Order Code RL33470
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Science, State, Justice, Commerce and
Related Agencies (House)/
Commerce, Justice, Science and
Related Agencies (Senate):
FY2007 Appropriations
Updated July 14, 2006
Susan B. Epstein, Coordinator
Specialist in Foreign Policy and Trade
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
M. Angeles Villarreal, Coordinator
Analyst in International Trade and Finance
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade 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
bounded 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 the regular appropriations bills that Congress considers each year.
It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House Committee on
Appropriations and Senate Subcommittee on Legislative Branch of the Senate Committee
on Appropriations. 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.
NOTE: A Web version of this document with active links is
available to congressional staff at [http://beta.crs.gov/cli/
level_2.aspx?PRDS_CLI_ITEM_ID=73].
Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related
Agencies (House)/ Commerce, Justice, Science and
Related Agencies (Senate): Appropriations for FY2007
Summary
This report monitors actions taken by the 109th Congress for the House’s
Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies (SSJC) and the Senate’s
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) FY2007 appropriations
bill. Appropriations bills reflect the jurisdiction of the subcommittees of the House
and Senate Appropriations Committees in which they are considered. Jurisdictions
for the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees changed
at the beginning of the 109th Congress. In the 108th Congress, both the House and
Senate subcommittees had identical jurisdiction and produced the Commerce,
Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies appropriations bills. In the 109th
Congress, jurisdiction for the Judiciary appropriation was removed to the Treasury,
Transportation, HUD Subcommittees in the House and the Senate. Science
appropriations, namely the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
and the National Science Foundation (NSF), were transferred to the former CJS
subcommittees in both chambers. In the Senate, Appropriations for the Department
of State was transferred to the Foreign Operations subcommittee; however, it remains
under the jurisdiction of SSJC in the House.
For the FY2007 SSJC/CJS appropriations, the Administration requested $62.5
billion/$52.3 billion in the budget that it sent to Congress on February 6, 2006. The
Administration request for the major departments and their related agencies are
Department of Justice, $21.3 billion; Department of Commerce, $6.3 billion;
Department of State, $10.2 billion; Science, $22.8 billion; and Related Agencies,
$2.3 billion. (The numbers may not add to the total due to rounding.)
The House passed its SSJC appropriation bill (H.R. 5672) on June 29, providing
a total of $62.6 billion. The House funding level includes $22.5 billion for the
Department of Justice, $5.9 billion for the Department of Commerce and related
agencies, $22.7 billion for the Science agencies, $9.7 billion for the Department of
State and international broadcasting, and $2.3 billion for related agencies. The
Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the bill on July
11, and the full Senate committee began working on the the bill on July 13.
The President signed the FY2006 Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and
Related Agencies (SSJC) appropriations bill into law on November 22, 2005 (P.L.
109-108). The law provided $62.1 billion for the agencies under the jurisdiction of
the Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations subcommittee of the House.
The appropriations enacted for the major departments and their related agencies were
Department of Justice, $21.6 billion; Department of Commerce, $6.6 billion;
Department of State, $9.5 billion; Science, $22.2 billion; and Related Agencies, $2.5
billion.
CRS Key Policy Staff
CRS
Area of Expertise
Name
Division
Telephone and E-Mail
Departments
Department of Justice
Celinda Franco
DSP
7-7360
cfranco@crs.loc.gov
Department of Commerce
Nye Stevens
G&F
7-0208
nstevens@crs.loc.gov
Department of State and
Susan Epstein
FDT
7-6678
International Broadcasting
sepstein@crs.loc.gov
Agencies and Policy Areas
Patent and Trademark Office, NIST,
Wendy H. Schacht
RSI
7-7066
Technology Administration
wschacht@crs.loc.gov
Telecommunications, NTIA
Glenn McLoughlin
RSI
7-7073
gmcloughlin@crs.loc.gov
NASA
Daniel Morgan
RSI
7-5849
dmorgan@crs.loc.gov
NSF
Christine Matthews
RSI
7-7055
cmatthews@crs.loc.gov
NTIS
Jeffrey Seifert
RSI
7-0781
jseifert@crs.loc.gov
FCC
Patty Figliola
RSI
7-2508
pfigliola@crs.loc.gov
NOAA
Wayne Morrissey
RSI
7-7072
wmorrissey@crs.loc.gov
EDA
Eugene Boyd
G&F
7-8689
eboyd@crs.loc.gov
MBDA, SBA
Eric Weiss
G&F
7-6209
eweiss@crs.loc.gov
Bureau of the Census
Jennifer D. Williams
G&F
7-8640
jwilliams@crs.loc.gov
Trade agencies: ITA, ITC, USTR,
M. Angeles Villarreal
FDT
7-0321
NIPLECC
avillarreal@crs.loc.gov
BIS
Ian Fergusson
FDT
7-4997
ifergusson@crs.loc.gov
Equal Employment Opportunity
Linda Levine
DSP
7-7756
Commission
llevine@crs.loc.gov
Legal Services Corporation
Carmen Solomon-
DSP
7-7306
Fears
csolomonfears@crs.loc.gov
Securities and Exchange Commission
Mark Jickling
G&F
7-7784
mjickling@crs.loc.gov
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Garrine Laney
DSP
7-2518
glaney@crs.loc.gov
State Justice Institute
Steve Rutkus
G&F
7-7162
srutkus@crs.loc.gov
Division abbreviations: ALD = American Law Division; DSP = Domestic Social Policy Division;
FDT = Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division; G&F = Government and Finance Division; RSI
= Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
Contents
Most Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Synopsis of FY2006 Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Departmental Funding Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Survey of High-Profile Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Department of Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Government Performance and Results Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
FY2007 Budget Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
General Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
U.S. Parole Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Legal Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Interagency Law Enforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Federal Bureau of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Drug Enforcement Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Federal Prison System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Office of Justice Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Related CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Commerce and Related Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Departmental Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
International Trade Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Manufacturing and Services Unit (MSU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Market Access and Compliance Unit (MAC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Import Administration Unit (IA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Trade Promotion/U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (TP/FCS) . . . . . 19
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Bureau of Industry and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Economic Development Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Minority Business Development Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
National Telecommunications and Information Administration . . . . . . . . . 23
National Technical Information Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Bureau of the Census . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Technology Administration/Office of the Under Secretary of Technology . 28
National Institute of Standards and Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) . . . . . . . . . . 30
The President’s Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
House Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Supplemental Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Related Budget Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Related Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Related CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Science Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
National Aeronautics and Space Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
National Science Foundation (NSF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Agency Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Key Budget Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Related CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Department of State and International Broadcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
FY2007 Funding Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Administration of Foreign Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
International Organizations and Conferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
International Commissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Related Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
International Broadcasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Related Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Related CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Independent Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
FY2007 Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
FY2006 Appropriations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Legal Services Corporation (LSC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Small Business Administration (SBA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
State Justice Institute (SJI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
U.S. Institute of Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Related Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Related CRS Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
List of Tables
Table 1. Legislative Status of SSJC/CJS Appropriations, FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Table 2. Funding for Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State,
and Science Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 3. Funding for the Department of Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Table 4. NOAA FY2007 Budget Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Table 5. Funding for the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies . . . . 34
Table 6. Funding for NASA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Table 7. Funding for the National Science Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Table 8. Funding for the Title III Science Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Table 9. Funding for the Department of State and International Broadcasting . 50
Table 10. Funding for SSJC/CJS Related Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Table 11. SSJC/CJS Appropriations by Department, FY2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Science, State, Justice, Commerce and
Related Agencies (House)/ Commerce,
Justice, Science and Related Agencies
(Senate): Appropriations for FY2007
Most Recent Developments
The House passed its SSJC appropriation bill (H.R. 5672) on June 29, providing
a total of $62.6 billion. The House funding level includes $22.5 billion for the
Department of Justice, $5.9 billion for the Department of Commerce and related
agencies, $22.7 billion for the Science agencies, $9.7 billion for the Department of
State and international broadcasting, and $2.3 billion for related agencies. The
Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the bill on July
11, and the full Senate committee began working on the the bill on July 13.
The Administration submitted its FY2007 budget to Congress on February 6,
2006. The Administration requested $62.5 billion for the agencies under the
jurisdiction of the Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations (SSJC)
subcommittee of the House and $52.3 billion for the Agencies under the Commerce,
Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations subcommittee in the Senate. The
Administration requests for the major departments and their related agencies are
Department of Justice, $21.3 billion; Department of Commerce, $6.3 billion;
Department of State, $10.2 billion; Science, $22.8 billion; and Related Agencies,
$2.3 billion.
The President signed the FY2006 Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and
Related Agencies (SSJC) appropriations bill into law on November 22, 2005 (P.L.
109-108). The law provides $62.1 billion for the agencies under the jurisdiction of
the Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations subcommittee of the House.
The estimated appropriations of the major departments and their related agencies
(after rescissions and supplementals) were Department of Justice, $21.6 billion;
Department of Commerce, $6.6 billion; Department of State, $9.6 billion; Science,
$22.2 billion; and Related Agencies, $2.5 billion.
Appropriations bills reflect the jurisdiction of the subcommittees of the House
and Senate Appropriations Committees in which they are considered. Jurisdictions
for the subcommittees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees were
changed at the beginning of the 109th Congress. In the 108th Congress, both the
House and Senate subcommittees had identical jurisdiction and produced the
Commerce, Justice, State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies appropriations bills.
In the 109th Congress, jurisdiction for the Judiciary appropriation was removed to the
Treasury, Transportation, HUD Subcommittees in the House and the Senate. Science
CRS-2
appropriations, namely the National Aeronautical and Space Administration and the
National Science Foundation, were transferred to the former CJS subcommittees in
both chambers. In the Senate, appropriations for the Department of State were
transferred to the Foreign Operations subcommittee; however, they remain under the
jurisdiction of SSJC in the House. In addition, the Senate Appropriations Committee
has placed the National Institute of Science and Technology and the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under its Title III Science Agencies. For
the purposes of comparison, this report will retain reference to these agencies in Title
II Commerce agencies.
Table 1. Legislative Status of SSJC/CJS Appropriations,
FY2007
Subcommittee
Conf. Report
Markup
House
House
Senate
Senate
Conf.
Approval
Public
Report
Passage Report Passage Report
Law
House
Senate
House
Senate
6/20/06
7/13/06
6/29/06
6/14/06
7/11/06
H.Rept.
S.Rept.
(393-23)
109-520
109-280
Background Information
Synopsis of FY2006 Appropriations
The Administration requested $64.2 billion/$54.2 billion for SSJC/CJS
appropriations in its FY2006 budget request sent to Congress on February 7, 2005.
The House Appropriations Committee reported its SSJC bill (H.R. 2862, H.Rept.
109-118) on June 7, 2005, and the House passed the bill on June 16 after three days
of debate and 43 amendments. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its bill
(H.R. 2862, S.Rept. 109-88) on June 23, 2005. The Senate Appropriations
Committee reported its State, Foreign Operations Appropriation bill (H.R.
3057/S.Rept. 109-96) June 30. It contains the Senate figures of $9,709.2 for the
Department of State, International Broadcasting, and related agencies. The full
Senate passed the bill on July 20. The Senate passed the CJS bill by a vote of 91-4
on September 15, 2005, after consideration of 122 amendments. The Conference
Report (H.Rept. 109-272) was filed on November 7, 2005. The House approved the
measure by a vote of 397-19 on November 9; the Senate approved it on November
11 by a vote of 94-5. It was signed into law by President Bush on November 22, 2005
(P.L. 109-108). The FY2006 appropriations were subject to a 1.28% across-the-
board rescission, reflecting Sec. 638, P.L. 109-108 and P.L. 109-148.
Departmental Funding Trends
The table below shows funding trends for the major agencies in CJS
appropriations over the five-year period FY2002-FY2006, including supplemental
appropriations. Over the five-year period, funding decreased for the Department of
CRS-3
Justice by $2.082 billion (-8.8%). Funding increased for the Department of
Commerce by $0.735 billion (12.8%), for the Title III Science Agencies by $2.473
billion (12.5%), and for the Department of State by $1.559 billion (21.2%).
The Justice Department’s budget declined from FY2002 to FY2003 by 17%
when it was reduced by more than $4 billion due to the relocation of some activities
to the Department of Homeland Security. The Justice Department total has continued
to be below the FY2002 total. The Commerce Department budget has generally
increased, with a slight decrease in FY2006 over the previous year due primarily to
the rescissions applied to FY2006 enacted appropriations. The Science Agencies’
funding has shown a gradual increase each of the five years; the State Department’s
increases each year through FY2005 reflect funding for the U.S. embassy in Iraq,
embassy security, and international peacekeeping, largely through emergency
supplemental appropriations.
Table 2. Funding for Departments of Commerce, Justice,
and State, and Science Agencies
(in billions of current dollars)
Department/Agency FY2002
FY2003
FY2004
FY2005
FY2006
Justice
23.707
19.648
19.850
21.000
21.625
Commerce
5.739
5.796
5.943
6.550
6.474
Sciencea
19.71
20.600
20.960
21.676
22.183
State
7.362
8.179
9.429
10.181
8.921
Sources: Funding totals provided by the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on
Appropriations.
a. Before FY2006, Title III Science Agencies were contained in the VA/HUD
appropriations bill.
Survey of High-Profile Issues
Department of Justice
! The President’s FY2007 budget request proposes the consolidation
of the state, local, and tribal law enforcement grant programs, the
Weed and Seed program, and juvenile justice programs into the
Justice Assistance account of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
The FY2007 President’s request would eliminate funding for a
number of OJP programs, such as the Edward Byrne Memorial
Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) program ($327.2 million in FY2006
after earmarks for Boys and Girls Clubs and National Institute of
Justice), the Edward Byrne Discretionary Grants ($189.3 million in
FY2006), Indian Country Prison Grants ($8.9 million in FY2006),
and Tribal Court Grants ($7.9 million in FY2006).
CRS-4
! The Administration’s budget request proposes an increase in funding
for the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, a program
administered by ATF that is designed to combat firearms-related
crime, to reach a level of $395 million. Under the President’s
budget proposal, the restructured PSN program would include
Project ChildSafe, State and Local Gun Crime Prosecution
Assistance/Project Sentry, Gang Technical Assistance Program,
Weed and Seed Program/Community Capacity Development Office
(CCDO), National Stalker and Domestic Violence Database, and
National Criminal History Improvement Program (NCHIP).
! The FY2007 President’s budget proposes funding for expanding and
improving Drug Courts, providing $69 million for the program, an
increase of $60 million over the FY2006 enacted appropriations.
! The FY2007 budget proposal includes funding of $40 million for the
Meth Hot Spots program, a program designed to provide state and
local law enforcement assistance in cleaning up toxic waste sites
created through the illicit production of methamphetamine. The
proposed funding level represents an increase of $20 million over
funding enacted in FY2006.
! The President’s FY2007 request for DEA includes a proposal to
transfer the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program
from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to DOJ
and to coordinate the program with the efforts of the Organized
Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and other
antidrug efforts that are part of DEA’s comprehensive drug
enforcement strategy. The budget request proposes $208 million for
HIDTA funding in FY2007.
Department of Commerce and Related Agencies
Key issues include the following.
! Appropriations measures that limit the use by the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (PTO) of the full amount of fees collected in the
current fiscal year.
! A proposed shift from funding to support industrial technology
development programs at the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, particularly the Advanced Technology Program and the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership and congressionally directed
projects, to a greater concentration on funding basic research in the
physical sciences as part of the President’s “American
Competitiveness Initiative.”
! For FY2007, the Bush Administration has requested that $45 million
be added to the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) budget to fund the Digital Television
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Transition and Public Safety Fund, as mandated by the Deficit
Reduction Act of 2005. There is a 2008 deadline for the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to auction unused analog
spectrum and a February 17, 2009, deadline for converting all U.S.
analog television transmissions to digital. Policymakers will likely
consider this budget request with regard to whether it will achieve
this goal, and how NTIA will assist in the conversion process.
! Possible termination of the Census Bureau’s longitudinal Survey of
Income and Program Participation and its proposed replacement
with a new data collection system focusing on income and wealth
dynamics.
! Consolidation of 18 federal economic and community development
programs in the Administration’s proposed “Strengthening
America’s Communities Initiative,” reduction of their aggregate
funding levels, and creation of a new Regional Development
Account within the Economic Development Administration.
! The ability of U.S. trade agencies and PTO to fight intellectual
property infringement abroad.
! The efficacy of U.S. trade agency enforcement of U.S. trade remedy
laws against unfair foreign competition.
! The possible consolidation of all of the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) budget authority under a
single Organic Act.
! Proposed terminations of several ocean-related programs, provoking
criticism from the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative.
Science Agencies
Key issues are as follows:
! President Bush’s “Vision for Space Exploration” and its consequent
reprioritization of NASA programs, and potential personnel cuts
(especially in aeronautics research).
! Whether to use the space shuttle to service the Hubble Space
Telescope.
Department of State and International Broadcasting
Key issues include the following:
! Secretary Rice’s newly announced vision for diplomacy referred to
as Transformational Diplomacy, which will involve reorganizing
parts of USAID and State.
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! Moving of diplomats away from Washington and Europe to
countries where the Administration deems more critical need.
! Increased emphasis on critical need language capabilities within the
Department.
! Greater emphasis on public diplomacy activities conducted by all
State Department personnel overseas.
Department of Justice1
Background
Title I of the SSJC/CJS bill typically covers appropriations for the Department
of Justice (DOJ). Established by an act of 1870 (28 U.S.C. 501) with the Attorney
General at its head, DOJ provides counsel for citizens and protects them through law
enforcement. It represents the federal government in all proceedings, civil and
criminal, before the Supreme Court. In legal matters, generally, the Department
provides legal advice and opinions, upon request, to the President and executive
branch department heads. The major functions of DOJ agencies and offices are
described below.
! United States Attorneys prosecute criminal offenses against the
United States, represent the federal government in civil actions, and
initiate proceedings for the collection of fines, penalties, and
forfeitures owed to the United States.
! United States Marshals Service provides security for the federal
judiciary, protects witnesses, executes warrants and court orders,
manages seized assets, detains and transports unsentenced prisoners,
and apprehends fugitives.
! Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigates violations of
federal criminal law; helps protect the United States against
terrorism and hostile intelligence efforts; provides assistance to other
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; and shares
jurisdiction with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) over
federal drug violations.
! Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigates federal drug
law violations; coordinates its efforts with state, local, and other
federal law enforcement agencies; develops and maintains drug
intelligence systems; regulates legitimate controlled substances
activities; and conducts joint intelligence-gathering activities with
foreign governments.
! Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
enforces federal law related to the manufacture, importation, and
distribution of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. It was
1 This section was written by Celinda Franco, Specialist in Social Legislation, Domestic
Social Policy Division.
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transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the Department
of Justice by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296).
! Federal Prison System provides for the custody and care of the
federal prison population, the maintenance of prison-related
facilities, and the boarding of sentenced federal prisoners
incarcerated in state and local institutions.
! Office of Justice Programs (OJP) manages and coordinates the
activities of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS), and the Office of Victims of Crime.
Most crime control has traditionally been a state and local responsibility. With
the passage of the Crime Control Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-351), however, the federal
role in the administration of criminal justice has increased incrementally. Since
1984, Congress has approved five major omnibus crime control bills, designating
new federal crimes, penalties, and additional law enforcement assistance programs
for state and local governments. Crime control is one of the few areas of the federal
budget where discretionary spending has increased over the past two decades.
For FY2006, the Congress appropriated $19.5 billion2 for discretionary DOJ
programs, a slight decrease of $311 million less than the net amount of FY2005
appropriations, after rescissions and supplemental appropriations.
Government Performance and Results Act
The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) required the
Department of Justice, along with other federal agencies, to prepare a five-year
strategic plan, including a mission statement, long-range goals, and program
assessment measures. The Department’s Strategic Plan for FY2003-2008 sets forth
four goals:
! prevent terrorism and promote national security;
! enforce federal criminal laws and represent the rights and interests
of the American people;
! prevent and reduce crime and violence by assisting state, local, and
tribal efforts;
! ensure the fair and efficient operation of the Federal justice system.
FY2007 Budget Request
The Department of Justice FY2007 budget request includes $21.325 billion in
spending. The FY2007 budget request represents a decrease of $299.7 million over
what Congress approved for FY2006 (see Table 3).
2 Amount reflects total appropriations for direct discretionary programs and does not include
mandatory DOJ programs that are not subject to congressional appropriations.
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According to DOJ budget justifications, the President’s FY2007 budget request
includes increased funding for preventing terrorism and ensuring domestic security
of $386 million over FY2006 enacted levels. For reducing violent crime, gun crime,
illegal drug trafficking, and white collar crime, the FY2007 budget request includes
$9 billion, an increase of $489 million over FY2006 enacted levels. Support for
state, local, and tribal crime and violence prevention would be reduced to $2.9 billion
by the President’s budget request, a decrease of $1 billion from FY2006 enacted
levels. Funding for the federal justice system under the President’s request totals
$7.8 billion, an increase of $404 million over FY2006 appropriations.
The House passed its SSJC bill (H.R. 5672), which provides a total of $22.456
billion for the Department of Justice. This is $1.131 billion more than the
Administration request and $831.1 million more than the FY2006 funding level.
(See Table 3 for more details.)
General Administration. The General Administration account for DOJ
includes salaries and expenses, as well as other programs designed to ensure that the
collaborative functions of the DOJ agencies are coordinated to help fight crime as
efficiently as possible. Examples include the Joint Automated Booking System and
the Automated Biometric Identification System. For FY2007, the President’s budget
proposal includes just over $2.0 billion for General Administration, an increase of
$233.9 million over FY2006 funding levels. The General Administration account
funds the Attorney General’s office, senior departmental management, the Inspector
General’s office, efforts to integrate fingerprint identification systems (e.g., IAFIS
and IDENT), and narrowband communications, among other things. For FY2007,
the budget request proposes funding of $175 million for the Justice Information
Sharing Technology (JIST) initiative, $89.2 million for Narrowband
Communications, and $1.332 billion for the Office of the Detention Trustee.
For salaries and expenses, the President’s FY2007 budget proposes $115.5
million, an increase of $7.4 million over FY2006 funding levels. These proposed
funds would support the Attorney General and DOJ senior policy-level offices
responsible for managing Department resources and developing policies for legal,
law enforcement, and criminal justice activities. The FY2007 budget requested does
not include funding for the Office of Intelligence and Policy Review, which Congress
funded at $36.6 million in FY2006. The Administration’s request for FY2007
proposes funding of $15.9 million for a National Drug Intelligence Center.
For the Federal Office of Detention Trustee (OFDT), the FY2007 request
includes $1.332 billion in funding, a $170.4 million increase over the $1.162 billion
appropriated by Congress for FY2006. The OFDT provides overall management and
oversight for federal detention services relating to the detention of federal prisoners
in non-federal institutions or otherwise in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is responsible for detecting and
deterring waste, fraud, and abuse involving DOJ programs and personnel and
promoting economy and efficiency in DOJ operations. The OIG also investigates
allegations of departmental misconduct. The Administration’s FY2007 budget
proposal requests $70.6 million for the OIG, a $2.7 million increase over the FY2006
appropriation of $67.9 million.
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U.S. Parole Commission. The U.S. Parole Commission adjudicates parole
requests for prisoners who are serving felony sentences under federal and District of
Columbia code violations. For FY2007, the Administration’s budget request
proposes $11.9 million for the parole commission, an increase of $1.0 million over
the Commission’s FY2006 appropriation of $10.9 million.
Legal Activities. The Legal Activities account includes several subaccounts:
(1) general legal activities, (2) U.S. Attorneys, (3) U.S. Marshals Service, (4) prisoner
detention, and (5) other legal activities. For FY2007, the Administration’s budget
request includes $3.446 billion for legal activities, an increase of $168.7 million over
the FY2006 enacted appropriations of $3.277 billion.
The General Legal Activities account funds the Solicitor General’s supervision
of the department’s conduct in proceedings before the Supreme Court. It also funds
several departmental divisions (tax, criminal, civil, environment and natural
resources, legal counsel, civil rights, and antitrust). For these purposes, the
Administration’s FY2007 budget request includes $684.3 million, an increase of
almost $30.8 million over the FY2006 enacted appropriation of $653.5 million.
The U.S. Attorneys and the U.S. Marshals Service are present in all of the 94
federal judicial districts. The U.S. Attorneys prosecute criminal cases and represent
the federal government in civil actions. For the U.S. Attorneys Office, the
Administration’s FY2007 request includes $1.637 billion, an increase of nearly $48.8
million over the enacted FY2006 amount of $1.589 billion.
The U.S. Marshals are responsible for the protection of the Federal Judiciary,
protection of witnesses, execution of warrants and court orders, custody and
transportation of unsentenced federal prisoners, and fugitive apprehension. The
FY2007 request includes $825.9 million for the Marshals Service, an increase of
$25.3 million over the Service’s FY2006 enacted appropriation of $801.0 million.
For other legal activities — the Community Relations Service, the Independent
Counsel, the U.S. Trustee Fund (which is responsible for maintaining the integrity
of the U.S. bankruptcy system by, among other things, prosecuting criminal
bankruptcy violations), and the Asset Forfeiture program — the FY2007 request
includes $298.2 million, $64 million more than appropriated in FY2006 of $234
million.
Interagency Law Enforcement. The Interagency Law Enforcement account
reimburses departmental agencies for their participation in the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Organized into nine regional
task forces, this program combines the expertise of federal agencies with the efforts
of state and local law enforcement to disrupt and dismantle major narcotics-
trafficking and money-laundering organizations. From DOJ, the federal agencies that
participate in OCDETF are the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal
Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;
the U.S. Marshals Service; the Justice, Tax and Criminal Divisions of DOJ; and the
U.S. Attorneys. From the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard participate in
OCDETF. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Office of
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Enforcement also participate from the Department of the Treasury. State and local
law enforcement agencies participate in approximately 87% of all OCDETF
investigations. The FY2007 President’s budget request includes $706.1 million for
OCDETF, which includes $208 million for relocating the High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs)3 at DOJ, for a net OCDETF funding level of $498.1
million. For FY2006, $483.2 million was appropriated for OCDETF, $14.9 million
less than the net FY2007 amount requested by the Administration.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), as the lead federal investigative agency, continues to reorganize to focus more
sharply on preventing terrorism and other criminal activities. The Administration’s
FY2007 request proposes funding of $6.04 billion for the FBI. This funding level
represents an increase of $302.4 million over the FY2006 enacted appropriations of
$5.738 billion. Of the President’s requested amount, $51.4 million would fund
construction.
The FY2007 budget request includes funding for the FBI to improve its ability
to prevent terrorist attacks, disrupt terrorist and their financing, and investigate and
prosecute those responsible for committing terrorist acts against the United States.
The President’s FY2007 budget would provide funding of $2.308 billion for
counterintelligence and national security, compared with appropriations of $2.260
billion in FY2006, a proposed increase of $48 million.
Drug Enforcement Administration. The Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) is the lead federal agency tasked with reducing the illicit supply and abuse of
dangerous narcotics and drugs. DEA, along with OCDETF, dismantled 119 drug
trafficking organizations operating in the United States and significantly disrupted
the activities of 208 others in FY2005. The Administration’s FY2007 request
includes $1.736 billion for DEA, almost $61.6 million more than the $1.675 billion
appropriated by Congress in FY2006.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) enforces federal law related to
the manufacture, importation, and distribution of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and
explosives. The FY2007 request proposes $860.1 million for ATF, a decrease of
almost $71.7 million from FY2006 appropriations of $931.84 million. According
to the FY2007 budget request, the Administration is proposing additional funding for
ATF of $120 million to be collected from user fees related to explosives.
The President’s budget would restructure and centralize a large portion of ATF’s
programmatic resources into the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative. The
PSN initiative brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to
identify the most pressing gun crime problems in their communities and develop
3 The HIDTA program is currently administered by the Office of National Drug Policy
(ONDCP), and a similar request to relocate the HIDTA program was proposed in the
Administration’s FY2006 request.
4 This amount reflects rescissions of $11.79 million and 2006 Hurricane Katrina
Supplemental appropriations of $20.0 million.
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strategies to attack those problems through prevention, deterrence, and aggressive
prosecution. Under the PSN, a number of programs of several agencies, including
OJP, ATF, the U.S. Attorneys, and the DOJ Criminal Division, would be
coordinated to address the crime and violence in hard-hit neighborhoods across the
country. For example, from OJP, the following programs would be brought into
PSN: Project Childsafe, which distributes free gun safety kits; the State and Local
Gun Crime Prosecution Assistance (Project Sentry) program, which provides support
for prosecution of crimes involving misuse of firearms; the Gang Technical
Assistance Program, a new program to assist states and localities in their efforts to
disrupt criminal gang activity and enhance the sharing of criminal intelligence; the
Weed and Seed program, which promotes multi-disciplinary community-based crime
control strategies, including gang-related violence; the National Stalker and
Domestic Violence Database, which supports law enforcement and prosecution
efforts against stalking and domestic violence; and the National Criminal History
Improvement Program (NCHIP), which sponsors efforts to improve the quality,
timeliness, and immediate availability of criminal history and related records used
to support criminal investigations, and background checks for employment and
eligibility to purchase a firearms. The Administration’s FY2007 budget request
proposes funding of $395 million for the PSN program.
ATF also launched a companion initiative, the Violent Crime Impact Teams
(VCIT), which combines the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to
target gun crime “hot spots.” VCIT is currently active in 10 cities, and the FY2007
budget request includes an expansion of the initiative to 15 additional cities. This
expansion would increase VCIT funding by $16 million, for a total request of $35.7
million.
Federal Prison System. The Federal Prison System is administered by the
Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which maintains penal institutions nationwide and
contracts with state, local, and private concerns for additional detention space. The
Administration requests $4.965 billion in FY2007 funding for the Federal Prison
System, almost $32 million more than Congress appropriated for FY2006.
The Administration estimates that as of January 26, 2006, there were nearly
188,463 federal inmates in 113 institutions, of which 11% represent immigration-
related arrests and over 53% represent drug-related offenses. Of the total number of
federal inmates, 159,872 are in facilities operated by the BOP. The BOP projects that
the total federal prison population will increase to 195,972 in 2006, and increase to
203,880 by 2007. As required by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Act (VCCLEA) of 1994, the BOP provides substance abuse treatment for certain
“eligible” inmates. According to BOP, over the past seven years, the percentage of
all federal inmates with a substance abuse disorder increased from 34% to 40%.
Office of Justice Programs. The Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
manages and coordinates the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Statistics, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Victims
of Crimes, Bureau of Justice Assistance, and related grant programs. For the Office
of Justice Programs and related offices, bureaus, and programs, the Administration’s
request includes $1.201 billion for FY2007, a reduction of more than $1.2 billion
from FY2006 appropriated levels of $2.416 billion.
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The President’s FY2007 request proposes to eliminate funding for a number of
OJP programs, similar to the President’s FY2006 budget request, and consolidate the
remaining programs under the Justice Assistance account. The following are selected
examples of the President’s budget-cutting proposals. The Administration’s budget
proposal would eliminate funding for, among other programs, the Byrne Justice
Assistance Grants (JAG) program ($411.2 million in FY2006), the Byrne
Discretionary Grants ($189.3 million in FY2006), Indian Country Prison Grants ($8.9
million in FY2006), and Tribal Court Grants ($7.9 million in FY2006). The
President’s proposal also would eliminate funding for most Juvenile Justice
programs, which received appropriations of $338.4 million, including the Juvenile
Accountability Block Grant (JABG), funded for FY2006 at $49.4 million. Funding
for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), would be eliminated by
the President’s budget proposal, compared with FY2006 funding of $399.8 million
for the program, and the Secure Our Schools (SOS) program funding would be
eliminated, resulting in a $14.8 million reduction from FY2006 funding levels. The
President’s FY2007 budget would reduce funding for the Bulletproof Vests program
from $29.6 million in FY2006 to $9.8 million in FY2007, and the Prison Rape
Prevention and Prosecution Program, funded at just under $16 million in FY2006,
would be reduced to slightly under $2 million in FY2007.
The President’s FY2007 budget proposal would increase funding for the
Southwest Border Prosecution Initiative, from $29.617 million in FY2006 to $29.757
million in FY2007. The Weed and Seed Program/Community Capacity Development
Office (CCDO) budget request would decrease slightly, from $49.361 million in
FY2006 to $49.348 million in FY2007. The National Stalker and Domestic Violence
Database funding would increase, from $2.934 million in FY2006 to $2.938 in
FY2007. The FY2007 budget request would fund the Boys and Girls Clubs of
America but at a reduced funding level from $83.9 million in FY2006, to $59.5
million in FY2007.
Community Oriented Policing Services. The Administration’s FY2007
request proposes $102.1 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) program along with a rescission of $127.5 million, for a negative budget
authority of $25.4 million. However, some COPS programs would be combined
with other OJP programs into the Justice Assistance account (described below) and
provide grants on a competitive basis. Funding for COPS Interoperability and
Technology Grants would be eliminated ($138.1 million in FY2006); the Meth Hot
Spots program would be funded at $40.1 million in FY2007, down from $62.7
million in FY2006; and the COPS Training and Technical Assistance program would
be funded at a slightly higher level of $3.997 million in FY2007, compared with
$3.949 in FY2006. In addition, beginning in FY2007, the Administration proposes
that Indian Country activities be jointly administered by OJP and COPS, and includes
proposed funding of $31.1 million for tribal law enforcement.
Justice Assistance. The Justice Assistance account funds the operations of
OJP bureaus and offices. Besides funding OJP management and administration, this
account also funds the National Institute of Justice, the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
cooperative efforts that address missing children, and regional criminal intelligence.
For FY2007, the Administration’s budget requests just under $1.034 billion, which
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under the proposed realignment of selected OJP programs would be used for the
following purposes.
Improving the Criminal Justice System. For Improving the Criminal Justice
System, the Administration’s request includes $377.2 million along with a proposed
$127.5 million rescission.5 The balance of the funds requested would include, among
other programs, the following: $9.8 million for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership
(formerly funded under COPS); $59.5 million for Boys and Girls Clubs; $165.8
million for the PSN program; $39.7 million for the Regional Information Sharing
System; $29.8 million for the Southwest Border Project; $14.9 million for Faith-
Based Prisoner Re-entry Initiative; and $1.9 million for Prison Rape Prevention &
Prosecution. In addition, the Administration’s FY2007 request proposes to eliminate
funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance program (SCAAP).
Research, Development, Evaluation, and Statistics. For Research,
Development, Evaluation and Statistics, the Administration’s FY2007 budget
requests $116 million: $59.8 million for criminal justice statistics and $56.2 million
for research, evaluation, and demonstration projects.
Technology for Crime Identification. The Administration’s FY2007 budget
request for the Technology for Crime Identification program proposes $238.2 million
in funding, of which $175.6 million for the DNA analysis and capacity enhancement
program. Of that amount, not less than $151 million could be for reducing and
eliminating the backlog of DNA samples and for increasing state and local DNA
laboratory capacity.
Juvenile Delinquency and Crime. For strengthening the juvenile justice
system, the Administration’s FY2007 request includes $175.9 million, including
$93.2 for state and local programs under the Juvenile Justice Formula Grant program;
$33.5 million for the Juvenile Delinquency Block Grants; $6.5 million for
demonstration projects; and $10 million for research, evaluation, training and
technical assistance. The President’s FY2007 budget does not request funding for the
Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant.
Substance Abuse Demand Reduction. The Administration’s FY2007
budget request for Substance Abuse Demand Reduction provides for funding of
$79.9 million, including $69.2 million for Drug Courts, and $10.7 million for the
Cannabis Eradication Grant program. The President’s FY2007 budget request does
not include funding for the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment (RSAT), the drug
treatment program for state prisoners.
Victims of Crime. The Administration’s budget request for services for
Victims of Crime (VOC) within the Justice Assistance account includes $109.4
million. Among other things, this amount would fund programs and initiatives
authorized under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Victims of Child
5 Rescissions under the President’s budget request for DOJ typically are monies that have
not been spent in the previous year or are recovered from grantees for whom funds were
obligated but not spent or were mis-spent in previous years.
