$138.0
$137.6

Source: The FY2003 comparable and the FY2004 request comparable amounts are based on the
June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations. The FY2004 House allocation is
based on H.Rept. 108-228, July 22, 2003. The FY2004 Senate allocation is based on S.Rept. 108-
103
, July 16, 2003. The FY2003 comparable amount excludes the FY2003 Wartime Supplemental,
P.L. 108-11, and the FY2003 Disaster Relief Supplemental, P.L. 108-69.
Advance Appropriations
Advance appropriations occur when funding enacted in one fiscal year cannot
be spent until a subsequent fiscal year; see CRS Report RS20441, Advance
Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding
. For example, P.L. 108-7
which enacted FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations, provided $390 million for the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for use in FY2005. Advance
appropriations may be used to meet several objectives. These might include the
provision of long-term budget information to recipients, such as state and local
educational systems, to enable better planning of future program activities and
personnel levels. The more contentious aspect of advance appropriations, however,
is how they are counted in budget ceilings. Advance appropriations avoid the 302(a)
and 302(b) allocation ceilings for the current year, but must be counted in the year
in which it first becomes available. This procedure uses up ahead of time part of
what will be counted against the allocation ceiling in future years. For an example
of the impact of advance appropriations on program administration, see the
discussion below in the section on ED (page 26).
The FY1999 and FY2000 annual L-HHS-ED appropriations bills provided
significant increases in advance appropriations for discretionary programs. From
FY2000 onwards, these amounts stabilized at approximately $19 billion, or about 14
to 15% of L-HHS-ED discretionary appropriations. For FY2002, the President’s
budget proposed the elimination of advance appropriations for federal discretionary
programs, including those for L-HHS-ED programs; the Congress rejected that
proposal, and it has not been repeated. For FY2004, the President’s request would
provide L-HHS-ED advance appropriations of $18.9 billion; the House bill, $19.2
billion; and the Senate bill, $19.3 billion. From FY1998 to the present, the annual
amounts of advance appropriations enacted in L-HHS-ED bills have been as follows:
! FY1998, $4.0 billion;
! FY1999, $8.9 billion;
! FY2000, $19.0 billion;

CRS-10
! FY2001, $18.8 billion;
! FY2002, $19.3 billion;
! FY2003, $19.2 billion;
! FY2004, as requested by the President, $18.9 billion;
! FY2004, as passed by the House, $19.2 billion; and
! FY2004, as reported in the Senate, $19.3 billion.
Major Funding Trends
The L-HHS-ED appropriations bills combine mandatory and discretionary
funds; however, the Appropriations Committees fully control only the discretionary
funds. Mandatory funding levels for programs included in the annual appropriations
bills are modified through changes in the authorizing legislation. These changes
typically are accomplished through the authorizing committees and combined into
large, omnibus reconciliation bills. Table 4 shows the trend in discretionary budget
authority under the L-HHS-ED appropriations for FY1999 through FY2003.
Table 4. L-HHS-ED Discretionary Funding Trends from FY1999
(budget authority in billions of dollars)
FY2003
Type of funds
FY1999
FY2000
FY2001
FY2002
estimate a
L-HHS-ED discretionary
$89.5
$87.1
$110.5
$123.7
$130.2
L-HHS-ED discretionary in
$95.9
$91.5
$113.3
$125.3
$130.2
estimated FY2003 dollars
L-HHS-ED % of all federal
discretionary funds b
15.4%
14.9%
16.6%
16.8%
17.4%
L-HHS-ED % of total federal
5.0%
4.8%
5.6%
5.9%
6.0%
budget authority
Total federal discretionary
$581.8
$584.4
$663.8
$734.7
$749.0
Total federal budget authority
$1,776.7
$1,824.9
$1,959.7
$2,090.1
$2,154.4
GDP deflator
1.0477
1.0679
1.0940
1.1080
1.1221
Source: Federal totals and the GDP deflator are based on the Budget of the United States Government
Historical Tables Fiscal Year 2004
, Tables 5.2, 5.4, and 10.1. The L-HHS-ED discretionary budget
authority amounts are based on the Budget of the United States Government from various years, and
therefore may not be completely comparable from year to year.
a FY2003 estimates are based on the FY2003 budget request since FY2003 appropriations were not
yet enacted at the time of submission of the FY2004 budget request in February 2003; FY2003
amounts do not include any supplemental appropriations and rescissions for L-HHS-ED and other bills
that have been or may be enacted during FY2003.
b Discretionary funds include both defense and non-defense activities.
As shown in Table 4, total L-HHS-ED discretionary funds increased by 45.5%
during this 5-year period. The 5-year increase is reduced to an estimated 35.8% after
adjustment for inflation by use of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator. When
compared to all federal discretionary budget authority, the L-HHS-ED portion
increased from 15.4% share of the federal total in FY1999 to an estimated 17.4% in
FY2003. When compared to all federal budget authority, both discretionary and

CRS-11
nondiscretionary (mandatory), the L-HHS-ED portion of the federal total increased
during this period from 5.0% in FY1999 to an estimated 6.0% in FY2003.
World Wide Web Sites
General information on budget and appropriations may be found at these web
sites. Specific L-HHS-ED agency sites are listed in relevant sections of this report.
House Committees
[http://www.house.gov/appropriations]
[http://www.house.gov/budget/]
Senate Committees
[http://www.senate.gov/~appropriations/]
[http://www.senate.gov/~budget/]
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
[http://www.cbo.gov]
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
[http://www.crs.gov/products/appropriations/apppage.shtml]
General Accounting Office (GAO)
[http://www.gao.gov/]
Government Printing Office (GPO)
[http://w3.access.gpo.gov/usbudget/index.html]
Office of Management & Budget (OMB)
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/index.html]
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative/sap/index.html]

CRS-12
Department of Labor
The FY2004 budget proposal for discretionary appropriations at the Department
of Labor (DOL) is $11.6 billion, $0.2 billion (1.7%) less than the FY2003
appropriations of $11.8 billion, as shown in Table 5. The House bill, as reported,
would provide $11.7 billion; as reported, the Senate bill would provide $11.8 billion.
Table 5. Department of Labor Discretionary Appropriations
($ in billions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Funding
enacted
request
House
Senate
enacted
Appropriations
$11.8
$11.6
$11.7
$11.8

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
Amounts shown represent discretionary programs funded by L-HHS-ED appropriations;
appropriations for mandatory programs are excluded.
Mandatory DOL programs included in the FY2003 L-HHS-ED bill were funded
at $3.1 billion, and consist of the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund ($1.0 billion),
Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances ($1.0 billion), Advances to the
Unemployment Insurance and Other Trust Funds ($0.5 billion), Special Benefits for
Disabled Coal Miners ($0.4 billion), Employment Standards Administration Special
Benefits programs ($0.2 billion), and Energy Employees Occupational Illness Fund
($0.1 billion).
Key Issues
President’s Request. The President’s FY2004 budget request for DOL
proposes reductions in several job training programs, and the elimination of grants
under the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB). Discretionary changes of
at least $100 million requested for DOL programs under the President’s FY2003
budget include the following:
! A reduction of $248 million is requested for programs authorized by
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), which is funded at
$5.2 billion in FY2003. These reductions would include: a decrease
of $49 million for Dislocated Worker Assistance State Grants,
funded at $1.2 billion in FY2003; $29 million for Dislocated Worker
Assistance Secretary’s Reserve, funded at $306 million in FY2003;
and $110 million for other WIA federal activities, funded at $212
million in FY2003. No funds would be provided for the $77 million
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers program or the $44 million
Youth Opportunity Grants. On the other hand, $53 million more
would be provided for Job Corps, funded at $1.5 billion in FY2003.

CRS-13
! The ILAB would be funded at $12 million, a reduction of $136
million; $148 million is provided in FY2003. Under the request, the
ILAB grants program would be eliminated.
House Bill, as Passed. The House bill is similar to the President’s request
with the exception that WIA programs would be funded at $5.1 billion, $125 million
more than requested but $123 million less than the FY2003 amount. In particular,
Dislocated Workers Assistance programs, both State Grants and Secretary’s Reserve,
would be level funded, and funding for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers would
be set at $60 million, $17 million less than the FY2003 amount.
Senate Bill, as Reported. For DOL programs, the Senate bill differs little
from the House bill, and in no place by as much as $100 million. WIA programs
would be funded at $5.1 billion, $39 million above the House proposal and $164
million above the President’s request. In particular, Dislocated Worker Assistance
State Grants would be level funded, as would the Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
program; however, the Dislocated Workers Assistance Secretary’s reserve would be
funded at $277 million, the same as the request, but $29 million less than the House
and the FY2003 amount. For the ILAB, the Senate bill would provide $108 million,
$96 million more than the House or the request, but $40 million less than the FY2003
amount.
CRS Products
CRS Report 97-724, Ergonomics in the Workplace: Is It Time for an OSHA
Standard?, by Edward Rappaport.
CRS Report 97-536, Job Training Under the Workforce Investment Act: An
Overview, by Ann Lordeman.
CRS Report 95-742, Unemployment Benefits: Legislative Issues in the 108th
Congress, by Celinda Franco.
CRS Report RS21397, Unemployment Benefits: Temporary Extended
Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) Program, by Celinda Franco.
CRS Report RS20244, The Workforce Investment Act: Training Programs Under
Title I at a Glance, by Ann Lordeman.
World Wide Web Sites
Department of Labor
[http://www.dol.gov]
[http://www.dol.gov/_sec/budget2004/overview-toc.htm]
[http://www.dol.gov/_sec/budget2004/tablesa.htm#authority]
Detailed Appropriations Table
Table 6 shows the appropriations details for offices and major programs of
DOL.

CRS-14
Table 6. Detailed Department of Labor Appropriations
($ in millions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
Training and Employment
Services (TES), Workforce
899
900
900
900

Investment Act (WIA) Adult
Training Grants to States
WIA Youth Training
995
1,001
1,045
1,001

WIA Dislocated Worker
1,461
1,383
1,461
1,432

Assistance
–Dislocated Worker Assistance,
1,155
1,106
1,155
1,155

State Grants (non-add)
–Dislocated Worker Assistance,
306
277
306
277

Secretary’s Reserve (non-add)
WIA Migrant and Seasonal
77
0
60
77

Farmworkers
WIA Job Corps
1,513
1,566
1,541
1,541

WIA Youth Opportunity Grants
44
0
0
0

(YOG)
WIA Other Federal Activities
212
102
114
165

WIA/TES subtotal
5,200
4,952
5,077
5,116

Community Service Employment
442
440
440
442

for Older Americans
Federal Unemployment Benefits
and Allowances, Trade
972
1,338
1,338
1,338

Adjustment and NAFTA
Activities (mandatory)
State Unemployment Insurance
and Employment Service
2,634
2,651
2,634
2,645

Operations (SUI/ESO)
Unemployment Compensation
SUI/ESO Employment Service
842
875
862
856

SUI/ESO One-Stop Career
99
101
99
99

Centers
SUI/ESO Work Incentives Grants
20
20
20
20

SUI/ESO subtotal
3,595
3,647
3,615
3,620

Advances to Unemployment Trust
463
467
467
467

Fund and other funds (mandatory)
ETA Program Administration
175
183
172
179

ETA subtotal
10,770
11,027
11,049
11,162

Employees Benefits Security
116
129
129
121

Administration

CRS-15
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation (PBGC)
13
17
17
17

Administration
PBGC program level (non-add)
193
229
229
229

Employment Standards Administration (ESA)
ESA Salaries and Expenses
381
398
398
392

ESA Special Benefits
163
163
163
163

(mandatory)
ESA Special Benefits for
Disabled Coal Miners
397
388
388
388

(mandatory)
ESA Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Fund
105
55
55
55

(mandatory)
ESA Black Lung Disability Trust
1,035
1,043
1,043
1,043

Fund (mandatory)
ESA subtotal
2,081
2,047
2,047
2,041

Occupational Safety and Health
450
450
450
463

Administration (OSHA)
Mine Safety and Health
273
267
267
271

Administration (MSHA)
Bureau of Labor Statistics
492
512
512
515

Office of Disability Employment
47
47
47
47

Policy
Departmental Management,
148
12
12
108

International Labor Affairs
Departmental Management,
Veterans Employment and
213
220
220
220

Training
Departmental Management, Other
302
328
308
308

Departmental Management
663
560
540
636

subtotal
Working Capital Fund
0
20
18
10

TOTALS, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Total appropriations b
14,983
15,076
15,136
15,284

Current year: FY2004
12,423
12,525
12,586
12,733

Advance year: FY2005
2,569
2,551
2,551
2,551

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations.
a The FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
b Appropriations totals include discretionary and mandatory funds, and may be subject to additional
scorekeeping and other adjustments.

CRS-16
Department of Health and Human Services
The FY2004 budget proposal for discretionary appropriations at the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) is $60.9 billion, $0.8 billion (1.3%) more than
the FY2003 appropriations of $60.1 billion, as shown in Table 7. The House bill,
as reported, would provide $61.2 billion; as reported, the Senate would provide $61.2
billion as well.
Table 7. Department of Health and Human Services
Discretionary Appropriations
($ in billions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Funding
enacted
request
House
Senate
enacted
Appropriations
$60.1
$60.9
$61.2
$61.2

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
Amounts shown represent discretionary programs funded by L-HHS-ED appropriations;
appropriations for mandatory programs are excluded.
Mandatory HHS programs included in the L-HHS-ED bill are funded at $258.5
billion in FY2003, and consist primarily of Grants to States for Medicaid ($164.0
billion), Payments to Medicare Trust Funds ($81.5 billion, virtually all for Part B
Supplementary Medical Insurance), Foster Care and Adoption ($6.6 billion), Family
Support Payments to States ($4.0 billion), and Social Services Block Grant ($1.7
billion).
Key Issues
President’s Request. The President’s FY2004 budget request for HHS
would focus increased support primarily for medical research, with smaller increases
for selected substance abuse and family services programs. At the same time, it
would reduce funding for programs for health professions, health care facilities, and
community services. Discretionary spending changes of at least $100 million are
requested for the following programs.
! An increase of $681 million is requested for the National Institutes
of Health (NIH), which is funded at $27.0 billion in FY2003, to
support activities that maintain and improve health through medical
science. The FY2004 request follows a 5-year effort by the
Congress to double the size of NIH funding, beginning at $13.6
billion in FY1998. For additional information, see CRS Issue Brief
IB10117, Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2004.
! An additional $122 million is proposed for Community Health
Centers, which was funded at $1.5 billion in FY2003; however, the
$104 million Community Access Program, which provides the
uninsured with safety-net access to health care, would be eliminated.

CRS-17
! A decrease of $312 million is requested for the Health Professions
program, funded at $421 million in FY2003.
! The Health Care and Other Facilities program, funded at $295
million in FY2003, would be eliminated; funds for this program are
earmarked for construction and renovation projects for designated
recipients.
! A decrease of $255 million is requested for the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); $3.1 billion
was provided for FY2003 for a variety of substance abuse and
mental health activities.
! An increase of $169 million is requested for the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Program Management for
the administration of the Medicare and Medicaid programs; $2.6
billion is the FY2003 amount.
! A increase of $311 million is proposed for the Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); $1.7 billion is provided for
FY2003.
! An additional $148 million is requested for Head Start, funded at
$6.7 billion in FY2003.
! A decrease of $151 million is requested for the Community Services
Block Grant, which is funded at $646 million in FY2003.
! An additional $101 million is requested for the discretionary portion
of the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program; $99 million in
discretionary funds is provided for FY2003.
House Bill, as Passed. For HHS programs, the FY2004 House bill differs
in several respects from the President’s budget request.
! Health Professions would be provided $282 million more than
requested, but $30 million less than the FY2003 amount of $421
million.
! The Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education program
would receive $106 million more than requested and $15 million
more than the FY2003 amount of $290 million.
! The Community Access program would be maintained at $104
million; the request was for termination of funding.
! The CDC would receive $322 million more than the requested
amount and $304 million more than the FY2003 amount of $4.3
billion.
! LIHEAP would receive $200 million less than the request but $111
million more than the FY2003 amount of $1.7 billion.
! Discretionary funding for Promoting Safe and Stable Families would
receive $100 million less than requested but nearly the same as the
FY2003 amount of $99 million.
! The Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF)
would receive $119 million less than requested and $110 million
less than the FY2003 amount of $1.9 billion.
Senate Bill, as Reported. For HHS programs, the FY2004 Senate bill
differs in several respects from the House bill.