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Abuse Act, including $50.9 million for the Missing Child program, just under $10
million for the Victim Notification System and for legal counsel and support services
for victims, $11.7 million for improving the investigation and prosecution of child
abuse, $1.9 million for the National Sex Offender Public Registry, and $1.5 million
for victims of trafficking.
In addition, the President’s FY2007 budget request proposes $625 million cap
for the Crime Victims Fund. The budget request also includes a proposal to rescind,
or cancel, $1.255 billion from balances in the Crime Victims Fund, also frequently
referred to as the “Rainy Day” fund.
The Administration’s FY2007 also includes funding provided under the Public
Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) program, which provides death benefits to survivors
of public safety officers who die in the line of duty, and disability benefits to those
officers injured and disabled in the line of duty. Benefits provided by this program
were increased by the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-56). The
Administration’s FY2007 request includes $49.7 million in funding for death benefits
under the PSOB program and $4 million for disability and educational assistance.
Office on Violence Against Women. The Office on Violence Against
Women (OVW) was created in 1995 as a component of the Department of Justice,
and the OVW is administratively separate from OJP. The Administration’s FY2007
budget request for OVW provides funding of $347 million. Of that amount, $11.9
million would be for the Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program, $2.3
million for Child Abuse Training programs for judicial personnel and practitioners,
and $986,000 for grants for televised testimony.
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Table 3. Funding for the Department of Justice
($ millions in budget authority) a
FY2006
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
Accounts
Enactedb
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
General Administration
$1,777.9
$2,011.8
1,875.1
U.S. Parole Commission
$10.9
$11.9
11.5
Legal Activities
$3,277.1
$3,445.8
3,452.8
General legal activities
$653.5
$684.3
668.7
United States Attorneys
$1,588.6
$1,637.4
1,644.4
United States Marshals
$801.0
$825.9
825.9
Service
Other
$234.0
$298.2
293.8
Federal Bureau of
$5,737.7
$6,040.0
6,043.4
Investigation
Salaries and expenses
$3,441.0
$3,680.7
3,654.9
Counterintelligence and
$2,259.7
$2,308.0
2,308.0
National Security
Construction
$37.1
$51.4
80.4
Drug Enforcement
Administration
$1,674.9
$1,736.5
1,751.5
Interagency Law Enforcement
$483.2
$706.1d
498.5
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives
$931.8
$860.1e
950.1
Federal Prison System
$4,933.4
$4,964.6
5,078.5
Office of Violence Against
$381.6
$347.2
418.3
Women
Office of Justice Programs
$2,416.2
$1,201.0
2,376.1
Justice assistance
$230.3
$1,033.9
223.6
State and local law
enforcement assistance
$1,253.1
—
1,202.0
Weed and seed program
$49.4
—
—
fund
Community oriented
policing services
$472.2
$102.1
591.0
Juvenile justice programs
$338.4
—
285.7
Public safety officers
benefits program
$72.8
$65.0 73.8
Additional Fundingc
$0.1
Total: Department of Justice
$21,624.7
$21,325.0
22,455.8
Source: U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
a. Amounts may not total due to rounding.
b. Amounts include rescissions and Hurricane Katrina Supplemental Appropriations (P.L. 109-148).
c. For amounts not specified in the table.
d. Amount includes $208 million for proposed relocation of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA)
program.
e. Amount does not include the President’s budget proposal to collect $120 million in fees from explosives users.
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Related CRS Products
CRS Report RL33308, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): Background,
Legislation, and Issues Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
Program, by Nathan James.
CRS Report RS22416, Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program:
Legislative and Funding History, by Nathan James.
CRS Report RL32824, Federal Crime Control: Background, Legislation and Issues,
coordinated by Lisa Seghetti.
CRS Report RL32249, Gun Control Proposals to Regulate Gun Shows, by William
J. Krouse.
CRS Report RL32842, Gun Legislation in the 109th Congress, by William J. Krouse.
CRS Report RL33403, Hate Crime Legislation in the 109th Congress, by William J.
Krouse and Janice Cheryl Beaver.
CRS Report RL33033, Intelligence Reform at the Federal Bureau of Investigation:
Issues and Options for Congress, by Alfred Cummings and Todd Masse.
CRS Report RS22070, Juvenile Justice: Overview of Legislative History and
Funding Trends, by Blas Nunez-Neto.
CRS Report RL32800, Sex Offender Registration and Community Notification Law:
Enforcement and Other Issues, by Garrine P. Laney.
CRS Report RL32579, Victims of Crime Compensation and Assistance: Background
and Funding, by Celinda Franco.
CRS Report RL30871, Violence Against Women Act: History and Federal Funding,
by Garrine Laney.
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Commerce and Related Agencies6
Title II includes the appropriations for the Department of Commerce and related
agencies. The origins of the department date to 1903 with the establishment of the
Department of Commerce and Labor (32 Stat. 825). The separate Department of
Commerce was established on March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 7365; 15 U.S.C. 1501).
The department’s responsibilities are numerous and quite varied, but its
activities center on five basic missions: (1) promoting the development of U.S.
business and increasing foreign trade; (2) improving the nation’s technological
competitiveness; (3) encouraging economic development; (4) fostering
environmental stewardship and assessment; and (5) compiling, analyzing, and
disseminating statistical information on the U.S. economy and population.
The following agencies within the Commerce Department carry out these
missions:
! Economic Development Administration (EDA) provides grants for
economic development projects in economically distressed
communities and regions.
! Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) seeks to promote
private and public sector investment in minority businesses.
! Bureau of the Census collects, compiles, and publishes a broad range
of economic, demographic, and social data.
! Economic and Statistical Analysis Programs provide (1) timely
information on the state of the economy through preparation,
development, and interpretation of economic data and (2) analytical
support to department officials in meeting their policy
responsibilities. Much of the analysis is conducted by the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA).
! International Trade Administration (ITA) seeks to develop the
export potential of U.S. firms and to improve the trade performance
of U.S. industry.
! Bureau of Industry and Security enforces U.S. export laws consistent
with national security, foreign policy, and short-supply objectives
(formerly the Bureau of Export Administration).
! National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides
scientific, technical, and management expertise to (1) promote safe
and efficient marine and air navigation; (2) assess the health of
coastal and marine resources; (3) monitor and predict the coastal,
ocean, and global environments (including weather forecasting); and
(4) protect and manage the nation’s coastal resources.
! Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examines and approves
applications for patents for claimed inventions and registration of
trademarks.
6 This section was coordinated by Nye Stevens, Specialist in American National
Government, Government and Finance Division.
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! Technology Administration, through the Office of Technology
Policy, advocates integrated policies that seek to maximize the
impact of technology on economic growth, conducts technology
development and deployment programs, and disseminates
technological information.
! National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) assists
industry in developing technology to improve product quality,
modernize manufacturing processes, ensure product reliability, and
facilitate rapid commercialization of products based on new
scientific discoveries.
! National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA) advises the President on domestic and international
communications policy, manages the federal government’s use of
the radio frequency spectrum, and performs research in
telecommunications sciences.
The President’s FY2007 budget request called for $6.18 billion for the
Commerce Department. This represented a decrease of $293.8 million, or about
4.5%, from the FY2006 appropriation for the department of $6.47 billion (after the
FY2006 rescission). The House bill, H.R. 5672, would cut the Department’s
appropriation further, to $5.77 billion, about 6% less than the current level and 10%
less than the request. The principal reductions made by the House were in the
accounts for NOAA, EDA, Census, and departmental management.
Departmental Management
The President’s FY2007 budget requested $98.5 million in new discretionary
budget authority for Departmental Management: $57.0 million for salaries and
expenses, $22.53 million for the Office of Inspector General (IG), and $18 million
for renovation of the Department’s headquarters, the Herbert C. Hoover Building.
The $57 million for salaries and expenses would be approximately $9.5 million
above the FY2006 appropriation, a 20% increase. The $22.53 million for the IG
would be a slight increase from the FY2006 appropriation of $22.47 million. The
House bill provided $30.1 million for salaries and expenses, $26.9 million less than
requested and $16.8 million less than the FY2006 appropriation. No funds were
provided for renovation of the Hoover Building, but the House did grant the full
$22.5 million for the IG.
International Trade Administration7
The International Trade Administration (ITA) provides export promotion
services, works to assure compliance with trade agreements, administers trade
remedies such as antidumping and countervailing duties, and provides analytical
support for ongoing trade negotiations. The President’s FY2007 request for ITA is
$408.8 million, a $14.9 million (3.6%) increase over the FY2006 appropriation of
$393.8 million (after rescissions). The request anticipates the collection of $33
7 The sections on ITA, USTR, and ITC were written by M. Angeles Villarreal, Analyst in
International Trade and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
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million in fees and other reimbursable obligations, raising available funds to $441.8
million. The House recommended $429.8 million for ITA in FY2007, $28 million
more than the current level and $8 million more than the request. Of the total, $13
million is offset from fee collections, for a net appropriation of $416.8 million. A
floor amendment increased the recommended funding for ITA by $5 million to help
promote U.S. exports. The agency is divided into four policy units and an Executive
and Administrative Directorate, with an estimated total full-time staff of 2,217 in
FY2006.
Manufacturing and Services Unit (MSU). The MSU carries out certain
industry analysis functions of the former Trade Development Unit (TD), but it is also
tasked with promoting the competitiveness and expansion of the U.S. manufacturing
sector under the President’s Manufacturing Initiative of March 2003. Congress
transferred the trade promotion activities of TD — the Advocacy Center, the Trade
Information Center, and Office of Export Assistance — to the new Trade Promotion
Unit. The President requested $47.3 million in direct obligations for FY2007. The
FY2006 appropriation provided $47 million for the MSU (before rescissions).
Market Access and Compliance Unit (MAC). The MAC monitors foreign
country compliance with trade agreements, identifies compliance problems and
market access obstacles, and informs U.S. firms of foreign business practices and
opportunities. The President requested $39.3 million in FY2007. The FY2006
appropriation provided $43 million for MAC (before rescissions).
Import Administration Unit (IA). IA administers the trade remedy laws of
the United States, including antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard actions.
The Administration has requested $59.4 million for IA in FY2007. In FY2006, IA
received an appropriation of $59 million (before rescissions).
Trade Promotion/U.S. Foreign Commercial Service (TP/FCS). The
TP/FCS program conducts trade promotion programs intended to broaden and deepen
the base of U.S. exports; provides U.S. companies with export assistance services;
and leads interagency advocacy efforts for major overseas projects. For FY2007, the
Administration requested $237.3 million for this unit. In FY2006, the TP/FCS
received an appropriation of $227 million (before rescissions).
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
USTR, located in the Executive Office of the President (EOP), is responsible
for developing and coordinating U.S. international trade and direct investment
policies. The President’s FY2007 request is $42.2 million, about $2 million less than
the FY2006 amount of $44.2 million appropriated by Congress (including
rescissions). The House approved $46.2 million for FY2007, $4 million (9%) more
than requested by the President. The House recommendation states that $2 million
of this amount shall be for negotiating, implementing, monitoring, and enforcing
trade agreements with China.
The USTR is responsible for advancing U.S. interests at the WTO and
negotiating bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs). In 2006 and the
early part of 2007, the Administration concluded FTAs with Peru, Colombia, and
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Oman. The Administration has ongoing negotiations with Ecuador, the Southern
African Customs Union (SACU), Panama, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
In 2006, USTR obtained congressional approval of FTAs with Bahrain, the
Dominican Republic, and Central American countries. The Office had 229 full-time
employees in FY2006.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)
ITC is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that advises the President and
Congress on the impact of U.S. foreign economic policies on U.S. industries and,
along with the Import Administration Unit of ITA, is charged with administering
various U.S. trade remedy laws. Its six commissioners are appointed by the President
for nine-year terms. As a matter of policy, its budget request is submitted to
Congress by the President without revision. In FY2007, ITC requested $64.2
million, about a $2 million increase over the $62.0 million appropriated by Congress
in FY2006 (after rescissions). The House approved $62.6 million for FY2007, 1%
more than the current level but 3% less than requested. In FY2006, ITC had 365
employees.
Bureau of Industry and Security8
The President’s FY2007 request for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
is $78.6 million, a 3.4% increase from the funding level of $75 million (after
rescissions) adopted by the FY2006 conference report (H.Rept. 109-272). BIS
administers export controls on dual-use goods and technology through its licensing
and enforcement functions. It cooperates with other nations on export control policy
and provides assistance to the U.S. business community to comply with U.S. and
multilateral export controls. It also administers U.S. anti-boycott statutes, and it is
charged with monitoring the U.S. defense industrial base. The agency had 415 full-
time employees in FY2006. Authorization for the activities of BIS, the Export
Administration Act (50 U.S.C. 2401, et seq), last expired in August 2001. On
August 17, 2001, President Bush invoked the authorities granted by the International
Economic Emergency Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1703(b)) to continue in effect the
system of controls contained in the act and by the Export Administration Regulations
(15 C.F.R., Parts 730-799). This authority was most recently extended on August 2,
2005 (69 Fed. Reg. 45273).
BIS divides its FY2007 funding request between licensing activity ($38.9
million), enforcement activities ($33.2 million), and management and policy
coordination ($6.5 million). Of these amounts, $14.8 million is requested for
Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) enforcement. The House recommends $76.8
million, a level $1.8 billion above the current year, but the same amount below the
administration request. Of the $76.8 million, the House recommends $62.0 million
for operations and administration and $14.8 million for CWC compliance activities.
8 This section was written by Ian F. Fergusson, Analyst in International Trade and Finance,
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
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Economic Development Administration9
For the second consecutive year, the Administration has included in its budget
request a proposal that would eliminate a number of federal economic and
community development programs and dramatically reshape programs administered
by the Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The
Administration is requesting a total of $327.2 million for EDA activities for FY2007,
including $257 million for the new Regional Development Account (RDA) program,
$27 million for planning grants awarded to Economic Development Districts, $13
million for trade adjustment assistance, and $29 million for salaries and expenses.
This is approximately $47 million more than the $280.4 million appropriated in
FY2006, which included $29 million for salaries and expenses, $158 million for
public works, $44 million for economic adjustment, $27 million for planning, $13
million for trade adjustment, $8 million for technical assistance, and $483,000 for
research.
The Administration’s FY2006 budget recommendations included a proposal that
would have consolidated the activities of at least 18 existing community and
economic development programs, including those of the EDA, into a two-part grant
proposal called the Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative (SACI).10
Responsibility for the18 programs now being carried out by five federal agencies (the
Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Treasury, Health and
Human Services, and Agriculture) would have been transferred to the Commerce
Department. Congress eventually rejected the proposal and funded all 18 programs
for FY2006.
The Administration’s FY2007 budget request outlines a revamped SACI
proposal. Under the FY2007 version, two of the 18 programs would be funded — the
Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) program and a new Regional Development Account (RDA)
within EDA. The FY2007 budget proposes a SACI funding level of $3.360 billion
— nearly $2 billion less than the aggregate appropriation for the 18 programs in
FY2006. The Administration’s FY2007 budget also identifies some general elements
of the new SACI proposal including development of a common set of goals and
performance measures for the CDBG and RDA programs. In addition, the
Administration plan calls for a new CDBG allocation formula targeted to the neediest
communities, a bonus fund component, and reforms that address the CDBG
program’s shortcomings outlined in the Program Assessment Rating Tool. On May
25, 2006, HUD posted its legislative reform on its website.11 The proposal does not
yet have a House or Senate sponsor. The FY2007 version of the President’s SACI
proposal recommends consolidating four existing EDA programs (public works,
economic adjustment assistance, research and evaluation, and technical assistance)
9 This section was written by Eugene Boyd, Analyst, Government and Finance Division.
10 For a detailed review of the Administration’s SACI proposals, see CRS Report RL32823,
An Overview of the Administration’s Strengthening America’s Communities Initiative
(SACI), by Eugene Boyd.
11 See [http://www.hud.gov/content/releases/pr06-056act.pdf].
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into a single account, the RDA. RDA funds would be awarded on a competitive
basis to entities that support multi-jurisdictional regional development activities.
The Administration has not released a formal legislative proposal creating the RDA.
H.R. 5672, as passed by the House on June 29, 2006, recommends an FY2007
appropriation of $260.4 million for EDA activities, including $139.6 million for
public works, $44.2 million for economic adjustment assistance, $8 million for
technical assistance, $12.8 million for trade adjustment assistance, $26 million for
planning grants and $29.7 million for salary and expenses.12 The proposed funding
level is $20 million less than appropriated for FY2006 and $66.8 million less than
the $327.1 million requested by the Administration. Under the House version of
H.R. 5672, funding for public works projects would fall $19 million below the $159
million appropriated in FY2006, accounting for the bulk of the reduction,
accompanied by modest reductions in economic adjustment assistance ($600,000),
trade adjustment assistance ($200,00) and technical assistance ($320,000).
The committee report accompanying the bill includes several directives to the
EDA. The bill directs the EDA “to continue operations and funding of the planning
grant program for existing and designated economic districts in a manner that is
consistent with the current and ongoing practices, policies and existing rules and
regulations.”13 This is a reference to questions generated by draft regulations released
during August of last year. The report accompanying the bill also directs EDA to
continue to direct funds to the most distressed communities, including providing
funds to local economies affected by the economic downturn in the coal industry at
no less than the same of level of assistance received in 2006, and it directs EDA to
maintain the operation of all six of its regional offices. This last directive is in
response to concerns that EDA was considering closing three of its six regional
offices.
Minority Business Development Agency14
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is charged with the lead
role in coordinating all the federal government’s minority business programs. For
FY2007 the President’s budget requests $29.6 million for the MBDA, which is
unchanged from the enacted FY2006 appropriation. The House approved the full
$29.6 million.
For FY2006, the Administration requested $30.7 million for the agency, and
Congress approved $30.0 million. The FY2006 rescission reduced this by
approximately $380,000, to $29.6 million.
12 The Economic Development Administration Reauthorization Act of 2004, P.L. 108-373,
requires EDA to provide at least $27 million for planning grants.
13 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Science, State, Justice, Commerce
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, Fiscal Year 2007, report to accompany H.R.
5672, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 109-520 (Washington: GPO, 20086), p. 74.