CRS-18
! The $290 million Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education
program would not receive a specific amount; instead, it would be
funded as part of the Health Professions program, which would be
increased by $3 million under the Senate bill.
! Funding for the $104 million Community Access Program would be
eliminated under the Senate bill, the same as the President’s request;
level funding would be provided by the House bill.
! The CDC would receive $157 million less than the House bill but
$165 million more than requested; the Senate amount would be $147
million more than the FY2003 amount of $4.3 billion.
! The NIH would receive $319 million more than the House or the
request, and $1.0 billion more than the FY2003 amount of $27.0
billion.
! SAMHSA would receive $171 million less than the House and $235
million less than requested; the Senate bill would provide an
increase of $20 million over the FY2003 amount of $3.1 billion.
! LIHEAP would receive $200 million more than the House and the
same as the amount requested; the Senate bill would provide $311
million more than the FY2003 amount of $1.7 billion.
! The Community Services Block Grant would receive $151 million
more than the House or the request; the Senate bill would maintain
funding at the FY2003 level of $646 million.
Abortion: Funding Restrictions. L-HHS-ED appropriations acts regularly
contain restrictions that limit — for one year at a time — the circumstances under
which federal funds can be used to pay for abortions. The Congress has not actually
amended these restrictions since FY1999, but given the perennial volatility of this
issue, these provisions may be revisited at any time during consideration of L-HHS-
ED appropriations. From FY1977 to FY1993, abortions could be funded only when
the life of the mother was endangered. Restrictions on appropriated funds, popularly
referred to as the Hyde Amendments, generally apply to all L-HHS-ED funds.
Medicaid is the largest program affected. The 103rd Congress modified the
provisions to permit federal funding of abortions in cases of rape or incest. The
FY1998 L-HHS-ED Appropriations Act, P.L. 105-78, extended the Hyde provisions
to prohibit the use of federal funds to buy managed care packages that include
abortion coverage, except in the cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. For
FY1999, the FY1998 Hyde Amendments were continued, along with a clarification
to ensure that the restrictions apply to all trust fund programs (namely, Medicare)
funded by the FY1999 L-HHS-ED Appropriations Act, P.L. 105-277, as well as an
assurance that Medicare + Choice plans cannot require the provision of abortion
services. Annual appropriations acts since FY1999 have repeated without change the
FY1999 funding restrictions. Current provisions can be found in §508 and §509 of
the FY2003 L-HHS-ED Appropriations Act, P.L. 108-7. For additional information,
see CRS Issue Brief IB95095, Abortion: Legislative Response.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Funding Restrictions. On August 9,
2001, President Bush announced a decision to use federal funds for research on
human embryonic stem cells for the first time, but limited the funding to “existing
stem cell lines.” Although NIH developed a registry which listed 78 cell lines
eligible for use in federally funded research, subsequently many of the lines were

CRS-19
found to be unavailable or unsuitable for research. The NIH registry currently lists
only 11 cell lines available for general research purposes. Embryonic stem cells have
the ability to develop into virtually any cell in the body, and may have the potential
to treat medical conditions such as diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. The use of stem
cells, however, frequently raises difficult ethical and social issues regarding embryo
and fetal tissue research. An FY1996 appropriations continuing resolution, P.L. 104-
99 (§128), prohibited NIH funds from being used for the creation of human embryos
for research purposes or for research in which human embryos are destroyed. Since
FY1997, annual appropriations acts extended the prohibition to all L-HHS-ED funds,
but the NIH is the agency primarily affected. The restriction, originally introduced
by Representative Jay Dickey, has not changed significantly since it was first enacted.
However, given the potential volatility of this issue, it may also be revisited at any
time during consideration of the L-HHS-ED appropriations. The current provision
can be found in §510 of the FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations, P.L. 108-7. For
additional information, see CRS Report RL31015, Stem Cell Research and CRS
Report RL31358, Human Cloning.
CRS Products
CRS Issue Brief IB95095, Abortion: Legislative Response, by Karen J. Lewis, et. al.
CRS Report 98-476, AIDS: Ryan White CARE Act, by Judith A. Johnson and
Paulette C. Morgan.
CRS Report RL30785, The Child Care and Development Block Grant: Background
and Funding, by Alice Butler and Melinda Gish.
CRS Report RS20124, Community Services Block Grants: Background and
Funding, by Karen Spar and Garrine P. Laney.
CRS Report RS21160, The Developmental Disabilities Act: Programs and Funding,
by Sidath V. Panangala.
CRS Issue Brief IB10117, Federal Research and Development Funding: FY2004,
by Michael E. Davey.
CRS Report RL30952, Head Start Issues in the 108th Congress, by Melinda Gish and
Alice Butler.
CRS Report RL31358, Human Cloning, by Judith A. Johnson.
CRS Report RL31865, The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP): Program and Funding Issues, by Emilie Stoltzfus.
CRS Report 97-350, Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, by Sharon Kearney
Coleman.
CRS Report RL31058, Medicare Structural Reform: Background and Options, by
Jennifer O’Sullivan, et. al.
CRS Report RS20873, Reducing Teen Pregnancy: Adolescent Family Life and
Abstinence Education Programs, by Carmen Solomon-Fears.
CRS Report 94-953, Social Services Block Grant (Title XX of the Social Security
Act), by Melinda Gish.
CRS Report RL31015, Stem Cell Research, by Judith A. Johnson.
CRS Report 97-1048, The Title X Family Planning Program, by Sharon Kearney
Coleman.
CRS Electronic Briefing Book, Welfare Reform,
[http://www.congress.gov/brbk/html/ebwlf1.shtml].
CRS Issue Brief IB93034, Welfare Reform: An Issue Overview, by Vee Burke.

CRS-20
World Wide Web Sites
Department of Health and Human Services
[http://www.hhs.gov]
[http://www.hhs.gov/budget/]
[http://www.hhs.gov/budget/document.htm]
[http://www.hhs.gov/budget/docbudget.htm]
Detailed Appropriations Table
Table 8 shows the appropriations details for offices and major programs of
HHS.

CRS-21
Table 8. Detailed Department of Health and Human Services
Appropriations
($ in millions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Public Health Service (PHS)
Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA),
1,505
1,627
1,627
1,627

Community Health Centers
National Health Service Corps
171
213
171
171

Health Professions
421
109
391
424

Maternal and Child Health Block
730
751
7337
732

Grant
Abstinence Education
55
73
65
73

Ryan White AIDS Programs
2,018
2,010
2,024
2,042

Family Planning (Title X)
273
265
273
283

Children’s Hospital Graduate
290
199
305
— b

Medical Education
Health Care and Other Facilities
295
0
0
0

Community Access Program
104
0
104
0

Vaccine Injury Compensation
86
66
66
66

(mandatory)
HRSA, other
575
425
566
536

HRSA subtotal
6,523
5,738
6,325
5,954

Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) c
4,285
4,267
4,589
4,432

National Institutes of Health (NIH)
d
26,983
27,664
27,664
27,983

Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration
437
433
435
415

(SAMHSA) Mental Health Block
Grant
SAMHSA Substance Abuse Block
1,692
1,785
1,774
1,725

Grant
SAMHSA, other
1,009
1,175
1,120
1,109

SAMHSA subtotal
3,138
3,393
3,329
3,158

Agency for Healthcare Research
0
0
3
0

and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ program level (non-add)
304
279
304
304

PHS subtotal
40,929
41,062
41,907
41,527

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Medicaid Grants to States
163,952
183,308
189,308
183,308

(mandatory)
Payments to Medicare Trust Funds
81,463
95,084
95,084
95,084

(mandatory)
CMS Program Management
2,656
2,734
2,698
2,708

CMS subtotal 247,980
281,126
287,090
281,100


CRS-22
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Family Support Payments to States
4,036
4,625
4,625
4,672

(mandatory)
Low Income Home Energy
1,689
2,000
1,800
2,000

Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
Refugee and Entrant Assistance
478
462
462
428

Child Care and Development
2,086
2,100
2,100
2,100

Block Grant (CCDBG)
Social Services Block Grant
1,700
1,700
1,700
1,700

(Title XX) (mandatory)
Disabled Voter Services
15
0
15
0

Head Start
6,668
6,816
6,816
6,816

Child Welfare Services
290
292
292
290

Developmental Disabilities
145
140
146
151

Community Services Block Grant
646
495
495
646

Battered Women’s Shelters
126
124
126
126

Other Children and Family
755
820
725
751

Services Programs
Promoting Safe and Stable
305
305
305
305

Families (PSSF) (mandatory)
PSSF (discretionary)
99
200
100
99

Foster Care and Adoption
6,601
6,836
6,836
6,836

Assistance (mandatory)
ACF subtotal
25,640
26,915
25,543
26,920

Administration on Aging (AOA)
1,367
1,344
1,377
1,360

Office of the Secretary, Public
1,887
1,896
1,777
1,856

Health and Social Service Fund
Medical Benefits, Commissioned
310
303
330
330

Officers (mandatory)
Office of the Secretary, Other
424
444
425
422

TOTALS, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Total appropriations e 318,536
353,090
359,449
353,515

Current year: FY2004 262,429
290,307
296,665
290,732

Advance year: FY2005
56,107
62,784
62,784
62,784

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations.
a The FY2003 amounts are post-reduction, and based on P.L. 108-7.
b Funding for the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education is included in Health Professions.
c The Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD) Appropriations Act provides
additional funding for CDC — $83 million in FY2003.
d The VA-HUD Appropriations Act provides additional funding for NIH — $84 million in FY2003.
e Appropriations totals include discretionary and mandatory funds, and may be subject to additional
scorekeeping and other adjustments.

CRS-23
Department of Education
The FY2004 budget proposal for discretionary appropriations at the Department
of Education (ED) is $53.2 billion, $0.1 billion (0.2%) more than the FY2003
appropriations of $53.1 billion, as shown in Table 9. The House bill, as reported,
would provide $55.4 billion; as reported, the Senate bill would provide $54.6 billion.
Table 9. Department of Education Discretionary Appropriations
($ in billions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Funding
enacted
request
House
Senate
enacted
Appropriations
$53.1
$53.2
$55.4
$54.6

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
Amounts shown represent discretionary programs funded by L-HHS-ED appropriations;
appropriations for mandatory programs are excluded.
A single mandatory ED program is included in the L-HHS-ED bill; the
Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants program is funded at $2.5 billion in FY2003.
Key Issues
President’s Request. The amount of federal support for education has been
a priority of both the Congress and the White House in recent years. Under the
FY2004 budget request, funding for several programs would be increased. However,
the total request for ED discretionary funds would be increased by 0.2%, and support
for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) would be $1.1
billion less than the FY2003 amount. Discretionary spending changes of at least
$100 million are requested by the President for the following programs.
! An increase of $666 million is requested for the ESEA Title I Part
A Grants to Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) program, which is
funded at $11.7 billion in FY2003.
! An additional $655 million would be provided for Special Education
Part B Grants to States program under Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), funded at $8.9 billion in FY2003.
! An additional $1.4 billion is requested for the Pell Grant program,
which is funded at $11.4 billion in FY2003.
! The FY2004 request includes an increase of $842 million to support
a unified discretionary account for the administration of federal
student aid programs, funded at $105 million in FY2003. This
amount would be offset in part by a savings of $795 million through
the consolidation of certain related expenses for student aid
administrative activities currently counted elsewhere.

CRS-24
Along with the increases proposed above, the President’s FY2004 budget would
decrease or terminate funding for several programs.
! Impact Aid would be reduced by $172 million; the FY2003 amount
is $1.2 billion.
! 21st Century Community Learning Centers would be decreased by
$394 million; $994 million is provided in FY2003.
! Rural Education funding would be eliminated; the FY2003 amount
is $168 million.
! The Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) would be reduced
by $414 million; $473 million is provided in FY2003.
! The Perkins Vocational Education program would be reduced by
$326 million; $1.3 billion is provided in FY2003.
! Smaller Learning Communities would be eliminated; $161 million
is the FY2003 amount.
! The Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)
would be decreased by $132 million; the program is funded at $171
million in FY2003.
House Bill, as Passed. For ED programs, the FY2004 House bill differs in
several respects from the President’s budget request.
! All ESEA programs in aggregate would be funded at $24.0 billion
in FY2004 under the House bill, $1.5 billion more than requested
and $438 million more than the FY2003 amount of $23.6 billion.
! Impact Aid would be funded at $1.2 billion, $222 million more than
requested and $50 million more than the FY2003 amount.
! 21st Century Community Learning Centers would be funded at $1.0
billion, $400 million more than requested and slightly more than the
FY2003 amount.
! Rural Education would be level funded at $170 million, about the
same as the FY2003 amount; no funds are requested for FY2004.
! The FIE would receive $166 million, $107 million more than
requested but $307 million less than the FY2003 amount.
! IDEA Part B Grants to States would receive $9.9 billion, $345
million more than requested and $1.0 billion more than the FY2003
amount.
! Perkins Vocational Education would be funded at $1.3 billion, $319
million more than requested but about the same as in FY2003.
! Smaller Learning Communities would be funded at $175 million;
no funding is requested; the FY2003 amount is $161 million.
! Pell Grants would receive $12.3 billion, $465 million less than the
request but $885 million more than the FY2003 amount of $11.4
billion.
! The House bill would reject the President’s request to consolidate
student loan administrative activities.
Senate Bill, as Reported. For ED programs, the FY2004 Senate bill differs
in a number of respects with the House bill but by $100 million only for the
aggregate amount of all ESEA programs. The Senate bill would provide $23.5

CRS-25
billion for all ESEA programs, $584 million less that the House amount, but $955
million more than requested; the FY2003 amount is $23.6 billion.
Pell Grants. The funding level for Pell Grants has been a continuing issue.
The program provides assistance to undergraduate students based on financial need.
Aggregate program costs depend largely on the maximum award and the number of
student recipients. The maximum award is currently set when appropriations are
enacted, usually well before the start of the program year. The number of student
awards, however, cannot be determined until the final award is claimed; this final
accounting takes place after most decisions have been made on the following year’s
appropriations. Funding shortfalls for Pell Grants are not new; the Senate Committee
on Appropriations has stated that shortfalls have occurred in 6 of the past 12 years
(S.Rept. 107-156, p. 75, May 29, 2002). Appropriations for Pell Grants make funds
available for 2 full fiscal years to provide administrative flexibility regarding
potential shortfalls and surpluses. Under this provision, a shortfall in one fiscal year
can be reimbursed with funds obtained from the following fiscal year; similarly, a
surplus can be carried forward and used in the following year. As of July 1, 2003,
ED estimates the FY2003 shortfall will be $1.5 billion, to be reduced to $0.2 billion
in FY2004 under the President’s budget request. For additional information, see
CRS Report RL31668, Federal Pell Grant Program of the Higher Education Act:
Background and Reauthorization
.
Student Aid Program Administration. As it did in FY2003, the
President’s FY2004 budget proposes the consolidation of the administration of
federal student aid programs into a new unified discretionary account. If enacted, this
account would combine the following: (1) administrative funds for the Direct Loan
(DL) program that support loan origination, servicing, and collection; (2) account
maintenance fees for the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program guaranty
agencies; (3) other funds that partially support administrative activities for the FFEL
program; and (4) other ED personnel and operational funds related to student aid
program administration. These funds are currently provided through a disparate set
of mandatory, discretionary, and subsidy accounts. The proposal would switch the
DL program administrative funds, which are currently mandatory appropriations, to
discretionary appropriations. Similarly, account maintenance fees which partially
support FFEL program guaranty agencies would cease to be mandatory
appropriations and would become discretionary appropriations. Much of the
financing of FFEL program administrative costs, however, would continue to be done
through mandatory subsidy payments to lenders. The Higher Education Act (HEA)
provisions that provide the underlying statutory authority for these funds would have
to be changed to accommodate this proposal. The Congress did not act on the
FY2003 proposal. For additional information on the cost, financing, and design of
the FFEL and DL programs, see CRS Report RL30048, Federal Student Loans:
Program Data and Default Statistics
, and CRS Report RL30656, The Administration
of Federal Student Loan Programs: Background and Provisions
.
IDEA Part B Grants to States. The IDEA is the major federal program
providing assistance to states and school districts to help them fulfill their to provide
a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities. In 1975, the
Congress authorized state payments up to a maximum amount of 40% of the national
average per-pupil expenditure (APPE) times the number of children with disabilities