14 This section was written by Eric Weiss, Analyst in Financial Institutions, Government
and Finance Division.
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National Telecommunications and
Information Administration15
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is
the executive branch’s principal advisory office on domestic and international
telecommunications and information technology issues and policies. Its mandate is
to provide greater access for all Americans to telecommunications services; to
support U.S. attempts to open foreign markets; to advise on international
telecommunications negotiations; to fund research grants for new technologies and
their applications; and to assist nonprofit organizations converting to digital
transmission in the 21st century. The NTIA also manages federal use of radio
frequency spectrum domestically and internationally.
For FY2007, the Bush Administration has requested an overall funding figure
of $17.8 million for NTIA, excluding funding for analog to digital conversion
funding (for FY2006, the appropriated amount is $39.6 million16). The Senate
Appropriations Committee voted to provide $17.8 million on July 13. There are two
major components to the current NTIA budget (the Bush Administration also has
requested funding for a third program, created out of the Deficit Reduction Act of
2005 and discussed below). The first program is Salaries and Expenses. For FY2007,
the Administration has requested that NTIA’s Salaries and Expenses account should
be funded at $17.8 million (in FY2006, it was also funded at $17.8 million). In the
past, a large part of this program ($7 million in FY2006) has been for management
of the federal government’s use of radio spectrum. For the second component, the
Public Telecommunications Facilities, Planning and Construction (PTFPC) program,
the Bush Administration has requested termination of this program, with all
remaining federal expenditures from FY2006 spent (for FY2006 Congress provided
$21.7 million for this program).
For the PTFPC program, a similar request was made last year by the Bush
Administration to end this program; the House approved this request, while the
Senate approved its current level of funding. The House noted that, as of March
2005, 307 of 356 (93.9%) public television stations are now transmitting a digital
signal, indicating that the program has successfully achieved its goals. However,
others contend that this issue is part of a larger concern about public broadcasting in
general, and support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting specifically, and
that until all stations are broadcasting with digital technology, the program should be
supported and funded.
The third NTIA program that the Bush Administration has requested funding
for comes out of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. That law — and new NTIA
program — called for the creation of a Digital Transition and Safety Public Fund,
15 This section was written by Glenn McLoughlin, Specialist in Technology and
Telecommunications Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
16 FY2006 funding numbers for NTIA are taken from the April 19, 2006, “crosswalk” table
from the House Committee on Appropriations. It is important to also not that the committee
also shows the FY2007 request for the overall NTIA budget at $17.8 million, for salaries
and expenses only.
CRS-24
which offset receipts from the auction of licenses to use electromagnetic spectrum
recovered from discontinued analog television signals. The Bush Administration sets
these reimbursable funds at $45 million in FY2007. These receipts would fund the
following programmatic functions at NTIA: a digital-analog converter box program
to assist consumers in meeting the 2009 deadline for receiving television broadcasts
in digital format; public safety interoperable communications grants, which will be
made to ensure that public safety agencies have a standardized format for sharing
voice and data signals on the radio spectrum; New York City 9/11 digital transition
funding, until the planned Freedom Tower is built; assistance to low-power television
stations, for conversion from analog to digital transition; a national alert and tsunami
warning program; and funding to enhance a national alert system as stated in the
ENHANCE 911 Act of 2004.
National Technical Information Service17
In accordance with the National Technical Information Act (P.L. 100-519), as
amended in 1992 by the American Technology Preeminence Act (P.L. 102-245), the
President’s budget submission does not request any funding for the National
Technical Information Service (NTIS) for FY2007. Similarly, the House of
Representatives did not appropriate any funding for (NTIS) when it passed H.R. 5672
on June 29, 2006. Instead, funding for NTIS will continue to be drawn from NTIS’
Revolving Fund, established by the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations Act for
FY1993 (P.L. 102-395). In part, due to NTIS’s efforts to develop new products and
limit spending, NTIS achieved a positive net income of $508,000 for FY2004. This
compares with a positive net income of $10,000 for FY2003, $1.346 million for
FY2002, and $2.290 million for FY2001.
The NTIS is part of the Technology Administration at the Department of
Commerce. The NTIS was established within the Department of Commerce in 1970,
although its origins can be traced back to World War II with the creation of the
Publications Board in 1945. The Publications Board collected classified scientific
and technical information related to the war effort to be considered for release to the
general public. These functions were formalized in 1950 with the establishment of
the Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information within the Bureau
of Standards, which were later transferred to the newly created NTIS in 1970.
According to its website ([http://www.ntis.gov/]), NTIS serves as “the federal
government’s central source for the sale of scientific, technical, engineering, and
related business information by or for the U.S. government and complementary
materials from international sources.” Its mission is to support “the nation’s
economic growth and job creation by providing access to information that stimulates
innovation and discovery.” The NTIS claims to hold approximately 3 million
government information products, with 600,000 of these documents available
through its online searchable database. In addition, NTIS offers a variety of fee-
based services to federal agencies. These services include, but are not limited to,
17 This section was written by Jeffrey W. Seifert, Specialist in Information Science and
Technology Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-25
distribution of information products, support services, web development, multimedia
production, and custom research services.
The advent and rapid growth of electronic and multimedia publishing both
challenges and affirms the role of NTIS. On the one hand, the growth of the Internet
and electronic documents contributed, in part, to a decline in NTIS sales as more
documents become available online at no charge from other sources. In addition, the
emergence of a range of new information brokers raises the question of whether or
not the services NTIS provides are redundant and/or directly compete with those
provided by private sector companies. On the other hand, the dynamic nature of
online content means that websites and their content can move location or disappear
without notice. Moreover, even in the case of websites that are well established and
relatively consistent in maintaining content, there is no guarantee that online
materials will be archived or remain available indefinitely. In contrast, part of
NTIS’s responsibilities include maintaining a “permanent repository” of information.
Bureau of the Census18
For discretionary domestic spending by the Bureau of the Census in FY2007,
the Administration requested budget authority totaling $878.2 million: $184.1
million for salaries and expenses and $694.1 million for periodic programs, including
the decennial census. The total request was $66 million greater than the FY2006
enacted amount of $812.2 million (and exceeded by $76.3 million the FY2006 level
of $801.9 million, after rescissions). Much of the increase was due to preparations
for the 2010 census, the Bureau’s highest-priority program, which will involve a
mail-out, mail-back short-form questionnaire to be answered by all U.S. households.
The Bureau plans to replace the census long form with the American Community
Survey (ACS), which provides yearly tabulations of data from monthly household
samples. For the whole 2010 census program, the FY2007 request of $511.8 million
is intended to go toward planning, testing, and developing the re-engineered census;
improved mapping; and maintaining the full, nationwide ACS implementation level.
To help fund the 2010 census, the Bureau proposed eliminating the Vehicle
Inventory and Use Survey from the economic census. Also, the Bureau proposed
phasing out and replacing the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP),
with the following explanation:
For the past two decades, the SIPP has been the leading source of [data on] the
economic well-being of Americans. Its longitudinal household design provides
many advantages; however, it also makes data processing and analysis difficult,
leading to long delays before the data can be analyzed and understood. While the
American Community Survey ... and a growing body of administrative records
now provide important sources of information, they cannot by themselves meet
all the information needs of policy makers.
18 This section was written by Jennifer D. Williams, Government and Finance Division.
CRS-26
The FY2007 request includes $9.2 million to design a new data collection system
on income and wealth dynamics to meet the policy and operational needs of the
country, which will replace the SIPP.19
Of the $9.2 million, the Bureau would use $5.6 million to design the new data
collection system and would use the remaining $3.6 million “to facilitate the
collection of another wave (i.e., a ninth wave) of 2004 SIPP panel data during
FY2007,” thus providing a full 2006 calendar year of SIPP data. The ninth wave,
however, would depend on the Bureau’s “success in getting partner agencies (such
as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Social Security
Administration) that rely on SIPP data to also make combined investments of roughly
another $6.4 [million], allowing for a ninth wave investment of $10 [million].”20
The House Appropriations Committee recommended that the SIPP survey
receive $10 million more than the requested amount in discretionary funds “to
continue SIPP data collection while a new survey is designed” and that an additional
$10 million “from mandatory funds ... be available to disseminate data collected from
the SIPP in support of measuring the impact of welfare provisions.”21
During consideration of H.R. 5672, the House approved three amendments22
to shift $58.3 million from FY2007 Census Bureau funding to crime-fighting
endeavors. Representative Mark Kennedy proposed moving $50 million from the
Bureau to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under the
Department of Justice to combat, in particular, crimes associated with
methamphetamine. The House agreed to the amendment by a 291-129 vote (Roll No.
330). Representative Ginny Brown-Waite offered an amendment, approved by voice
vote, to take $5 million from the Department of Justice’s general administration and
another $5 million from the Census Bureau and increase funding for the Violence
Against Women Act by $10 million. Also approved on a voice vote was
Representative Nancy Johnson’s amendment to decrease Bureau funding by $3.3
million and increase, by the same amount, funding for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s Innocent Images Program, which seeks to protect children from online
sexual predators.
The House agreed to $825.9 million for the Census Bureau in FY2007, $24
million more than the FY2006 enacted amount, after rescissions. The amount
approved for salaries and expenses was $190.1 million; that for periodic programs
was $635.8 million. The $58.3 million funding shift discussed above would have,
according to the Bureau, effects such as eliminating group quarters data collection
19 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Budget Estimates, Fiscal Year
2007, Congressional Submission, Exhibit 13 (no page number), received via e-mail from the
Census Bureau, Mar. 7, 2006.
20 Ibid.
21 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Science, State, Justice, Commerce,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, Fiscal Year 2007, report to accompany H.R.
5672, 109th Cong., 2nd sess., H.Rept. 109-520 (Washington: GPO, 2006), p. 77.
22 See Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 152 (June 27, 2006), pp. H4644-H4645,
H4651-H4652, H4657-H4661, and H4664-H4665.
CRS-27
for the ACS. Without these data, “the ACS cannot fully represent the total
population of the U.S.,” including prisoners and the elderly in nursing homes, and
“cannot fully be the replacement for the long form in 2010.”23
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office24
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) examines and approves
applications for patents on claimed inventions and administers the registration of
trademarks. It also assists other federal departments and agencies protect American
intellectual property in the international marketplace. The USPTO is funded by user
fees paid by customers that are designated as “offsetting collections” and subject to
spending limits established by the Appropriations Committee.
The President’s FY2007 budget requests $1.843 billion in budget authority for
the USPTO, an increase of 9.5% over the FY2006 figure. In addition, the budget
document states that the Office is to have “full access” to all fees collected in
FY2007. The Administration also requests an extension of current law that
temporarily increased patent fees for FY2005 and FY2006 and indicates that it will
propose additional legislation to permanently extend this fee increase past FY2007.
H.R. 5672, the FY2007 Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act as passed by the House, provides the USPTO with the
budget authority to spend $1.771 billion in FY2007, 5% above the current fiscal year.
The Administration’s FY2006 budget proposal included $1.703 billion in
budget authority for the USPTO. H.R. 2862, as originally passed by both the House
and the Senate, also provided $1.703 billion for the Office. The final FY2006
appropriations, P.L. 109-108, gave the USPTO the budget authority to spend $1.683
billion, a lesser amount due to a revision of estimated fee collections by the USPTO
itself.
Beginning in 1990, appropriation measures have limited the ability of the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office to utilize the full amount of fees collected in each fiscal
year. This is an area of controversy. Opponents of this approach argue that agency
operations are supported by payments for services that must be financed in the year
the expenses are incurred. Proponents of methods to limit USPTO fee usage
maintain that the fees are necessary to help balance the budget and the fees
appropriated back to the Office are sufficient to cover operating costs.
23 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, “Impact of H.R. 5672, as Passed
by the House,” statement dated July 3, 2006, p. 1.
24 This section was written by Wendy Schacht, Specialist in Science and Technology,
Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-28
Technology Administration/Office of the
Under Secretary of Technology25
The Technology Administration and the Office of the Under Secretary of
Technology in the Department of Commerce advocate national policies that foster
technology development to stimulate economic growth, conduct technology
development and deployment programs, and disseminate technological information.
The Office of the Under Secretary for Technology also manages and supervises the
activities of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National
Technical Information Service.
For FY2007, the President’s budget proposes spending $1.5 million for the
Technology Administration, a decrease of 75% over the previous fiscal year. H.R.
5672, as passed by the House, provides $2.0 million for the Office of the Under
Secretary of Technology, 66% below FY2006 funding.
The Administration’s FY2006 budget included $4.2 million for the Office of the
Under Secretary for Technology. H.R. 2862, as originally passed by the House,
would have provided $6.5 million. The initial Senate-passed version of the bill
included funding (but no specific amount) under the Departmental Management
account. The final FY2006 appropriations, P.L. 109-108, financed the Office at $5.9
million (after mandated rescissions).
National Institute of Standards and Technology26
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a laboratory of
the Department of Commerce. The organization’s mandate is to increase the
competitiveness of U.S. companies through appropriate support for industrial
development of pre-competitive generic technologies and the diffusion of
government-developed technological advances to users in all segments of the
American economy. NIST research also provides the measurement, calibration, and
quality assurance techniques that underpin U.S. commerce, technological progress,
improved product reliability, manufacturing processes, and public safety.
The Administration’s FY2007 budget includes $581.3 million for NIST, a
decrease of almost 22% from the current fiscal year. Support for the laboratory’s
internal R&D activities under the Scientific and Technology Research and Services
(STRS) account would increase 18.3% to $467 million (including $8 million for the
Baldrige National Quality Program). No funding is requested for the Advanced
Technology Program (ATP), and support for the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership (MEP) would decline 52.6% to $46.3 million. Construction financing
would total $68 million, a 60.8% decrease from FY2006.
25 This section was written by Wendy Schacht, Specialist in Science and Technology,
Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
26 This section was written by Wendy Schacht, Specialist in Science and Technology,
Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-29
H.R. 5672, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act as passed by the House, provides $627 million in FY2007
funding for NIST, almost 16% below the FY2006 figure due primarily to the absence
of support for ATP. Financing for laboratory R&D in the STRS account increases
18.3% to $467 million. MEP funding totals $92 million, 8% below the current fiscal
year. For the construction budget, $68 million is provided.
The President’s FY2006 budget requested $532 million in funding for NIST.
Included in this figure was $426.3 million for the STRS account (with $5.7 million
for the Quality Program). No support was provided for ATP, while MEP would have
been funded at $46.8 million. The construction budget was to be $58.9 million. H.R.
2862, as originally passed by the House, would have provided $548.7 million for
NIST. The STRS account was to receive $397.7 million. Financing for MEP would
total $106 million; no funding was provided for ATP. Construction activities would
have received $45 million. The version of H.R. 2862 initially passed by the Senate
funded NIST at $844.5 million. Included in this amount was $399.9 million for the
STRS account (incorporating $7.2 million for the Quality Program), $106 million for
MEP, and $140 million for ATP. The construction budget would total $198.6
million.
Subsequently, the final FY2006 appropriations, P.L. 109-108, provided $745
million for NIST (after the mandated rescissions). Support for the STRS account
totaled $394.8 million and included $7.3 million for the Quality Program. The
Manufacturing Extension Partnership received $97.6 million (including an additional
$7 million rescission from unobligated balances), and the Advanced Technology
Program was financed at $79 million. The construction budget totaled $173.6
million.
Continued support for the Advanced Technology Program has been a major
funding issue. ATP provides “seed financing,” matched by private sector investment,
to businesses or consortia (including universities and government laboratories) for
development of generic technologies that have broad applications across industries.
Opponents of the program cite it as a prime example of “corporate welfare,”
whereby the federal government invests in applied research activities that, they
emphasize, should be conducted by the private sector. Others defend ATP, arguing
that it assists businesses (and small manufacturers) in developing technologies that,
while crucial to industrial competitiveness, would not or could not be developed by
the private sector alone. Although Congress has maintained (often decreasing)
funding for the Advanced Technology Program, the initial appropriation bills passed
by the House since FY2002 failed to include financing for ATP. For FY2006,
support again was provided for the program, but the amount was 41% below that
included in the FY2005 appropriations.
The budget for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, another extramural
program administered by NIST, was an issue during the FY2004 appropriations
deliberations. Although in the recent past congressional support for MEP remained
constant, the Administration’s FY2004 budget request, the initial House-passed bill,
and the FY2004 Consolidated Appropriations Act substantially decreased federal
funding for this initiative, reflecting the President’s recommendation that
manufacturing extension centers “...with more than six years experience operate
CRS-30
without federal contribution.” However, P.L. 108-447 restored financing for MEP
in FY2005 to the level that existed prior to the 63% reduction taken in FY2004.
While the level of support decreased in FY2006, it remained significantly above the
FY2004 figure.
As part of the “American Competitiveness Initiative,” announced by the
President in the 2006 State of the Union, the Administration has indicated that it
intends to double over 10 years funding for “innovation-enabling research”
performed at NIST. This is to be accomplished through increased support of NIST’s
“core” programs, defined as internal research in the STRS account and the
construction budget. To this end, the President’s FY2007 budget requests an 18.3%
increase in funding for intramural R&D at the laboratory. H.R. 5672, as passed by
the House, provides for this 18.3% increase in support research performed within the
NIST facilities.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 27
President Bush requested a total of $3.68 billion for NOAA for FY2007. This
amount includes $2.59 billion for the Operations, Research, and Facilities (ORF)
account; $1.02 billion for the Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction (PAC)
account; and a net of $60.8 million for NOAA’s Other Accounts, including the
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), the Coastal Zone Management
Fund (CZMF), and NOAA’s fisheries financing programs. (See Table 4.) NOAA
is the largest agency of the Department of Commerce (DOC) in terms of funding.
For FY2007, NOAA’s budget request is 60% of DOC’s total request.
Congress appropriated $3.95 billion for NOAA for FY2006 in the FY2006
SSJC Appropriations Act (P.L. 109-108). Section 638 of that act imposed on DOC
an across-the-board rescission of 0.28%. On February 8, 2006, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) reported to Congress a 1% across-the-board cut in
discretionary spending for most federal agencies. Sect. 3801 of the Department of
Defense Appropriations Act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-148) eventually implemented that
rescission and provided almost $3.91 billion in appropriations for NOAA in FY2006.