CRS-26
ages 3 and above that each state serves. The rationale for this formula was the
assumption that the education of children with disabilities cost twice the national
APPE — 100% more than the “average” child — and the maximum federal share of
the extra cost would be 40%. Appropriations have never been sufficient to reach the
40% level. Some view this deficiency as a promise made that has not yet been kept.
Achieving the 40% funding level for FY2003 for Part B grants would take an
estimated $20.2 billion, whereas the FY2003 appropriation was $8.9 billion, the
equivalent of 17.5% of the current APPE times the number of children served. An
additional appropriation of $11.3 billion would have been necessary to provide the
40% authorized maximum for FY2003. In addition, funding requirements for
maximum grants could grow in the future, as growth possibly continues for both the
APPE and the number of children with disabilities served. The latter may increase
in part as a result of medical advances that have enabled more medically fragile
children to survive to school age and to receive a public education. For additional
information, see CRS Report RS21447, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA): Current Funding Trends
.
Forward Funding and Advance Appropriations. Many of the larger ED
programs have either authorization or appropriations provisions that allow funding
flexibility for school program years that differ from the federal fiscal year. For
example, many of the elementary and secondary education formula grant programs
receive appropriations that become available for obligation to the states on July 1 of
the same year as the appropriations, and remain available through the end of the
following fiscal year. That is, FY2003 appropriations for some programs became
available for obligation to the states on July 1, 2003, and will remain available for a
15-month period until September 30, 2004. This budgetary procedure is popularly
known as “forward” or “multi-year” funding, and is accomplished through funding
provisions in the L-HHS-ED appropriations bill.
Forward funding in the case of elementary and secondary education programs
was designed to allow additional time for school officials to develop budgets in
advance of the beginning of the school year. For Pell Grants for undergraduates,
however, aggregate program costs for individual students applying for postsecondary
educational assistance cannot be known with certainty ahead of time. Appropriations
from one fiscal year primarily support Pell Grants during the following academic
year, that is, the FY2003 appropriations will be used primarily to support the 2003-
2004 academic year. Unlike forward funded programs, however, the funds for Pell
Grants remain available for obligation for 2 full fiscal years. Thus, if cost estimates
turn out to be too low, funds may be borrowed from the following year’s
appropriations, or conversely, if the estimates are too high, the surplus may be
obligated during the following year.
An advance appropriation occurs when the appropriation is provided for a
fiscal year beyond the fiscal year for which the appropriation was enacted. In the
case of FY2003 appropriations, funds normally would have become available
October 1, 2002, under regular funding provisions, but did not become available until
July 1, 2003, under the forward funding provisions discussed above. However, if the
July 1, 2003 forward funding date were to be postponed for obligation by 3 months
— until October 1, 2003 — the appropriation would be classified as an advance
appropriation since the funds would become available only in a subsequent fiscal

CRS-27
year, FY2004. For example, the FY2003 appropriation for Title I Part A Grants to
LEAs for the Education of the Disadvantaged is $11.7 billion. This amount includes
not only forward funding of $2.9 billion (available July 1, 2003), but also an advance
appropriation of $8.8 billion (available October 1, 2003). Like forward funding,
advance appropriations are accomplished through provisions in the annual
appropriations bill.
What is the impact of these changes in funding provisions? At the program or
service level, relatively little is changed by the 3-month delay in the availability of
funds, since most expenditures for a standard school year occur after October 1. At
the appropriations level, however, a significant technical difference occurs because
forward funding is counted as part of the current fiscal year, and is therefore fully
included in the current 302(b) allocation for discretionary appropriations. Under
federal budget scorekeeping rules, an advance appropriation is not counted in the
302(b) allocation until the following year. In essence, a 3-month change from
forward funding to an advance appropriation for a given program allows a one-time
shift from the current year to the next year in the scoring of discretionary
appropriations. For additional information on budget enforcement procedures, see
CRS Report 98-720, Manual on the Federal Budget Process.
CRS Products
CRS Report RL31747, The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act
of 1998: background and Implementation, by Rebecca R. Skinner and Richard
N. Apling.
CRS Report RL31487, Education for the Disadvantaged: Overview of ESEA
Title I-A Amendments Under the No Child Left Behind Act, by Wayne Riddle.
CRS Report RL31315, Education of Limited English Proficient and Recent
Immigrant Students: Provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, by
Jeffrey J. Kuenzi.
CRS Report RL30448, Even Start Family Literacy Programs: Background and
Reauthorization Issues, by Gail McCallion and Wayne Riddle.
CRS Report RL31668, Federal Pell Grant Program of the Higher Education Act:
Background and Reauthorization, by James B. Stedman.
CRS Report RL31128, Funding for Public Charter School Facilities: Federal
Policy Under ESEA, by David P. Smole.
CRS Issue Brief IB10097, The Higher Education Act: Reauthorization Status and
Issues, by James B. Stedman.
CRS Report RL31885, Impact Aid for Public K-12 Education: General Overview
and Current Status, by Rebecca R. Skinner.
CRS Report RS21447, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Current
Funding Trends, by Richard N. Apling.
CRS Report RL30810, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Issues
Regarding “Full Funding” of Part B Grants to States, by Richard N. Apling.
CRS Report RS20366, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA):
Overview of Major Provisions, by Richard Apling and Nancy Lee Jones.
CRS Electronic Briefing Book, K-12 Education,
[http://www.congress.gov/brbk/html/ebedd1.shtml].
CRS Report RL31284, K-12 Education: Highlights of the No Child Left Behind Act
of 2001 (P.L. 107-110), by Wayne Riddle.

CRS-28
CRS Report RL30834, K-12 Teacher Quality: Issues and Legislative Action, by
James B. Stedman.
CRS Report RL31241, Reading First and Early Reading First: Background and
Funding, by Gail McCallion.
CRS Report RL31647, Reauthorization of Title III and Title V of the Higher
Education Act: Issues for the 108th Congress, by Charmaine Jackson.
CRS Report RL31378, Rehabilitation Act: Programs and Funding, by Sidath V.
Panangala.
CRS Report RS20532, The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act:
Reauthorization and Appropriations, by Edith Fairman Cooper.
CRS Issue Brief IB98035, School Choice: Current Legislation, by David P. Smole.
CRS Report RL31240, 21st Century Community Learning Centers in P.L. 107-110:
Background and Funding, by Gail McCallion.
CRS Report RL31622, TRIO and GEAR UP Programs: Status and Issues, by Jeffrey
J. Kuenzi.
World Wide Web Sites
Department of Education Home Page
[http://www.ed.gov/index.jsp]
[http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/budget.html]
[http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/budnews.html]
[http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget04/index.html]
[http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget04/04testimony.html]
[http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/Budget04/04summary/index.html]
Detailed Appropriations Table
Table 10 shows the appropriations details for offices and major programs of
ED.