In addition, NOAA was provided $54 million in emergency appropriations for
Hurricane Katrina recovery for FY2006 in P.L. 109-148 (H.Rept. 109-359, pp. 97-98,
December 18, 2005). This resulted in a grand total of $3.95 billion for NOAA in
FY2006 as reported in Table 4. On February 16, 2006, the President requested
further emergency supplemental appropriations of $33 million for NOAA operations
and facilities recovery in the Gulf. (See “Supplemental Appropriations, below.”)
The President’s Budget. President Bush’s FY2007 request of $3.68 for
NOAA is nearly $230 million, or 6.8%, less than the $3.950 billion appropriated for
FY2006 (after rescission and emergency appropriations). It is 5.1% less than the
FY2005 appropriation of $3.91 billion (after rescission of 0.80% [P.L 108-477] and
emergency appropriations of $17.2 million [P.L. 109-148]).
27 This section was prepared by Wayne A. Morrisey, Science and Technology Information
Analyst, Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-31
Table 4. NOAA FY2007 Budget Request
($millions)
5 NOAA Line Offices/Program Support/
FY2005a,b FY2006c,d
FY2007
PAC & Other Accounts/Adjust. to Base
Req.e
H.R. 5672f
National Ocean Service (NOS)
544.4
500
394.5
315.1
NOAA Fisheries (NMFS)
668.8
678.5
649
539.1
NOAA Research (OAR)
406
373.7
338.3
328.5
National Weather Service (NWS)
699.1
745.3
783.4
784.6
NOAA Satellites (NESDIS)
176.9
179.3
149.6
145.3
Program Support
347.9
356.4
364.1
356.6
Offsets (transfers/deobligations)
-64.5
-88.1
-93.1
-106.0
Adjustmentsg
—
—
5
5.0
Total Ops, Res., & Fac. (ORF)
2784.6
2748.1
2590.8
2368.2
Total Proc., Acq. & Constr. (PAC)
1044.6
1147.3
1024.5
996.7
Other Accounts/PCSRF/CZMF
78.9
54.6
60.8
12.0
Totals
3907.9
3950
3676.1
3376.9
Sources: FY2005 and FY2006 congressional appropriations figures from House Appropriations
Committee tables included in Congressional Record, Nov. 15, 2005: E2350-2351. FY2007
President’s request figures (details) are from the NOAA FY2007 Budget Summary (Blue Book), Feb.
6, 2006, at [http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/%7Enbo/07bluebook_highlights.html]. FY2006
appropriation request total as reported by the House Appropriations Committee (H.Rept. 109-520).
FY2007 total for H.R. 5672 (amended), House Science, State, Justice Commerce Appropriations for
FY2007, “House Recommendations,” July 5, 2006.
a. FY2005 figures reflect a 0.80% across-the-board rescission leveled on CJS appropriations for FY2005.
b. NOAA received emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2005 of $38 million for the NWS, including
$24 million for ORF and $14 million for PAC (P.L. 109-62). FY2005 authorized amounts are included
in FY2005 appropriation total and out-year funding is included in the FY2006 appropriation.
c. FY2006 totals for FY2006 include a $25 million rescission from unobligated balances required by Title V of
H.R. 2862, “Rescissions.” Title VI of H.R. 2862 §638, “General Provisions,” required a rescission of
budget authority of 0.28% for all accounts under the act.
d. A total of $54 million in emergency appropriations in P.L. 109-148 were provided for NOAA for FY2006,
including $17.2 million for ORF and $37.4 million for PAC for Hurricane Katrina recovery and are
included in FY2006 appropriation totals.
e. P.L. 109-108 total also reflects OMB 1% cut for NOAA of $40.1 million, including $28.3 million for ORF,
$0.6 million for PCSRF, $11.2 million for PAC, and $300,000 for fisheries finance programs. The
President has requested additional emergency supplemental funding of $33 million for NOAA. Total
rescissions for NOAA for FY2006 are roughly 1.28%.
f. House passed-H.R. 5672 reported by House Appropriations Committee, July 5, 2006. FY2007 line office
budgets and other budget totals, NOAA Budget in Brief, February 6, 2006.
g. Adjustments include $2 million for Medicare and $3 million for Coastal Zone Management.
CRS-32
For FY2007, the President proposed increases for the National Weather Service
(NWS) and for NOAA Satellite programs (NESDIS). This included an increase of
$104.0 million for the Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite (GOES)
program to procure and deploy the new GOES-R generation of hardware. Also, a
$20.3 million increase (matched by the Department of Defense) was proposed for the
National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) to address
scheduling and deployment slippages. The President also requested $12.4 million
for NWS to complete procurement of detection buoys for a “strengthened” National
Tsunami Warning Program (NTWP), which included upgrades and expansion of the
early warning system. The Administrator of NOAA noted that the request would
culminate a commitment of $40 million for that effort.28
The President also requested that $25 million of NOAA’s unobligated funds,
rescinded by Congress in FY2006, be restored. Further, he proposed $590 million
in saving in FY2007 from NOAA program terminations, including $573 million
added by Congress in FY2006 and $16.3 million from construction projects funded
for one year only.29 Some proposed terminations were criticized by Joint Oceans
Commission Initiative leaders who objected to ocean and coastal research-related
budget cuts for FY2007. They argued that the request was almost $280 million less
than FY2006 appropriations and $15 million less than the FY2006 request.30
House Appropriations. On June 26, 2006, the House passed H.R. 5672 and
appropriated nearly $3.38 billion for NOAA. This is about $300 million, or 8.2%,
less than the FY2007 request of $3.68 billion and $570 million, or 14.4%, less than
FY2006 appropriations (including emergency appropriations). The bill, as amended
by the House, cuts most NOAA line office budgets more than the President’s request,
the National Weather Service being the exception. The NOAA Satellite budget
request was cut, reflecting the House Science Committee’s dissatisfaction with
NOAA’s management of the NPOESS program and associated satellite data
management components. Also, the PCSRF request of almost $67 million was cut
by two-thirds because of lack of quantitative program performance data, leaving less
than $20 million for the fund. The NOAA National Ocean Service and NOAA
Fisheries sustained the largest cuts and reflect the Presidents’ savings proposed for
FY2007 related to ocean and coastal research and ocean exploration activities.
Supplemental Appropriations. On December 18, 2005, P.L. 109-148, the
Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2006, allocated $17.2 million to
NOAA’s ORF account for repairing weather service-related facilities and improving
28 For additional information about tsunami warning systems and funding, see CRS Report
RL32739, Tsunamis: Monitoring, Detection, and Early Warning Systems, by Wayne
Morrissey.
29 For further information on NOAA’s FY2007 budget request see CRS Report RS22410,
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Budget for FY2007:
President’s Request, Congressional Appropriations, and Related Issues, by Wayne A.
Morrissey.
30 Joint Ocean Commission (JOC), “Statement of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative on
President Bush’s FY2007 Budget Proposal,” Feb. 13, 2006, at [http://www.jointocean
commission.org/], accessed Feb. 21, 2006.
CRS-33
hurricane forecasting, and $37.4 million to the PAC account for restoring weather
equipment, procuring new technology for a hurricane reconnaissance aircraft, and
providing temporary space for the Pascagoula, MS, fish lab operations (H.Rept. 109-
359). On February 16, 2006, President Bush requested $33 million for further relief
from Hurricane Katrina, including $21 million for the ORF account to assess and
recover Gulf fisheries and $11.8 million for the PAC account to reconstruct a
fisheries management science center in the Gulf of Mexico. On June 16, 2006,
Congress passed H.R. 4939 (P.L. 109-234) and appropriated $150 million in
emergency funding for NOAA. Of that amount, $118 million was for the ORF
account, including $20 million for Gulf mapping and sonar scanning for debris
removal; $2 million for Physical Oceanographic Real-Time Systems (PORTS) along
the Gulf of Mexico; $1 million to repair and replace gage systems in the northern
Gulf; $90 million for oyster, shrimp, and Gulf fisheries recovery; and $5 million for
individual fishermen’s recovery from 2005 disasters. Congress also appropriated $32
million for the PAC account and approved a $38 million transfer from USDA to re-
seed, rehabilitate, and restore damaged oyster reefs in the Gulf.
Related Budget Issues. The following factors may affect NOAA’s FY2007
budget outcome:
! Criticism of Joint Oceans Commission Initiative leaders of the
Administration’s proposed budget cuts for NOAA coastal and
ocean-related programs in FY2007.
! NOAA (and partners NASA and DOD) delays in launching and
deploying the National Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellite
System (NPOESS) for space-based weather observations, associated
ground-based systems architecture, and maintenance of contracts.
! Legislation (H.R. 5450, 109th Cong., 2nd sess.), reintroduced, that
would authorize funding for all of NOAA’s programs and activities
under a single legal authority, otherwise known as an organic act.
! In the House-passed H.R. 5672, CJS Appropriations, FY2007,
NOAA funding is less than both the FY2007 request and the
FY2006 appropriation.
CRS-34
Table 5. Funding for the Department of Commerce
and Related Agencies
($ millions in discretionary budget authority)
FY2006
FY2007
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
House
Senate
Enacted
Request
Enacted
International Trade
$393.8
$408.8
$416.8
Administration
Bureau of Industry and
$75.0
$78.6
$76.8
Security
Economic Development
$280.4
$327.2
$260.4
Administration
Minority Business
$29.6
$29.6
$29.6
Development Agency
Economic and Statistical
$79.2
$80.5
$79.9
Analysis
Bureau of the Census
$801.9
$878.2
$825.9
National
Telecommunications and
$39.6
$17.8a
$17.8a
Information Admin.
Patent and Trademark
Officeb
$1,683.1
$1,771.0
$1,771.0
Technology
$5.9
$1.5
$2.0
Administration
National Institute of
Standards and
$745.0
$581.3
$627.0
Technology
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric
$3,950.0
$3,676.1
$3,376.9
Administration
Departmental
$73.3
$98.5
$52.6
Management
Department of Commerce
$6,473.9
$6,180.1
$5,765.7
Subtotal:
U.S. Trade
$44.2
$42.2
$46.2
Representative
International Trade
$62.0
$64.2
$62.6
Commission
National Intellectual
Property Law
$0.0
$0.0
$0.0
Enforcement
Coordination Council
Related Agencies
$106.8
$106.4
$108.8
Subtotal:
Title II Total:
$6,580.1
$6,284.5
$5,874.5
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, FY2007 Budget In Brief, p. 6; House Committee on Appropriations,
Science, State, Justice, Commerce Subcommittee, Apr. 19, 2006, Crosswalk Table.
a. Does not include $45 million in mandatory spending from the Digital Transition and Safety Public Fund.
b. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is fully funded by user fees. The fees collected, but not obligated
during the current year, are available for obligation in the following fiscal year and do not count toward
the appropriation totals. Only newly appropriated funds count toward the annual appropriation totals.
CRS-35
Related Legislation
H.J.Res. 53 (Miller-MI)
Proposes to amend the U.S. Constitution to provide for apportioning the House
of Representatives on the basis of the number of U.S. citizens, not persons, in each
state. If the amendment went into effect, the decennial census short form would have
to include a question about citizenship. Introduced June 9, 2005, and referred to the
House Committee on the Judiciary.
H.R. 50 (Ehlers)
Would amend present law to re-establish the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration in the Department of Commerce, reorganize the administration of
NOAA, and place within NOAA (1) the National Weather Service; (2) programs to
support operations of ongoing data collection and direct services and products
regarding satellite, observations, and coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes information; (3)
programs to conduct and support research and education and the development of
technologies relating to weather, climate, and the coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes;
and (4) a Science Advisory Board. Introduced January 4, 2005; referred to House
Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards on February 10, 2005.
The bill was marked up on March 13, 2005, by the subcommittee, passed the House
Science Committee on May 17, 2005, and was reported. H.R. 50 was also referred
to the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and
Oceans on February 3, 2005. Subcommittee hearings were held on May 19, 2005.
There has been no further legislative action.
H.R. 337 (Maloney)
Would amend present law to make the term of office of the Director of the
Census five years and require that he or she report directly to the Secretary of
Commerce. Introduced January 25, 2005, and referred to the House Committee on
Government Reform.
Related CRS Products
CRS Report 95-36, The Advanced Technology Program, by Wendy H. Schacht.
CRS Report RL31832, The Export Administration Act: Evolution, Provisions, and
Debate, by Ian F. Fergusson.
CRS Report RL33528, Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement:
Debate Over Government Policy, by Wendy H. Schacht.
CRS Report 97-104, Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program: An Overview,
by Wendy H. Schacht.
CRS Report 95-30, The National Institute of Standards and Technology: An
Overview, by Wendy H. Schacht.
CRS-36
CRS Report RS22410, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) Budget for FY2007: President’s Request, Congressional
Appropriations, and Related Issues, by Wayne A. Morrissey.
CRS Report RS21469: The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA): Budget, Programs, and Issues, by Glenn McLoughlin.
CRS Issue Brief IB10132, Ocean Commissions: Ocean Policy Review and Outlook,
coordinated by Eugene Buck et al.
CRS Report RL32823, An Overview of the Administration’s Strengthening
America’s Communities Initiative, coordinated by Eugene Boyd.
CRS Report RL32739, Tsunamis: Monitoring, Detection, and Early Warning
Systems, by Wayne Morrissey.
CRS Report RS20906, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Appropriations Process:
A Brief Explanation, by Wendy H. Schacht.
CRS-37
Science Agencies
National Aeronautics and Space Administration31
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created by the
1958 National Aeronautics and Space Act (P.L. 85-568) to conduct civilian space and
aeronautics activities. The agency is managed from headquarters in Washington, DC.
It has nine major field centers around the country, plus the Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
which is operated under contract by the California Institute of Technology. Dr.
Michael Griffin became NASA Administrator in April 2005.
NASA has requested $16.792 billion for FY2007, a 1% increase over its
FY2006 appropriation of $16.596 billion. If $350 million in supplemental funding
for Hurricane Katrina response and recovery is excluded from the FY2006 figure, the
requested increase for FY2007 is 3%. The House provided $16.709 billion in H.R.
5672.
Table 6. Funding for NASA
($ in millions)
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
FY2007
Account
FY2006
Request
House
Senate
Enacted
Science, Aeronautics, & Exploration
9,636.7
10,523.8
10,482.0
Exploration Capabilities
6,927.7
6,234.9
6,193.5
Inspector General
32.0
33.5
33.5
Total
16,596.4
16,792.2
16,709.0
Source: House Appropriations Committee and H.R. 5672 as passed by the House.
Note: FY2006 figures reflect supplemental appropriations and rescissions, but not amounts
transferred between accounts by NASA or $27 million transferred from NOAA.
Budget priorities throughout NASA are being driven by the Vision for Space
Exploration, announced by President Bush in January 2004 and endorsed by
Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-155). The Vision
includes returning the space shuttle to flight status, then retiring it by 2010;
completing the space station, but discontinuing its use by the United States by 2017;
returning humans to the moon by 2020; and then sending humans to Mars and
“worlds beyond.” The President did not propose significantly increased funding for
NASA to accomplish the Vision. Instead, most of the funding was to come from
redirecting funds from other NASA activities. (Dr. Griffin has described this
approach as “go as you can afford to pay.”) The funding requirements of the Vision
thus constrain other NASA priorities.
31 This section was prepared by Daniel Morgan, Analyst in Science and Technology Policy,
Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-38
In the Science, Aeronautics, and Exploration (SA&E) account, funding for
Constellation Systems, the program responsible for developing vehicles to return
humans to the moon, would increase from $1.7 billion in FY2006 to $3.1 billion in
the FY2007 request. The House provided $150 million less than the request for
Exploration Systems, which consists of Constellation Systems and two smaller
programs.
Meanwhile, also in SA&E, reduced growth in Science funding would add up to
a reduction of $3.1 billion through FY2010 relative to projections in last year’s
request. Most of that reduction would be to offset higher than expected costs for
returning the space shuttle to flight status following the February 2003 Columbia
accident. The request for Science includes full funding for a Hubble Space
Telescope servicing mission, but funding for several robotic missions to Mars is
cancelled or deferred. No funding is requested for the SOFIA airborne infrared
telescope or the Europa mission to one of Jupiter’s moons. The request for Research
and Analysis, which provides grant funding to individual researchers, is down 15%
from FY2006 in most programs. The House provided $75 million more than the
request for Science, including $50 million for Research and Analysis.
The request for Aeronautics Research in SA&E is about the same as was
projected last year, but its content has changed significantly. The largest program,
Vehicle Systems, has been renamed Fundamental Aeronautics and will now focus on
“core competencies” in subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flight regimes,
including work on rotorcraft. In the FY2006 budget cycle, proposals to eliminate
several of these areas met with strong congressional opposition. An amendment to
the Senate FY2007 budget resolution (S.Amdt. 3033 to S.Con.Res. 83) increased the
recommended funding for NASA aeronautics by $179 million. The House provided
$100 million more than the request for Aeronautics Research.
In the Exploration Capabilities account, NASA’s current human space flight
programs, the space shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS), are also being
significantly affected by the Vision. The President’s speech directed that the space
shuttle be retired in 2010 after ISS construction is completed. The Crew Exploration
Vehicle (CEV) being developed by the Constellation Systems program, whose
primary purpose is to take astronauts to the moon, would also be able to visit the ISS.
However, because it is planned for “no later than 2014” there is likely to be a multi-
year gap when the United States will be unable to launch its own astronauts into
space. As for the ISS, the President’s speech directed NASA to restructure the
broad-based research program it had planned to conduct aboard ISS to support only
research needed to accomplish the Vision. (Congress responded in the NASA
Authorization Act of 2005 by directing that at least 15% of ISS research funding be
used for research not related to the Vision.) It is unclear what will happen to the ISS
after its use by NASA is completed in 2017. The House provided the requested
amount for the space shuttle but less than the request for the ISS and other
Exploration Capabilities activities.
For more on NASA’s FY2007 budget request, see CRS Report RS22381,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Overview, FY2007 Budget in Brief,
and Key Issues for Congress, by Daniel Morgan and Carl E. Behrens.