CRS-29
Table 10. Detailed Department of Education Appropriations
($ in millions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Total Elementary and Secondary
23,609
22,508
24,047
23,463

Education Act (non-add)
Title I Part A Education for the
11,684
12,350
12,350
12,350

Disadvantaged, Grants to LEAs
Even Start
248
175
250
175

Reading First State Grants
994
1,050
1,050
1,000

Education for the Disadvantaged,
812
609
857
578

Other
Impact Aid
1,188
1,016
1,238
1,188

Teacher Quality State Grants
2,931
2,850
2,931
2,850

Innovative Education Block Grant
382
385
335
345

Educational Technology State
696
701
696
696

Grants
21st Century Community Learning
994
600
1,000
1,000

Centers
State Assessments
384
390
390
390

Rural Education
168
0
170
168

School Improvement, Other
328
117
276
282

Indian Education
122
122
122
122

Charter School Grants
199
220
220
220

Fund for the Improvement of
473
59
166
166

Education (FIE)
Innovation and Improvement,
427
528
422
388

Other
Safe and Drug-Free Schools State
469
422
469
422

Grants
Safe Schools and Citizenship,
416
334
351
397

Other
English Language Acquisition
and Enhancement (Bilingual and
686
665
686
665

Immigrant Education)
IDEA Special Education, Part B,
8,874
9,529
9,874
9,859

Grants to States
IDEA Special Education, other
1,160
1,161
1,176
1,168

Vocational Rehabilitation State
2,533
2,584
2,584
2,584

Grants (mandatory)
Rehabilitation Services, other
420
419
415
420

Special Institutions for Persons
167
159
171
171

With Disabilities
Perkins Vocational Education
1,326
1,000
1,319
1,326

Adult Education
587
591
600
587

Smaller Learning Communities
161
0
175
161

Vocational and Adult, Other
32
0
0
20


CRS-30
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Federal Student Aid
Pell Grants, maximum award (in
4,050
4,000
4,050
4,050

dollars, non-add)
Pell Grants
11,365
12,715
12,250
12,177

Supplemental Educational
760
725
760
760

Opportunity Grants
Federal Work-Study
1,004
1,011
1,004
1,004

Federal Perkins Loans, Capital
99
0
99
99

Contributions
Federal Perkins Loans, Loan
67
68
67
67

Cancellations
Leveraging Educational
67
0
67
67

Assistance Partnership (LEAP)
Loan Forgiveness for Child Care
1
0
0
0

Federal Family Education Loans,
105
947
120
105

Administration
Direct Loan Reclassification
0
-795
0
0

Proposal
Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)
Aid for Institutional Development
472
470
484
488

Fund for the Improvement of
171
39
39
32

Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)
Federal TRIO Programs
827
803
835
840

GEAR UP
293
285
300
300

Higher Education, other
330
307
328
314

Howard University
238
237
243
238

Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
Research and Statistics
390
376
443
395

Multi-year Grants
58
0
58
58

Departmental Management
Departmental Management
536
574
574
545

TOTALS, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Total Appropriations a, b
55,646
55,808
57,964
57,190

Current year: FY2004
38,391
40,797
42,953
42,179

Advance year: FY2005
17,255
15,011
15,011
15,011

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations.
a The FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
b Appropriations totals include discretionary and mandatory funds, and may be subject to additional
scorekeeping and other adjustments.

CRS-31
Related Agencies
The FY2004 budget proposal for discretionary appropriations for L-HHS-ED
Related Agencies is $9.9 billion, $0.3 billion (3.1%) more than the FY2003
appropriations of $9.6 billion, as shown in Table 11. The House bill, as reported,
would provide $10.0 billion; as reported, the Senate bill would provide $10.3 billion.
Table 11. Related Agencies Discretionary Appropriations
($ in billions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Funding
enacted
request
House
Senate
enacted
Appropriations
$9.6
$9.9
$10.0
$10.3

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table from the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations. FY2003 amounts are post-reduction, and based on P.L. 108-7.
Amounts shown represent discretionary programs funded by L-HHS-ED appropriations;
appropriations for mandatory programs are excluded.
Mandatory programs for related agencies included in the L-HHS-ED bill are
funded at $32.2 billion in FY2003, virtually all of it for the Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) program.
Key Issues
President’s Request. The President’s FY2004 budget for related agencies
would change discretionary spending by at least $100 million for several programs.
! The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been provided
with a 2-year advance appropriation in recent years, that is, the
FY2004 L-HHS-ED bill would be expected to provide FY2006
funding for the CPB. Under the President’s FY2004 request, zero
funding would be provided for FY2006. However, $390 million has
already been enacted for FY2005 (as part of the FY2003 L-HHS-ED
bill), and $380 million has been provided for FY2004 (enacted in the
FY2002 bill). The current amount for FY2003 is $363 million,
which was enacted in FY2001.
! The SSI discretionary appropriation would be increased by $218
million; $2.9 billion is provided for FY2003.
! An additional $427 million is proposed for the SSA Limitation on
Administrative Expenses, which was funded at $4.9 billion in
FY2003.
House Bill, as Passed. For the related agencies included in the L-HHS-ED
bill, the House bill differs from the President’s budget request for several programs.

CRS-32
! The CPB would be given an advance appropriation of $330 million
for FY2006; the CPB would not receive FY2006 funding under the
request.
! The SSA Limitation on Administrative Expenses would receive $5.3
billion, $107 million less than requested.
Senate Bill, as Reported. For related agencies, the FY2004 Senate bill
differs from the House bill by at least $100 million for one program. The SSA
Limitation on Administrative Expenses would be $5.4 billion, the same as requested
but $107 million more than the House amount.
CRS Products
CRS Report RL31320, Federal Aid to Libraries: The Library Services and
Technology Act, by Gail McCallion.
CRS Electronic Briefing Book, Social Security, at
[http://www.congress.gov/brbk/html/ebssc1.shtml].
CRS Report 98-422, Social Security and the Federal Budget: What Does Social
Security’s Being “Off Budget” Mean?, by David Stuart Koitz.
CRS Issue Brief IB98048, Social Security Reform, by Geoffrey Kollmann and Dawn
Nuschler.
CRS Report 94-486, Supplemental Security Income (SSI): A Fact Sheet, by
Jennifer E. Lake.
CRS Report RS20419, VISTA and the Senior Volunteer Service Corps: Description
and Funding Levels, by Ann Lordeman.
World Wide Web Sites
Note: Not all of the L-HHS-ED related agencies have web sites, and not all web
sites include FY2004 budget information.
Armed Forces Retirement Home
[http://www.afrh.com]
Corporation for National and Community Service
[http://www.cns.gov]
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
[http://www.cpb.org]
[http://www.cpb.org/about/funding/appropriation.html]
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
[http://www.fmcs.gov]
Institute of Museum and Library Services
[http://www.imls.gov]
[http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/020303.htm]

CRS-33
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
[http://www.medpac.gov/]
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science
[http://www.nclis.gov/]
National Council on Disability
[http://www.ncd.gov/]
National Labor Relations Board
[http://www.nlrb.gov]
Railroad Retirement Board
[http://www.rrb.gov]
[http://www.rrb.gov/BFO/Justbudgettoc04.htm]
Social Security Administration
[http://www.ssa.gov]
[http://www.ssa.gov/budget/2004bud.html]
United States Institute of Peace
[http://www.usip.org]
Detailed Appropriations Table
Table 12 shows the appropriations details for offices and major programs of the
L-HHS-ED related agencies.