CRS-39
National Science Foundation (NSF)32
Agency Mission. The National Science Foundation (NSF) was created by the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (P.L. 81-507). The NSF has
the broad mission of supporting science and engineering in general and funding basic
research across many disciplines. The majority of the research supported by the NSF
is conducted at U.S. colleges and universities. In addition to helping to ensure the
nation’s supply of scientific and engineering personnel, the NSF promotes academic
basic research and science and engineering education across many disciplines. Other
federal agencies, in contrast, support mission-specific research. The NSF provides
support for investigator-initiated, merit-reviewed, competitively selected awards,
state-of-the-art tools, and instrumentation and facilities. Also, NSF provides almost
30% of the total federal support for science and mathematics education. Support is
provided to academic institutions, industrial laboratories, private research firms, and
major research facilities and centers. Although the NSF does not operate any
laboratories, it does support Antarctic research stations, selected oceanographic
vessels, and national research centers. In addition, the NSF supports university-
industry relationships and U.S. participation in international scientific ventures.
The NSF is an independent agency in the executive branch and under the
leadership of a presidentially appointed Director and a National Science Board (NSB)
composed of 24 scientists, engineers, and university and industry officials involved
in research and education. The NSB and the Director make policy for the NSF. The
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the NSF has the responsibility of, among
other things, conducting audits and investigations of NSF programs, and promoting
efficiency and effectiveness in NSF programs and operations. The OIG reports
directly to the NSB and Congress.
Key Budget Issues.
Overview of the FY2007 Request. The FY2007 request for the National
Science Foundation (NSF) is $6.02 billion, a 7.9% increase ($439 million) over the
FY2006 level of $5.58 billion. The President’s American Competitiveness Initiative
proposes to double the NSF budget over the next 10 years. The FY2007 request is
to be the first installment toward that doubling effort. The FY2007 request for NSF
provides support for several interdependent priority areas: broadening participation
in the science and engineering enterprise, providing world-class facilities and
infrastructure, advancing research at the frontier, and bolstering K-12 education.
NSF will invest approximately $640 million in programs targeted at those groups
underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce. Total support for
providing world-class facilities will approach $1.7 billion. Across the agency,
activities at advancing research at the frontiers of science would be $4.7 billion.
32 This section was prepared by Christine M. Matthews, Specialist in Science and
Technology Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-40
Table 7. Funding for the National Science Foundation
($ in millions)
FY2006
FY2007
FY2007
House Senate
Enacted
Request
Enacted
Research and Related
$4,331.5
$4,666.0
$4,666.0
Activities
Education and Human
796.7
816.2
832.4
Resources
Major Research
190.9
240.3
237.3
Equipment and
Facilities Construction
Salaries and Expenses
246.8
281.8
268.6
National Science
4.0
3.9
3.9
Board
Office of Inspector
11.4
11.9
11.9
General
Total, NSF
$5,581.2
$6,020.0
$6,020.0
Source: House Appropriations Committee.
NSF asserts that international research partnerships are critical to the nation in
maintaining a competitive edge, addressing global issues, and capitalizing on global
economic opportunities. To address these particular needs, the FY2007 request
proposes $40.6 million for the Office of International Science and Engineering.
Also, in FY2007, NSF will continue in its leadership role in planning U.S.
participation in observance of the International Polar Year, which spans 2007 and
2008. A first-year investment of $62 million is provided to address major challenges
in polar research. Other FY2007 highlights include funding for the National
Nanotechnology Initiative ($373.2 million), investments in Climate Change Science
Program ($205.3 million), continued support for homeland security ($384.2 million),
and funding for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development
($903.7 million). Also, a new effort in the FY2007 request will be a $20 million
program of fundamental research on new technologies for sensor systems that detect
explosives.
Included in the FY2007 request is $4.67 billion for Research and Related
Activities (R&RA), a 7.7% increase ($334.5million) over the FY2006 level of $4.33
billion. R&RA funds research projects, research facilities, and education and training
activities. Partly in response to concerns in the scientific community about the
imbalance between support for the life sciences and the physical sciences, the
FY2007 request provides increased funding for the physical sciences — $248.5
million, a 6.6% increase ($15.4 million) over the FY2006 estimate. Research in the
physical sciences often leads to advances in other disciplines. R&RA includes
Integrative Activities (IA) and is a source of funding for the acquisition and
development of research instrumentation at U.S. colleges and universities. It also
funds Partnerships for Innovation, disaster research teams, and the Science and
CRS-41
Technology Policy Institute. The FY2007 request for IA is $131.4 million, a 4.2%
decrease ($5.8 million) from the FY2006 estimate. The Office of Polar Programs
(OPP) is funded in the R&RA. In FY2006, responsibility for funding the costs of
icebreakers that support scientific research in polar regions was transferred from the
U.S. Coast Guard to NSF.33 The NSF will continue to operate and maintain the three
icebreakers.34 The OPP is funded at $438.1 million in the FY2007 request, 12.5%
above the FY2006 level. Significant increases in OPP for FY2007 have been
directed at the programs for Arctic and Antarctic sciences.
Research project support in the FY2007 request totals $2.41 billion. Support is
provided to individuals and small groups conducting disciplinary and cross-
disciplinary research. Included in the total for research projects is support for centers,
proposed at $259.8 million. NSF supports a variety of individual centers and center
programs. The FY2007 request provides $67.5 million for Science and Technology
Centers, $55.7 million for Materials Centers, $62.8 million for Engineering Research
Centers, $37.4 million for Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers, and $6.5
million for Centers for Analysis and Synthesis.
The Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) account
is funded at $240.3 million in the FY2007 request, a 26% increase ($49.6 million)
over the FY2006 level. The MREFC supports the acquisition and construction of
major research facilities and equipment that extend the boundaries of science,
engineering, and technology. Of all federal agencies, NSF is the primary supporter
of “forefront instrumentation and facilities for the academic research and education
communities.” First priority for funding is directed at ongoing projects. Second
priority is given to projects that have been approved by the National Science Board
(NSB) for new starts.35 NSF requires that for a project to receive support, it must
have “the potential to shift the paradigm in scientific understanding and/or
infrastructure technology.” NSF states that the projects receiving support in the
FY2007 request meet that qualification. Five ongoing projects and two new starts
are funded in the FY2007 request. Projects receiving support are the Atacama Large
Millimeter Array Construction ($47.9 million), EarthScope ($27.4 million), IceCube
Neutrino Observatory ($28.7 million), National Ecological Observatory Network
33 Although the NSF does not own the ships, it is responsible for the operation, maintenance,
and staffing of the vessels.
34 The United States has maintained a presence in the Antarctic for almost 40 years, and
90% of the icebreakers duties are devoted to polar research. Language was included in the
FY2006 conference report directing the NSF to pursue alternative sources of funding for the
icebreaking fleet beyond 2006. One option being proposed is for the NSF to enter into a
memorandum of understanding with the Coast Guard for reimbursement for the maintenance
and operation of U.S. Polar research activities. Currently, several studies are being
conducted to review the long-term icebreaking needs in support of research in the Antarctic.
35 The FY2006 request included support for the Rare Symmetry Violating Processes
(RSVP). Language was included in the FY2006 appropriations stating that conferees were
concerned with the “unacceptable increases” in the project cost and suggested that the RSVP
proposal be altered or descoped. If the necessary changes can be made, then the restructured
RSVP could be considered for inclusion for project support within the R&RA.
CRS-42
($12 million), Scientific Ocean Drilling Vessel ($42.9 million), Alaskan Region
Research Vessel ($56 million), and Ocean Observatories Initiative ($13.5 million).
The FY2007 request provides support for several NSF-wide investments:
biocomplexity in the environment ($42.6 million), human and social dynamics ($41.5
million), and mathematical sciences ($78.5 million). Additional priority areas include
those of strengthening core disciplinary research, continuing as lead federal agency
in networking and information technology R&D, and sustaining organizational
excellence in NSF management practices. The NSF maintains that researchers need
not only access to cutting-edge tools to pursue the increasing complexity of research,
but funding to develop and design the tools critical to 21st century research and
education. An investment of $596.8 million in cyberinfrastructure will allow for
funding of modeling, simulation, visualization and data storage, and other
communications breakthroughs. NSF anticipates that this level of funding will make
cyberinfrastructure more powerful, stable, and accessible to researchers and educators
through widely shared research facilities. Increasing grant size and duration has been
a long-term priority for NSF. The funding rate for research grants applications has
declined from approximately 30% in the late 1990s to an estimated 23% in FY2006.
The FY2007 request for the Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR)
is $816.2 million, a 2.4% increase ($19.5 million) over FY2006. The EHR portfolio
is focused on, among other things, increasing the technological literacy of all citizens,
preparing the next generation of science, engineering, and mathematics professionals,
and closing the achievement gap in all scientific fields. Support at the various
educational levels in the FY2007 request is as follows: precollege, $215 million;
undergraduate, $196.8 million; and graduate, $160.6 million. Priorities at the
precollege level include research and evaluation on education in science and
engineering ($41.2 million), informal science education ($65.6 million), and a new
program, Discovery Research K-12 ($104.1 million). Discovery Research will
combine the strengths of three existing programs and encourage innovative thinking
in K-12 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
At the undergraduate level, approximately 72% of the funding is in support of
new awards and activities. Priorities at the undergraduate level include the Robert
Noyce Scholarship Program ($9.8 million); Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory
Improvement ($86.5 million); Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
(STEM) Talent Expansion Program ($26.1 million); the National STEM Education
Digital Library ($16 million); the Federal Cyber Service ($11 million); and Advanced
Technological Education ($45.9 million). The Math and Science Partnership
Program (MSP) has been transferred to the undergraduate level in FY2007. MSP is
supported at $46 million, a 27.2% decrease from the FY2006 estimate. Funding in
the FY2007 request will provide support for ongoing awards, in addition to data
collection, evaluation, knowledge management, and dissemination.
No new partnership awards are proposed in this budget request. The MSP has
made approximately 80 awards, with an overall funding rate of about 9%. At the
graduate level, priorities are those of Integrative Graduate Education and Research
Traineeship ($24.6 million), Graduate Research Fellowships ($88 million), and the
Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education ($46.8 million). Added support is
given to several programs directed at increasing the number of underrepresented
CRS-43
minorities in science, mathematics, and engineering. Among these targeted
programs in the FY2007 request are the Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Programs ($29.7 million), Tribal Colleges and Universities Program ($12.4 million),
Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation ($39.7 million), and Centers of
Research Excellence in Science and Technology ($24.9 million). Funding for the
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is $100 million
in the FY2007 request, a slight increase of $1.3 million over the FY2006 estimate.
Approximately 55% of the FY2007 request for EPSCoR would be available for new
awards and activities, with the balance supporting awards made in previous years.
Table 8. Funding for the Title III Science Agencies
($ millions in budget authority)
FY2006
FY2007
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
House
Senate
Enacted
Request
Enacted
NASA
$16,596.4 $16,792.2 $16,709.0
National Science
$5,581.2
$6,020.0
$6,020.0
Foundation
Office of
$5.5
$5.4
$5.4
Science/Technology
Total
$22,183.1 $22,817.8 $22,734.4
Sources: U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, committees on appropriations, and
CRS estimates.
Policy Issues. There has been considerable debate in the academic and
scientific community and in Congress about the management and oversight of major
projects selected for construction and the need for prioritization of potential projects
funded in the MREFC account. The NSF was directed to improve its oversight of
large projects by developing an implementation plan that included comprehensive
guidelines and project oversight review. One continuing question focused on the
selection process for including major projects in the upcoming budget cycle. In
February 2004, the National Academies released the congressionally mandated study
of the process for prioritization and oversight of projects in the MREFC account.
The report recommended a more open process for project selection, broadened
participation from various disciplines, and well-defined criteria for the selection
process.
In September 2005, the NSB released its management report on the new
guidelines for the development, review, and approval of major projects — Setting
Priorities for Large Research Facility Projects Supported by the National Science
Foundation.36 The report describes facilities under construction and those being
considered for future funding. Because of the changing nature of science and
36 National Science Board, Setting Priorities for Large Research Projects Supported by the
National Science Foundation, NSB05-77, Arlington, VA, September 2005, 31 pp. Note:
Large research facility projects are defined as those costing 10% or more of a directorate or
program’s annual budget.
CRS-44
technology, NSF deems it essential that it have the flexibility to reconsider facilities
at the various stages in their development. Also, the NSF states that it must be able
to respond effectively to possible changes in interagency participation, international
and cooperative agreements, or co-funding for major research facilities. The NSF
encourages project planning from disciplines and fields in which scientists and
engineers have not traditionally partnered or collaborated. The report notes that
although some “concepts” may evolve into MREFC candidates, others may prove
infeasible for major project support. The NSF has stated that the facility plan will be
updated as needed.
On June 29, 2006, the House passed H.R. 5672, Science-State-Justice-
Commerce Appropriation Bill, FY2007 (H.Rept. 109-520). The bill provides $6.02
billion for the NSF in FY2007, the amount requested by the Administration.
Included in the funding is $4.67 billion for R&RA, again, the same as the request.
The MREFC is funded at $237.3 million, $3 million below the Administration’s
request. The House bill does not include the $3 million reimbursement to Judgement
Fund of the U.S. Treasury for a settlement related to the Polar Aircraft Upgrades
project. The EHR is funded at $832.4 million, approximately $16.2 million above the
request. Included in the amount for the EHR is $105 for EPSCoR, $5 million above
the amount requested.
Related CRS Products
CRS Report RS21767, Hubble Space Telescope: Should NASA Proceed with a
Servicing Mission? by Daniel Morgan.
CRS Report RS22381, National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Overview,
FY2007 Budget in Brief, and Key Issues for Congress, by Marcia S. Smith and
Daniel Morgan.
CRS Report RS21267, National Science Foundation: Major Research Equipment
and Facility Construction, by Christine Matthews.
CRS Report RL30930, U.S. National Science Foundation: Experimental Program
to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), by Christine M. Matthews.
CRS Report 95-307, U.S. National Science Foundation: An Overview, by Christine
M. Matthews.
CRS-45
Department of State and
International Broadcasting37
Background
The State Department, established on July 27, 1789 (1 Stat.28; 22 U.S.C. 2651),
has a mission to advance and protect the worldwide interests of the United States and
its citizens. The State Department supports the activities of more than 50 U.S.
agencies and organizations operating at 260 posts in 180 countries. Currently, the
State Department employs approximately 30,000 people, about 60% of whom work
overseas. As covered in Title IV, the State Department funding categories include
administration of foreign affairs, international operations, international commissions,
and related appropriations, such as international broadcasting. The enacted FY2006
appropriation for Title IV was $9.56 billion (reflecting the two rescissions in the
law), 9.4% higher than the previous year’s regular appropriation, but 11% lower than
the previous appropriations when including the FY2005 supplemental funds within
P.L. 109-13 for Title IV. Typically, about three-fourths of State’s budget is for
Administration of Foreign Affairs (about 69% in FY2006), which consists of salaries
and expenses, diplomatic security, diplomatic and consular programs, technology,
and security/maintenance of overseas buildings.
FY2007 Funding Issues
Administration of Foreign Affairs. The Administration’s FY2007 request
for State’s Administration of Foreign Affairs is $6.93 billion, 5.5% above the
FY2006 estimated level of $6.57 billion (including rescissions). The House-passed
level in H.R. 5672 is $6,656.5 million. The Senate Appropriations Committee
funding level in H.R. 5522 is $6,584.5 million.
Diplomatic & Consular Programs (D&CP). D&CP covers primarily
salaries and expenses, hiring, diplomatic expenditures, cost of living and foreign
inflation, as well as exchange rate changes. The FY2007 request of $4.65 billion
represents an increase of 7.7%, compared with the $4.32 billion funding level enacted
for FY2006. The FY2007 funding level request includes $795.2 million for
worldwide security upgrades, compared with $680.7 million in the FY2006
appropriation. The D&CP funding request also includes $351 million, compared
with $329.7 million in the FY2006 budget, designated only for public diplomacy.
The House-passed funding for D&CP is $4,460.1 million, including $351 million for
public diplomacy and $795.1 million for worldwide security upgrades. The Senate
Appropriations Committee set funding at $4,495.1 million, including $795.1 million
for worldwide security upgrades.
Embassy, Security, Construction, and Maintenance (ESCM). ESCM
provides funding for embassy construction, repairs, and leasing of property for
embassies and housing facilities at overseas posts. The FY2007 request of $640.1
37 This section was written by Susan B. Epstein, Specialist in Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
CRS-46
million is 12.1% above the FY2006 enacted level of $571.1 million (including
rescissions). The House agreed to a total of $1,505 million for ESCM, including
$605.7 million for regular funding and $899.4 million for worldwide security
upgrades. The Senate Committee recommends funding for ESCM to be a total of
$1,388.8 million.
Worldwide Security Upgrades. Ever since the bombings of two U.S.
embassies in eastern Africa in August 1998, Congress has appropriated additional
money within both D&CP and ESCM for increasing security. The funds in D&CP
for worldwide security upgrades are primarily for ongoing expenses due to the
upgrades that took place after 1998, such as maintaining computer security and
bullet-proof vehicles, and ongoing salaries for perimeter guards. Worldwide security
upgrades in ESCM are more on the order of bricks-and-mortar-type expenses. The
FY2007 request for upgrades within D&CP total $795.2 million — $114.5 million
(16.8%) above the enacted level of $680.7 million (reflecting rescissions) for
FY2006. The FY2007 request for worldwide security funding within ESCM totals
$899.4 million, virtually the same as the FY2006 level (after rescissions). The
combined total FY2007 request for State’s worldwide security upgrades is $1.69
billion. The combined total of the House-passed bill is $1.69 billion, while that of the
Senate committee is $1.58 billion.
Educational and Cultural Exchanges. This line item includes programs
such as the Fulbright, Muskie, and Humphrey academic exchanges, as well as the
international visitor exchanges and some Freedom Support Act and SEED programs.
The Administration’s FY2007 request is for $474.3 million, 11.3% more than the
FY2006 estimated level of $426.3 million. The Administration request includes
$200.3 million for the Fulbright program and $351 million within the D&CP account
for public diplomacy expenses. The House-passed funding level is $436.3; the
Senate committee recommends $445.5 million.