CRS-34
Table 12. Detailed Related Agencies Appropriations
($ in millions)
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
Armed Services Retirement Home
67
65
65
65

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) b
Volunteers in Service to America
94
94
94
94

(VISTA)
Special Volunteer Programs
10
20
5
5

National Senior Volunteer Corps
216
212
216
217

Program Administration
34
38
38
34

CNCS subtotal
354
364
353
350

Corporation for Public
Broadcasting (CPB), 2-Year
390
0
330
400

Advance
CPB current year (non-add)
363
380
380
380

CPB Digitalization Program
48
0
0
55

CPB Interconnection
0
0
0
10

Federal Mediation and
41
43
43
43

Conciliation Service
Federal Mine Safety and Health
7
8
8
8

Review Committee
Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) c
244
242
238
244

Medicare Payment Advisory
9
9
9
9

Commission
National Commission on
1
1
1
1

Libraries and Information Science
National Council on Disability
3
3
3
3

National Labor Relations Board
237
243
239
246

National Mediation Board
11
11
11
11

Occupational Safety and Health
10
10
10
10

Review Commission
Railroad Retirement Board
228
226
219
224

Social Security Administration (SSA)
SSA Payments to Social Security
20
22
22
22

Trust Fund (mandatory)
SSA Supplemental Security
32,170
35,838
35,838
35,846

Income (SSI) (mandatory)
SSA SSI, Discretionary
2,936
3,154
3,093
3,154

SSA Limitation on Administrative
4,949
5,376
5,269
5,376 —
Expenses
SSA Office of Inspector General
82
90
88
82

SSA subtotal
40,157
44,480
44,310
44,480


CRS-35
FY2003
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
FY2004
Office or major program
enacted a
request
House
Senate
enacted
United States Institute for Peace
16
17
17
17

TOTALS, RELATED AGENCIES
Total appropriations d
41,825
45,722
45,857
46,178

Current year: FY2004
30,355
33,132
32,937
33,188

Advance year: FY2005
11,080
12,590
12,590
12,590

Advance year: FY2006
390
0
330
400

Source: Amounts are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the House Committee on Appropriations,
except for FY2004 Senate amounts which are based on the June 25, 2003 table of the Senate
Committee on Appropriations.
a The FY2003 amounts are post-reduction and based on P.L. 108-7.
b L-HHS-ED funds are provided only for CNCS Domestic Volunteer Service Act programs. In
addition, the Veterans Affairs-Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD) Appropriations Act
provides funds for CNCS AmeriCorps Grants and other programs under the National Community
Service Act — $387 million in FY2003.
c The IMLS amounts include both Library Services and Museum Services; both programs are funded
through the L-HHS-ED bill beginning with FY2003.
d Appropriations totals include discretionary and mandatory funds, and may be subject to additional
scorekeeping and other adjustments.

CRS-36
Related Legislation
Several proposals related to L-HHS-ED appropriations have been considered
during the 1st Session of the 108th Congress, including: the FY2004 budget
resolution; the FY2003 emergency wartime supplemental appropriations; and the
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003, which was enacted following a series
of FY2003 continuing resolutions.
FY2004 Budget Resolution, H.Con.Res. 95/S.Con.Res. 23
The concurrent resolution on the budget sets forth the congressional budget for
FY2004. The resolution proposes federal budget levels for FY2004 through FY2013;
the maximum for total discretionary spending is specified within the context of the
budget resolution. As agreed to in conference, the resolution sets an FY2004 limit
of $784.5 billion in discretionary spending, compared to $840.6 billion enacted for
FY2003, according to the conference report (H.Rept. 108-71, p. 42). Typically,
budget resolutions also specify the budget reconciliation process for the modification
of mandatory spending limits and tax cut legislation, and set spending targets for
functional categories of the budget. Report language usually provides an outline of
the funding assumptions made for selected programs that might be used to reach the
spending targets. Actual FY2004 discretionary appropriations for specific
departments, agencies, and programs, however, are determined only through the
enactment of appropriations bills.
H.Con.Res. 95 (H.Rept. 108-37) was passed by the House on March 21, 2003
(roll call no. 82, 215-212). S.Con.Res. 23 (without written report) was passed by the
Senate on March 26, 2003 (roll call no. 108, 56-44), before being substituted as an
amendment to H.Con.Res. 95. The conference report for H.Con.Res. 95, H.Rept.
108-71, was agreed to on April 11, 2003, by the House (roll call no. 141, 216-211)
and by the Senate (roll call no. 34, 51-50). For additional information, see CRS
Report RL31784, The Budget for Fiscal Year 2004.
FY2003 Wartime Supplemental, P.L. 108-11 (H.R. 1559)
Following the enactment into law on February 20, 2003, of final FY2003
omnibus appropriations, the Congress agreed to additional FY2003 appropriations
to meet various special wartime needs. From the total of $79 billion enacted, $158
million was designated for L-HHS-ED programs, including $16 million for the CDC
for the prevention and control of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), $100
million for the CDC for general activities, and $42 million for compensation for
injuries resulting from smallpox vaccinations, contingent on the enactment of
legislation authorizing such activities. In addition, the law clarifies the language
specifying certain FY2003 award recipients that were designated under P.L. 108-7.
The House passed H.R. 1559 (H.Rept. 108-55) on April 3, 2003 (roll call no.
108, 414-12). The Senate amended and passed H.R. 1559 in lieu of S. 762 (S.Rept.
108-33, agreed to by the Senate April 3 by roll call no. 125, 93-0). The conference
report, H.Rept. 108-76, was agreed to by the House and the Senate on April 12, and
signed into law by the President on April 16, 2003, as P.L. 108-11, the Emergency

CRS-37
Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003. For additional information, see
CRS Report RL31829, Supplemental Appropriations FY2003: Iraq Conflict,
Afghanistan, Global War on Terrorism, and Homeland Security
.
FY2003 Omnibus Appropriations, P.L. 108-7 (H.J.Res. 2)
Regular FY2003 funding for L-HHS-ED activities was enacted early in the 108th
Congress, more than four months after the start of FY2003 on October 1, 2002.
Division G of the omnibus provided funds for L-HHS-ED programs.
Seven of the 13 regular FY2003 appropriations bills were combined into a
single piece of legislation, H.J.Res. 2. The conference report on H.J.Res. 2, H.Rept.
108-10
, was passed on February 13, 2003, by the House (roll call no. 32, 338-83) and
by the Senate (roll call no. 34, 76-20). It was signed into law by the President on
February 20, 2003, as P.L. 108-7, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003.
For information on the FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations, see CRS Report
RL31303, Appropriations for FY2003: Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education
. For a guide to the omnibus bill, see CRS Report RS21433, FY2003
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution: Reference Guide
.
FY2003 Reduction in Funds. P.L. 108-7, Division N, Title VI “Offsets,”
includes Section 601 “Across-the-Board Rescissions” which required a reduction of
0.65% to most discretionary appropriations enacted elsewhere in the law, including
some of the L-HHS-ED appropriations. However, the reduction did not apply to
advance appropriations for FY2004 and to certain specified programs, such as Head
Start. Although the exact percentage of the reduction was specified, the actual
application and resulting funding levels were determined later by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and the individual agencies. The final FY2003
amounts, as approved by OMB, are incorporated into the FY2004 tables of the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations. As a result, the tables in the H.J.Res. 2
conference report, H.Rept. 108-10, show pre-reduction levels, whereas the FY2004
reports from the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations show post-
reduction funding levels.
FY2003 Continuing Resolution, P.L. 107-229 (H.J.Res. 111)
From October 1, 2002, through February 20, 2003, when P.L. 108-7 was signed
into law, a series of eight continuing resolutions extended appropriations for FY2003
on a temporary basis for most ongoing L-HHS-ED programs, including the costs of
direct loans and loan guarantees. These resolutions were necessary because the
regular FY2003 L-HHS-ED appropriations were not yet enacted. Funding under the
continuing resolution was provided at a rate of operations not to exceed the “current
rate,” under FY2002 conditions and program authority. New initiatives were
prohibited unless otherwise specifically authorized. For programs with high spend-
out rates that normally would occur early in the fiscal year, special restrictions
prohibited spending levels that would impinge on final funding decisions. The
FY2003 continuing resolutions were: P.L. 107-229 (H.J.Res. 111), as amended by
P.L. 107-235, P.L. 107-240, P.L. 107-244, P.L. 107-294, P.L. 108-2, P.L. 108-4, and

CRS-38
P.L. 108-5. For additional information, see CRS Report RL30343, Continuing
Appropriations Acts: Brief Overview of Recent Practices
.

CRS-39
Appendix A: Terminology
Note: Definitions are based on CRS Report 98-720, Manual on the Federal Budget
Process
.
Advance appropriation is budget authority that will become available in a fiscal
year beyond the fiscal year for which the appropriations act is enacted; scorekeeping
counts the entire amount in the fiscal year it first becomes available for obligation.
Appropriation is budget authority that permits federal agencies to incur obligations
and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. Appropriations
represent the amounts that agencies may obligate during the period of time specified
in the law. Annual appropriations are provided in appropriations acts; most
permanent appropriations are provided in substantive law. Major types of
appropriations are regular, supplemental, and continuing.
Budget authority is legal authority to incur financial obligations that normally result
in the outlay of federal government funds. Major types of budget authority are
appropriations, borrowing authority, and contract authority. Budget authority also
includes the subsidy cost of direct and guaranteed loans, but excludes the portion of
loans that is not subsidized.
Budget resolution is a concurrent resolution passed by both Houses of Congress, but
not requiring the signature of the President, setting forth the congressional budget for
at least 5 fiscal years. It includes various budget totals and functional allocations.
Discretionary spending is budget authority provided in annual appropriations acts,
other than appropriated entitlements.
Entitlement authority is the authority to make payments to persons, businesses, or
governments that meet the eligibility criteria established by law; as such, it represents
a legally binding obligation on the part of the federal government. Entitlement
authority may be funded by either annual or permanent appropriations acts.
Forward funding is budget authority that becomes available after the beginning of
one fiscal year and remains available into the next fiscal year; the entire amount is
counted or scored in the fiscal year it first becomes available.
Mandatory (direct) spending includes: (a) budget authority provided in laws other
than appropriations; (b) entitlement authority; and (c) the Food Stamp program.
Rescission is the cancellation of budget authority previously enacted.
Scorekeeping is a set of procedures for tracking and reporting on the status of
congressional budgetary actions.
Supplemental appropriation is budget authority provided in an appropriations act
in addition to regular appropriations already provided.

CRS-40
Appendix B: Scope of L-HHS-ED Appropriations
The FY2003 budget authority for all federal programs was estimated to be
$2,154.4 billion, as shown in Table B.1. Of this amount, the departments and related
agencies funded by the L-HHS-ED bill accounted for $1,152.0 billion (53.5%).
Table B.1. Scope of the L-HHS-ED Bill, FY2003
(Estimated budget authority in billions of dollars)
Estimated
budget
Percent of
Budget category
authority
federal budget
Total federal budget authority
$2,154.4
100.0%
Department of Labor
71.3
3.3%
Department of Health and Human Services
507.8
23.6%
Department of Education
60.5
2.8%
Social Security Administration (On-budget)
43.9
2.0%
Social Security Administration (Off-budget)
466.8
21.7%
Other related agencies
1.7
0.1%
L-HHS-ED agency total
1,152.0
53.5%
L-HHS-ED bill, total current year funds
423.1
19.7%
L-HHS-ED bill, current year mandatory funds
290.8
13.5%
L-HHS-ED bill, current year discretionary funds
132.3
6.2%
Total federal discretionary funds
749.0
34.8%
Source: Budget of the United States Government Historical Tables, Fiscal Year 2004, Tables 5.2 and
5.4; and the FY2003 conference report H.Rept. 108-10, which provides details for the FY2003
L-HHS-ED amounts under P.L. 108-7.
Note: For comparability, this table uses data from the February 2003 OMB budget documents and
the FY2003 conference report of February 13, 2003; the data therefore do not include changes in
scorekeeping, entitlements, or FY2003 supplemental appropriations.
As shown in Table 2 (page 3), the estimated FY2003 appropriations for L-HHS-
ED was $423.1 billion in current year funds — $132.3 billion in discretionary funds
and $290.8 billion in mandatory funds. The L-HHS-ED Appropriations
Subcommittees generally have effective control only over the discretionary funds,
which constitute 6.2% of the aggregate budget authority for all federal departments
and agencies, and 11.6% of the total budget authority for L-HHS-ED departments
and agencies.1 What accounts for the remaining 88.4% ($1,018.6 billion) of
L-HHS-ED funds?
1 The annual congressional budget resolution sets aggregate budget goals; House and Senate
committees initiate and report legislation to achieve these targets. Typically, appropriations
committees develop proposals to meet discretionary targets through appropriations bills.
Likewise, authorizing committees develop proposals to meet mandatory targets; these
proposals are often reported by separate authorizing committees and combined into a single,
omnibus reconciliation bill.

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First, some DOL, HHS, and ED programs receive automatic funding without
congressional intervention in the annual appropriations process; these programs
receive funds from permanent appropriations and trust funds instead. These
programs account for most of the difference between the L-HHS-ED bill total of
$424.1 billion and the agency estimated total of $1,152.0 billion in FY2003. The
major programs in this group include Unemployment Compensation, Medicare,
Railroad Retirement, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, the welfare
assistance program), Student Loans, State Children’s Health Insurance, and Social
Security benefits.2
Second, mandatory programs account for the difference between the
L-HHS-ED total of $424.1 billion and the subtotal of $133.4 billion for discretionary
funds in FY2003. Although annual appropriations are made for these programs —
these are sometimes called “appropriated entitlements” — in general the amounts
provided must be sufficient to cover program obligations and entitlements to
beneficiaries. For these programs, as well as the programs funded through trust funds
and permanent authorities, most changes in funding levels are made through
amendments to authorizing legislation rather than through annual appropriations
bills. Federal administrative costs for these programs typically are subject to annual
discretionary appropriations, however. For L-HHS-ED agencies, these programs
include Supplemental Security Income, Black Lung Disability payments, Foster Care
and Adoption, the Social Services Block Grant, and Vocational Rehabilitation, as
well as general (non-earmarked) fund support for Medicare and Medicaid.
Third, two HHS agencies are fully funded in other appropriations bills, and
three L-HHS-ED programs were partially funded in FY2003 by bills other than
L-HHS-ED. FY2003 appropriations from other, non-L-HHS-ED sources are shown
for each of these agencies and programs. Prior to FY2003, the Office of Museum
Services of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was funded through
under the Interior Appropriations, but the entire IMLS has been funded under
L-HHS-ED beginning in FY2003.
! The HHS Food and Drug Administration is funded by the
Agriculture Appropriations ($1.7 billion in FY2003).
! The HHS Indian Health Service is funded by the Interior
Appropriations ($2.9 billion in FY2003).
! The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
— which is funded under related agencies — receives funds from
the L-HHS-ED bill for programs authorized under the Domestic
Volunteer Service Act of 1973 ($354 million); it also receives funds
from the FY2003 Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban
2 The Social Security Administration (SSA) was separated from HHS and established as an
independent federal agency on March 31, 1995. Within the L-HHS-ED bill, however, the
SSA merely was transferred from HHS to “related agency” status. The operation of the
Social Security trust funds is considered off-budget. Of the estimated $1,152.0 billion total
for L-HHS-ED departments and agencies in FY2003, the SSA accounted for $510.7 billion,
or 44.3% of the total. As shown in Table B.1, the SSA amount represents $43.9 billion for
designated on-budget activities and $466.8 billion for off-budget activities.

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Development (VA-HUD) Appropriations for AmeriCorps and other
programs authorized by the National Community Service Act ($387
million).
! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is
primarily funded under L-HHS-ED ($4.3 billion in FY2003); it also
receives funds under the FY2003 VA-HUD Appropriations for the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ($83
million).
! The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is primarily funded under
L-HHS-ED ($27.0 billion in FY2003); it receives additional funds
under FY2003 VA-HUD Appropriations for certain environmental
health sciences activities ($84 million).