Capital Investment Fund (CIF). CIF was established by the Foreign
Relations Authorization Act of FY1994/95 (P.L. 103-236) to provide for purchasing
information technology and capital equipment that would ensure the efficient
management, coordination, operation, and utilization of State’s resources. The
FY2007 request is for $68.3 million, a 17.6% increase over the $58.1 million enacted
for FY2006 (after rescissions). In addition, the FY2006 appropriation included $68.5
million for the Centralized Information Technology Modernization Program. The
Administration did not request any funding for that account for either FY2006 or
FY2007. The House agreed to $58.1 million for CIF, and the Senate committee
recommended the same amount.
International Organizations and Conferences. The International
Organizations and Conferences account consists of two line items: U.S.
Contributions to International Organizations (CIO) and U.S. Contributions for
International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA). The FY2007 request totals $2.40
billion for the overall account, up nearly 11% over the FY2006 level of $2.17 billion,
including rescissions. The House-passed overall level is $2.26 billion, and the Senate
committee recommends an overall funding of $2.29 billion.
CRS-47
Contributions to International Organizations (CIO). The CIO supports
U.S. membership in numerous international and multilateral organizations that
transcends bilateral relationships and covers issues such as human rights,
environment, trade, and security. The FY2007 request level for this line item is
$1.27 billion, 10.2% above the $1.15 billion enacted level for FY2006. The request
represents full funding of U.S.-assessed contributions to the U.N. and other
international organizations. It does not include funding for prior-year funding
shortfalls. Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees recommended
$1,151.3 million for CIO in FY2007. After floor amendments in the House took $29
million in offset funds from CIO mostly for Justice Department accounts, the House
passed $1,122.3 million for CIO.
Contributions to International Peacekeeping (CIPA). The United
States supports multilateral peacekeeping efforts around the world through payment
of its share of the U.N.-assessed peacekeeping budget. The President’s FY2007
request of $1.14 billion represents an increase of 11.1% over the FY2006 estimated
level of $1.02 billion (including rescissions). In addition, the Administration is
requesting an additional $69.8 million for this account to support U.N. peacekeeping
efforts in the southern Sudan. The House-passed bill sets funding at $1,135.3, as
does the Senate Appropriations Committee.
International Commissions. The International Commissions account
includes the U.S.-Mexico Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), the
International Fisheries Commissions (IFC), the International Joint Commission (IJC),
the International Boundary Commission (IBC), and the Border Environment
Cooperation Commission (BECC). The IBWC’s mission is to apply rights and
obligations assumed by the United States and Mexico under numerous treaties and
agreements, improve water quality of border rivers, and resolve border sanitation
problems. The mission of the IFC is to recommend to member governments
conservation and management measures for protecting marine resources. The IJC’s
mission is to develop and administer programs to help the United States and Canada
with water quality and air pollution issues along their common border. The IBC is
obligated by the Treaty of 1925 to maintain an effective boundary line between the
United States and Canada. Established by the North American Free Trade
Agreement, the BECC helps local states and communities to develop solutions to
environmental problems along the U.S.-Mexico border. The FY2007 funding request
of $63.9 million represents a decrease of 3.9% over the $66.5 million enacted in
FY2006. The FY2007 requested decrease is due largely to a decrease in funds for the
Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The House funding level for international
commissions is $67.9 million, while the Senate committee level is $67.4 million.
Related Appropriations. Related appropriations include those for the Asia
Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the East-West and
North-South Centers. The Administration’s FY2007 request for related
appropriations totals $103.6 million — 8.7% less than the FY2006 enacted level of
$113.6 million, after rescissions. The House-passed level of $68.1 million is close
to half of the current level, largely because of the significant increase in funding for
democracy promotion through the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in
FY2006. The Senate Committee-recommended level is even lower — $44.5 million
CRS-48
— because the committee recommends a much lower funding level for NED, as more
funding is recommended in the Democracy Fund account, elsewhere in the bill.
The Asia Foundation. The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a private, nonprofit
organization that supports efforts to strengthen democratic processes and institutions
in Asia, open markets, and improve U.S.-Asian cooperation. It receives government
and private sector contributions. Government funds for the Foundation are
appropriated and pass through the Department of State. The FY2007 request of $10
million reflected a 27.5% reduction over the FY2006 enacted funding level of $13.8
million. The organization states that the $10 million will support programs that
promote tolerance within Muslim minority/majority countries such as Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Nepal, and Cambodia; promote free and fair elections in Asia; and
develop democratic institutions for legal reform in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and
Thailand. The Asia Foundation says it will continue to seek private funds and
expects to raise $4 million in private funds for FY2007. The House bill sets funding
at $13.8 million, and the Senate committee recommends $14.0 million for the Asia
Foundation in FY2007.
National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The National Endowment
for Democracy is a private, nonprofit organization established during the Reagan
Administration that supports programs to strengthen democratic institutions in more
than 80 countries around the world. NED proponents assert that many of its
accomplishments are possible because it is not a U.S. government agency. NED’s
critics claim that it duplicates government democracy promotion programs and could
be eliminated, or could be operated entirely through private sector funding. The
FY2007 request is for $80 million, the same level as was requested for FY2005 and
FY2006, and 8% higher than the final enacted level for FY2006 of $74.1 million,
including rescissions. The House-passed NED funding level is $50 million for
FY2007. The Senate Appropriations Committee recommends $8.8 million, as the
committee recommends more than $1 billion for the Democracy Fund in the foreign
operations portion of the bill.
East-West and North-South Centers. The Center for Cultural and
Technical Interchange between East and West (East-West Center), located in
Honolulu, Hawaii, was established in 1960 by Congress to promote understanding
and cooperation among the governments and peoples of the Asia/Pacific region and
the United States. The FY2007 request for the East-West Center is $12 million, a
36.8% decline from the FY2006 enacted level of $19 million, after rescissions. The
House level is $3 million, noting that the Center can seek private sector
contributions, while the Senate committee recommends significantly more — $19
million.
The Center for Cultural and Technical interchange between North and South
(North-South Center) is a national educational institution in Miami, Florida, closely
affiliated with the University of Miami. It promotes better relations, commerce, and
understanding among the nations of North America, South America and the
Caribbean. The North-South Center began receiving a direct subsidy from the
federal government in 1991; however, it has not received a direct appropriation since
FY2000.
CRS-49
The International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue Trust
Fund. The conferees added language in the FY2004 conference agreement for the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, FY2004, to establish a permanent trust fund for the
International Center for Middle Eastern-Western Dialogue. The act provided $6.9
million for perpetual operations of the Center which is to be located in Istanbul,
Turkey. Although the Administration did not request any FY2005 funding for this
Center, Congress provided $7.3 million for it in FY2005. The Administration
requested spending $.8 million of interest and earnings from the Trust Fund for
program funding in FY2006. Congress appropriated $4.9 million for this account in
FY2006 and $.9 million for the Trust. The Administration is requesting $.7 million
of interest and earnings from the Trust Fund program for FY2007. The House set
spending of interest and earnings at $0.35 million, while the Senate committee set it
at $0.75 million.
International Broadcasting. International Broadcasting, which had been
a primary function of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) prior to 1999, now falls
under an independent agency referred to as the Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG). The BBG includes the Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty (RFE/RL), Cuba Broadcasting, Radio Sawa, Radio Farda, and Radio Free
Asia (RFA). In addition to the ongoing international broadcasting activities, the
Administration initiated a new U.S. Middle East Television Network — Alhurra.
The BBG’s FY2007 funding request totals $671.9 million, 4.3% above the
FY2006 level of $644 million, after rescissions. The FY2007 broadcasting request
includes $653.6 million for broadcasting operations, $18.3 million for capital
improvements, and $36.3 million for Broadcasting to Cuba. The House passed
funding at $646.3 million for broadcasting operations (including $36.1 million for
Cuba Broadcasting) and $7.6 million for capital improvements for a total of $653.9
million for international broadcasting. The Senate Appropriations Committee
recommends $653.6 million (including $36.3 million for Cuba Broadcasting) for
broadcasting operations and $7.6 million for capital improvements, for a total of
$661.2 million.
Related Legislation
S. 600 (Lugar)/H.R. 2601 (Smith, C.). A bill to authorize appropriations for
the Department of State and international broadcasting activities. In addition, the
Senate bill contains provisions on the Peace Corps and foreign assistance programs
for fiscal years 2006 and 2007. The Senate bill was introduced March 10, 2005;
referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and reported by the committee
the same day. (S.Rept. 109-35). The Senate bill received floor action April 6, 2005.
The House bill was introduced May 24, 2005; committee markup was held June 8,
2005. House floor action occurred on July 19 and 20. The measure was passed by
the House July 20, 2005 (351-78). No further action has occurred.
CRS-50
Related CRS Products
CRS Report RL33420, Foreign Operations (House)/State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Programs (Senate): FY2007 Appropriations, by Larry Nowels, Connie
Veillette, and Susan B. Epstein.
CRS Report RL33000, Foreign Relations Authorization, FY2006 and FY2007: An
Overview, by Susan B. Epstein.
CRS Report RL31370, State Department and Related Agencies: FY2006
Appropriations and FY2007 Request, by Susan B. Epstein.
CRS Issue Brief IB86116, U.N. System Funding: Congressional Issues, by Vita Bite.
Table 9. Funding for the Department of State
and International Broadcasting
($ millions in budget authority)
FY2006
FY2007
House
Senate
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
Enactedb
Request H.R. 5672 H.R. 5522 Enacted
Administration of Foreign
$6,566.8
$6,931.0
$6,656.5
$6,584.5
Affairs
International Organizations
$2,173.6
$2,403.9
$2,257.6
$2,286.6
and Conferences
International Commissions
$66.5
$63.9
$67.9
$67.4
Related Appropriations
$113.6
$103.6
$68.1
$43.5
Subtotal: State Departmenta
$8,920.5
$9,502.4
$9,050.1
$8,982.0
International Broadcasting
$644.0
$671.9
$653.9
$661.2
Title IV Total
$9,564.5 $10,174.3
$9,704.0
$9,643.2
Source: House Appropriations Committee.
a. In addition to appropriations, State has authority to spend certain collected fees from machine
readable visas, expedited export fees, etc. The estimate of such fees for FY2006 is $734.0
million, and the FY2007 request is for $683 million.
b. FY2006 numbers reflect two rescissions: in the SSJC appropriation (Sec. 638, P.L. 109-108) and
in the FY2006 emergency supplemental (P.L. 109-148).
CRS-51
Independent Agencies
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)38
The EEOC enforces laws banning employment discrimination based on race,
color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. In the past few years, appropriators
have been particularly concerned about the agency’s implementation of a
restructuring plan. The three-phase restructuring plan includes the National Contact
Center, a two-year pilot project, that began in March 2005; the January 2006
commencement of field structure and staff realignment that the Commission
approved in mid-2005; and the examination of headquarters’ structure and operations
to streamline functions and clarify roles and responsibilities.
FY2007 Appropriations. The Administration proposed a budget of $322.8
million for the EEOC, or $4.2 million less than the FY2006 appropriation of $327.0
million. (The FY2006 figure includes rescissions of $0.9 million and $3.3 million
from the $331.2 million contained in the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 [P.L. 109-108]). The budget request
reduces staffing by 19 full-time equivalents and provides up to $28 million for
payments to state and local entities with which the agency has work-sharing
agreements to address workplace discrimination within their jurisdictions (i.e., Fair
Employment Practices Agencies, FEPAs, and Tribal Employment Rights
Organizations, TEROs). Last year, the Administration requested up to $33 million
for FEPAs and TEROs; this is the amount to which Congress had, in prior years,
raised the EEOC’s request. (The agency estimates that it will spend $30.5 million
on these work-sharing arrangements in FY2006.) In addition to the proposed
reduction in the state and local contract maximum, the Commission expects to offset
its request for an additional $4.4 million to cover the staff’s total compensation with
cutbacks of $4.1 million in general operating expenses (e.g., rent and security,
printing and copying, and travel and training) and of $2.0 million in information
technology (IT) expenditures.
H.R. 5672, which the House passed in June 2006, includes funding for the
EEOC at the level requested by the Administration ($322.8 million). The bill further
concurs in the Administration’s request that agency payments to FEPAs and TEROs
not exceed $28 million. As in the past, the House prohibits the Commission from
implementing any workforce repositioning, restructuring, or reorganization until it
notifies the Committees on Appropriations of such proposals. This also is stated in
H.Rept. 109-520, which further directs the EEOC to submit to the committee a
comprehensive analysis of current staffing levels by department and the full impact
the headquarters repositioning, restructuring , or reorganization will have on all core
services, including the number of staff to be redeployed to the field. In addition,
H.Rept. 109-520 instructs the agency to continue submitting quarterly status reports
on projected and actual spending levels, by function, and highlighting any changes
that result from repositioning activities. The Appropriations Committee expects the
38 This section was prepared by Linda Levine, Specialist in Labor Economics, Domestic
Social Policy Division.
CRS-52
EEOC to use findings from the Inspector General’s evaluation of the National
Contact Center to improve the project’s operation.
FY2006 Appropriations. The Administration requested an FY2006
appropriation of $331.2 million for the EEOC, an increase of $4.4 million from the
$326.8 million (including rescissions) provided by the Consolidated Appropriations
Act, 2005 (P.L. 108-447). Following the Appropriations Committees’
recommendations, the House and Senate endorsed the Administration’s budget
proposal for the Commission. In November 2005, President Bush signed the FY2006
appropriations bill (H.R. 2862), which included a rescission of 0.28%. In December
2005, the President signed the Department of Defense, Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations to Address Hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Pandemic
Influenza Act, 2006 (H.R. 2863, P.L. 109-148), which contained an additional
rescission of 1.0%.
The conference agreement adopted, by reference, language in H.Rept. 109-118
that requires the Commission to continue submitting quarterly reports on projected
and actual spending levels by function and to highlight any changes due to
repositioning activities. The conference agreement also adopted, by reference,
language in S.Rept. 109-88 that (1) prohibits the agency from implementing a
repositioning plan that reduces the salary of EEOC employees or reduces the number
of officers or employees serving as mediators, investigators, or attorneys at any
Commission office and that (2) directs the Commission to submit to Congress, before
implementation of any repositioning, restructuring or reorganization plan, a
comprehensive analysis (conducted for each district, field, area, and local office) of
current investigations and enforcement levels and the full impact of such plan on all
core services. The conference agreement further provided that the EEOC should not
undertake any workforce repositioning, restructuring, or reorganizing without
advance notification of the Committees on Appropriations. In addition, the conferees
directed the Commission to continue working toward resolution of concerns
regarding the pending repositioning plan.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC)39
The Federal Communications Commission, created in 1934, is an independent
agency charged with regulating interstate and foreign communication of radio,
television, wire, cable, and satellite. The FCC performs four major functions:
spectrum allocation, creation of rules to promote fair competition and protect
consumers where required by market conditions, authorization of service, and
enforcement. Among its responsibilities are licensing of communications operators;
interpretation and enforcement of rules, regulations, and authorizations regarding
competition; publication and dissemination of consumer information services; and
management and allocation of the use of the electromagnetic spectrum. The FCC
obtains the majority of its funding through the collection of regulatory fees pursuant
to Title I, Section 9, of the Communications Act of 1934; therefore, its direct
appropriation is considerably less than its overall budget.
39 This section was written by Patty Figliola, Specialist in Telecommunications and Internet
Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division.
CRS-53
For FY2007, the House of Representatives has recommended an overall
appropriation of $294.261 million. Of that figure, $293.261 million is to be collected
through regulatory fees, with a direct appropriation of $1.0 million. The FY2007
recommendation is $8.281 million less than the Bush Administration request of
$302.542 million and $4.503 million more than the FY2006 enacted appropriation
of $289.758 million. The recommended FY2007 funding level will cover efforts to
promote the deployment of broadband services, deregulate where competition exists,
enhance public safety and homeland security, ensure the viability of the Universal
Service Fund, promote the efficient use of spectrum, and review media regulation to
foster competition and diversity.
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)40
The Federal Trade Commission (Commission or FTC) is an independent
agency. It seeks to protect consumers and enhance competition by eliminating unfair
or deceptive acts or practices in the marketing of goods and services and by ensuring
that consumer markets function competitively. For FY2007, the Administration is
requesting a program level for the FTC of $223 million, an increase of $12 million,
or 5.7%, over the agency’s present level of funding. Of the total amount provided,
$120 million is to be derived from pre-merger filing fees, $18 million from Do-Not-
Call fees, and the remaining amount — $76 million — would be provided by a direct
appropriation.
For FY2006, the Administration requested a program level of $211 million for
the FTC, an increase of slightly more than $5.5 million, or 2.7%, over FY2005
funding. The House-passed bill provided the FTC with $211 million for FY2006,
which was $6.7 million above the previous-year funding and the same as the
Administration’s request. For its part, the Senate followed the recommendation of
the Appropriations Committee, which set funding for the agency for FY2006 at the
$211 million level. Of the amounts provided, $116 was to be derived from Hart-
Scott-Rodino pre-merger filing fees and $23 million from so-called Do-Not-Call fees
(more formally known as the Telemarketing Sales Rule, promulgated under the
Telephone Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act). The total amount of direct
appropriations for FY2006 was therefore $71.1 million (after rescissions). The
conference agreement (H.R. 2862/P.L. 109-108) provided the FTC with $211 million
for FY2006, employing the previously noted funding formula.
In recent years, the FTC has mostly funded its operations by means of its pre-
merger filing fees collections and, to a lesser extent, from Do-Not-Call fees. By way
of an historical footnote, for FY2000 through FY2002, zero ($0) direct
appropriations were required because the entire program level was covered by a
combination of fees and prior-year collections.
40 This section was written by Bruce Mulock, Specialist in Government and Business,
Government and Finance Division.
CRS-54
Legal Services Corporation (LSC)41
The LSC is a private, non-profit, federally funded corporation that provides
grants to local offices that, in turn, provide legal assistance to low-income people in
civil (non-criminal) cases. The LSC has been controversial since its incorporation
in the early 1970s and has been operating without authorizing legislation since 1980.
There have been ongoing debates over the adequacy of funding for the agency and
the extent to which certain types of activities are appropriate for federally funded
legal aid attorneys to undertake. In annual appropriations bills, Congress traditionally
has included legislative provisions restricting the activities of LSC-funded grantees,
such as prohibiting any lobbying activities or prohibiting representation in certain
types of cases.
P.L. 109-108 (enacted on November 22, 2005) included $330.8 million for the
LSC for FY2006, the same amount that was originally passed by the House, instead
of $358.5 million as passed by the Senate. The LSC FY2006 appropriation includes
$312.4 million for basic field programs and required independent audits, $12.8
million for management and administration; $1.3 million for client self-help and
information technology, $2.5 million for the Office of the Inspector General, and $1.8
million in grants to offset losses stemming from the 2000 census-based reallocations.
In addition, P.L. 109-108 included language that advises the LSC to reduce its rent
for its office space (by eliminating some office space and negotiating a more
competitive cost per square foot) and included existing provisions restricting the
activities of LSC grantees. P.L. 109-108 also included a general rescission equal to
0.28% of funding for the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies
appropriation (which includes the LSC). Moreover, P.L. 109-148 (enacted on
December 30, 2005) included a 1% government-wide rescission on discretionary
programs. Thus, the LSC appropriation for FY2006 was lowered to $326.6 million.
For FY2007, the Bush Administration requested $310.9 million for the LSC.
This amount is almost $16 million below the FY2006 funding level for the LSC. The
budget request includes existing provisions restricting the activities of LSC grantees.
The LSC would receive $288.6 million for basic field programs and required
independent audits; $14.4 million for management and administration; $3.0 million
for client self-help and information technology; $3.0 million for the Office of the
Inspector General; and $2.0 million in grants to offset losses stemming from the 2000
census-based reallocations.
On June 20, 2006, the House Appropriations Committee recommended a total
of $313.860 million for the LSC (H.R. 5672; H.Rept. 109-520) and included existing
provisions restricting the activities of LSC grantees. This is $3 million above the
FY2007 budget request and $12.7 million below the FY2006 final appropriation.
Since the LSC is a private, nonprofit corporation, it is not required to comply with
federal laws related to employment, travel, and other administrative procedures, but
the committee bill requires that the LSC submit a report to the committee no later
than February 1, 2007, describing whether, in fact, LSC procedures adhere to federal
41 This section was prepared by Carmen Solomon-Fears, Specialist in Social Legislation,
Domestic Social Policy Division.
CRS-55
law and, if discrepancies exist, proposals to modify LSC procedures so that they will
comply with federal law.
On June 27, 2006, the House passed a floor amendment (by Representative
Obey, 337 yeas to 185 noes) that increased the LSC funding level by $25 million,
from $313.9 million (H.R. 5672; H.Rept. 109-520) to $338.8 million. Under the
House-passed bill, the LSC would receive $321.9 million for basic field programs
and required independent audits; $12.7 million for management and administration;
$1.2 million for client self-help and information technology; and $3.0 million for the
Office of the Inspector General.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)42
The SEC administers and enforces federal securities laws to protect investors
from fraud and to maintain fair and orderly markets. The SEC’s budget is set through
the normal appropriations process, but funds for the agency come from fees on sales
of stock, new issues of stocks and bonds, corporate mergers, and other securities
market transactions. The SEC is required to adjust the fee rates periodically to make
the amount collected approximately equal to the agency’s budget. When the fees are
collected, they go to a special offsetting account available to appropriators, not to the
Treasury’s general fund.
The Administration’s request for FY2006 was $888.1 million, a decrease of
2.7% from FY2005. Of that total, $25.0 million was to be from prior-year
unobligated balances, and the remaining $863.1 would be from offsetting fee
collections. The House, the Senate, and the conference all approved an amount equal
to the request: $888.1 million, of which $25.0 million came from prior-year
unobligated balances, and the remainder ($863.1 million) from current-year fee
collections. There was no direct appropriation from the general fund.
For FY2007, the Administration requested $890.8 million, an increase of 0.3%
over FY2006. The House approved $900.5 million for the SEC, 1.4% above the
FY2006 appropriation and 1.1% above the Administration’s request. Of that total,
$20.0 million is to come from prior-year unobligated balances, and the remainder
from current-year fee collections; no direct appropriation from the general fund will
be needed.
Small Business Administration (SBA)43
The House approved $473.8 million for FY2007, excluding $199.0 million for
disaster loans, which is $33.8 million above the Administration’s request. The House
approved a total of $672.8 million including disaster loans. The Administration
proposed a new budget authority for the SBA of $440.0 million for FY2007
42 This section was prepared by Mark Jickling, Specialist in Public Finance, Government and
Finance Division.
43 This section was written by Eric Weiss, Analyst in Financial Institutions, Government and
Finance Division.
CRS-56
excluding $199.0 million for disaster loans. This would be a decrease of $18.2
million from the FY2006 new budget authority, also excluding disaster loans.
Including disaster loans, the Administration requested $639.0 million, a decrease of
$257.6 million from FY2006’s $896.6 million enacted.
Lending authority would stay the same or increase for all loan programs except
for microloans, which the Administration would zero out. The House added $1.0
million in budget authority for microloans.
The Administration’s budget request would increase the fees on loans of more
than $1 million in the SBA’s flagship 7(a) business loan guarantee program to cover
the administrative costs of these larger loans. The SBA’s business main loan
programs (7(a) and Section 504) presently have no government credit subsidy.
The budget proposal would reduce the interest rate subsidy on disaster loans
made in 2007 and later years. The interest rate would remain subsidized for most
borrowers during the first five years of a disaster loan, and in later years would
increase to equal the government’s cost of borrowing the money in later years.
The Administration made no request for congressional initiatives. The House
recommended 64 initiatives with a total appropriation of $20 million. In FY2006,
there were $90 million in congressional initiatives.
The House approved $120 million for non-credit programs, an increase over the
Administration’s budget request that proposed reducing spending on non-credit
programs to $106.4 million from $126.9 million in FY2006. The programs identified
in H.Rept. 109-520 are Veterans Programs at $0.75 million (not identified in the
budget request), Small Business Development Centers $90.0 million, ($87.1 million
requested for FY2007 and $87.9 appropriated in FY2006), Service Corps of Retired
Executives (SCORE) $5.0 million, ($5.0 million requested for FY2007 and $4.9
million appropriated in FY2006), Women’s Business Centers $12.5 million ($11.9
million requested for FY2007 and $12.3 million appropriated in FY2006), Women’s
Business Council $0.75 million, ($743,000 requested for FY2007 and $741,000
appropriated in FY2006), Drug Free Workplace $1.0 million ($1.0 million request
for FY2007 and appropriated for FY2006), and Microloan Technical Assistance
$10.0 million (nothing requested for FY2007 and $12.8 million in FY2006). The
House report did not mention the Administration’s budget requests of $2.6 million
($2.0 million in FY2006) for HUBZones, $2.0 million for the 7(j) Technical
Assistance Program ($1.5 million in FY2006), $1.1 million ($1.0 million in FY2006)
for Native American Outreach, and nothing ($2.0 million in FY2006) for PRIME
technical assistance.
The SBA is an independent federal agency created by the Small Business Act
of 1953. Although the agency administers a number of programs intended to assist
small firms, arguably its three most important functions are to guarantee —
principally through the agency’s Section 7(a) general business loan program —
business loans made by banks and other financial institutions; to make long-term,
low-interest loans to small businesses that are victims of hurricanes, earthquakes,
other physical disasters, and acts of terrorism; and to serve as an advocate for small
business within the federal government.
CRS-57
State Justice Institute (SJI)44
The State Justice Institute (SJI) is a private, nonprofit corporation that makes
grants to state courts and funds research, technical assistance, and informational
projects aimed at improving the quality of judicial administration in state courts
across the United States. Under the terms of its enabling legislation, SJI is authorized
to present its budget request directly to Congress, apart from the President’s budget.
For FY2007, SJI requested an appropriation of $4.5 million, compared with
$3.46 million appropriated in FY2006,45 a 30.2% increase. The Bush Administration,
as in its budgets for the previous four years, proposed the eliminating of federal
funding for the institute in FY2007. In its passage, on June 29, 2006, of H.R. 5672,
the SSJC appropriations bill for FY2007, the House (following the recommendation
of its Appropriations Committee) provided $2 million for SJI, $1.46 million less than
the FY2006 funding amount.
For the past five years, appropriations conferees in Congress had encouraged SJI
to obtain funds, at least in part, from sources other than Congress. In response to a
directive from House-Senate conferees for the FY2006 appropriations act, SJI, in its
FY2007 request, noted that it has adopted a 50% “cash match requirement” from its
grantees.46 Also in its request, the institute stated that it continues to pursue grant-
making partnerships with the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs
(OJP), the Legal Services Corporation (L.C.), and other public and private entities,
looking to “pool its resources with OJP, L.C., and others to fund innovations in areas
of mutual concern.”
In the FY2006 appropriations process, the House Appropriations Committee
endorsed an approach of providing some directly appropriated funds to SJI, but with
the institute as well seeking additional funding from Department of Justice grant
programs. The House committee (in H.Rept. 109-118, p. 154) stated that it
understood that SJI had “been unable to generate stable sources of non-Federal
funding” and that the SJI had contacted bar associations and court organizations as
possible alternative sources of funding. However, the committee noted, these groups
were “not inclined to contribute to operations of the SJI beyond providing matching
grant funds for individual projects.” For this reason, the committee said, it continued
to recommend funding for SJI even though the President’s FY2006 request did not.
The committee commended SJI for beginning to work with OJP on issues involving
state courts and encouraged SJI to continue seeking funds from OJP grant programs.
44 This section was written by D. Steven Rutkus, Specialist in American National
Government, Government and Finance Division.
45 The Science, State, Justice, Commerce appropriations act for FY2006 (P.L. 109-108)
provided $3.5 million for SJI, which a .28% general rescission in Title VI reduced to $3.49
million. The funding amount was further reduced to $3.46 million by a 1.0% across-the-
board rescission provided for in the FY2006 Department of Defense Appropriations act
(P.L. 109-148, at 119 Stat. 2791).
46 Conferees for the FY2006 appropriations act (in H.Rept. 109-272, p. 206) had stated that
they expected that “successful applicants for new and continuing SJI grants will provide a
cash match of not less than 50 percent of the total cost of the project.”
CRS-58
The $3.5 million approved by Congress for SJI in FY2006 marked the second
fiscal year in a row in which funding for the institute had been increased — following
a number of years during which appropriators in Congress considered whether to
provide any funding for SJI.47
For FY2007, the House Appropriations Committee recommended $2 million
for SJI in FY2007, $1.46 million less than the institute’s FY2006 appropriation. The
committee, in its report on the SSJC appropriation bill for FY2007, commended SJI
for “continuing to work with the Office of Justice Program (OJP) on issues involving
State courts,” and it encouraged SJI “to continue to seek funding from OJP grant
programs.” The committee also “applauded” SJI for “recent successes in obtaining
dollar-for-dollar matching funds for grants awarded,” adding that it expected “this
goal to remain in place during fiscal year 2007.”48
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights49
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission), established by the Civil
Rights Act of 1957, investigates allegations of citizens that they were denied the right
to vote based on color, race, religion, or national origin; studies and gathers
information on legal developments constituting a denial of the equal protection of the
laws; assesses federal laws and policies in the area of civil rights; and submits reports
on its findings to the President and Congress when the Commission or the President
deems it appropriate.
For FY2007, the House-passed bill would provide funding of $8.93 million for
the Commission compared with President Bush’s request of $9.31 million for the
Commission. FY2006 funding for the agency is $8.9 million (including rescissions).
Although recognizing that the Commission had made some progress in
addressing “management deficiencies,” the House Appropriations Committee
expressed concern that mismanagement was still an issue with the agency (H.Rept.
109-520, p. 132). Referring to a General Accountability Office report of May 2006,
which identified leadership accountability issues, lack of policies with respect to
report objectivity, and incorrect and ineffective use of state advisory committees, the
committee encouraged the Commission to quickly address these problems as well as
the mismanagement concern.
47 For FY1999, 2000, and 2001, SJI received an annual appropriation of $6.85 million, after
which the level of funding dropped significantly — to $3.0 million in both FY2002 and
FY2003 and to $2.2 million in FY2004. In FY2005, the downward trend was reversed,
with $2.6 million approved for the institute.
48 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Science, State, Justice, Commerce,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, Fiscal Year 2007, report to accompany H.R.
5672, 109th Congress, 2nd sess., H.Rept. 109-520 (Washington: GPO, 2006), p. 142.
49 This section was written by Garrine P. Laney, Analyst in Social Legislation, Domestic
Social Policy Division.
CRS-59
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom50
The Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-292) as a federal government
commission to monitor religious freedom abroad and to advise the President, the
Secretary of State, and Congress on promoting religious freedom and combating
intolerance in other countries. For FY2007, the Administration is requesting $3
million, a 6.3% decline from the estimated FY2006 appropriation of $3.2 million,
after rescissions. The House-passed bill and the Senate Appropriations Committee
agrees with the $3 million funding level for FY2007.
For FY2006, the Administration requested $3.0 million for the commission (the
same as the FY2005 request). Sec. 808 of S. 600, the Foreign Relations
Authorizations for FY2006 and 2007, as introduced, included $3.0 million for the
commission for FY2006 and such sums as may be necessary for FY2007. The House
measure, H.R. 2601, as agreed to by the House Committee on International Relations,
authorized $3.3 million for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011. H.R. 2862, as
passed by the House, appropriated $3.2 million for the commission for FY2006. In
its report (H.Rept. 109-118), the Appropriations Committee urged the commission
and the State Department to continue to work on developing an Index on Religious
Freedom. The Senate recommended $1 million for this account in FY2006.
U.S. Institute of Peace51
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) was established in 1984 by the U.S. Institute
of Peace Act, Title XVII of the Defense Authorization Act of 1985 (P.L. 98-525).
USIP’s mission is to promote international peace through activities such as
educational programs, conferences and workshops, professional training, applied
research, and dialogue facilitation in the United States and abroad. Prior to the
FY2005 budget, USIP funding came from the Labor, HHS appropriation. In the
FY2005 budget process, it was transferred to the Commerce, Justice, State and
related agencies appropriation primarily for relevancy reasons.
For the FY2007 request, the Administration request is $26.98 million, up nearly
$5 million from the FY2006 estimated level of $22.07 million, after rescissions. The
House-passed bill (H.R. 5672) provides the requested amount, while the Senate
Appropriations Committee recommends $22.1 million in H.R. 5522. The Senate
committee notes that USIP received $5 million for programs and activities on Iraq
and Afghanistan in the FY2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriation (P.L. 109-
234).
50 This section was written by Vita Bite, Specialist in International Relations, Foreign
Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
51 This section was written by Susan B. Epstein, Specialist in Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division.
CRS-60
Related Legislation
H.R. 230 (Sweeney)
Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration to establish a program to provide regulatory compliance
assistance to small business concerns, and for other purposes. Reported by Small
Business Committee (H.Rept. 109-208).
H.R. 527 (Brady)/S. 139 (Kerry)
Vocational and Technical Entrepreneurship Development Act of 2005. Amends
the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business
Administration to establish a program under which the Administrator shall make
grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, state small business
development centers to provide, on a statewide basis, technical assistance to
secondary schools, or to post-secondary vocational or technical schools, for the
development and implementation of curricula designed to promote vocational and
technical entrepreneurship. H.R. 527 reported by the Small Business Committee on
July 28, 2005 (H.Rept. 108-207).
H.R. 2982 (Wynn)
To require the Federal Communications Commission to reorganize the bureaus
of the Commission in order to better carry out their regulatory functions. Introduced
and referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce on June 17, 2005.
Related CRS Products
CRS Report RL32589, The Federal Communications Commission: Current
Structure and its Role in the Changing Telecommunications Landscape, by
Patricia Moloney Figliola.
CRS Report 95-178, Legal Services Corporation: Basic Facts and Current Status,
by Carmen Solomon-Fears.
CRS Report RS20204, Securities Fees and SEC Pay Parity, by Mark Jickling.
CRS Report RL33243, Small Business Administration: A Primer on Programs, by
Eric Weiss.
CRS-61
Table 10. Funding for SSJC/CJS Related Agencies
($ millions in budget authority)
FY2006 FY2007
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
House
Senate
Enacted Request
Enacted
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
$8.9
$9.3
$8.9
U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedoma
$3.2
$3.0
$3.0
$3.0
Equal Employment Opportunity
$327.0
$322.8
$322.8
Commission (EEOC)
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)b
$1.0 $26.0
$1.0
Federal Trade Commission
$71.1
$76.0
$61.1
Legal Services Corporation
$326.6
$310.9
$313.9
Securities and Exchange
Commissionc
$863.1
$890.8
$900.5
Small Business Administrationd
$896.6
$639.0
$672.8
State Justice Institutee
$3.5
$0.0
2.0
U.S. Institute of Peacea
$22.1
$27.0
$27.0
$22.1
Other
$12.9
$12.2
$17.3
Total Title V
$2,536.0 $2,317.0 $2,330.3
Source: House Appropriations Committee.
a. Senate funding for these agencies is through the State/Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
b. The FCC is partially funded by offsetting fee collections.
c. The SEC is fully funded by transaction fees and securities registration fees.
d. In addition, there were disaster loan appropriations of $446 million in FY2006 and $199.9 million
proposed for FY2007.
e. Under the terms of its enabling legislation, the State Justice Institute (SJI) is authorized to present
its budget request directly to Congress. Although the President’s FY2007 budget proposes
nothing for SJI, the Institute has requested $4.5 million for itself.
CRS-62
Table 11. SSJC/CJS Appropriations by Department, FY2007
($ millions in budget authority)
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
House
Senate
Enacted
Estimate
Request
Title I: Department of Justice
General Administration
$1,608.3
$1,777.9
$2,011.8
$1,875.1
U.S. Parole Commission
$10.5
$10.9
$11.9
$11.5
Legal Activities
$3,192.8
$3,277.1
$3,445.8
$3,452.8
Interagency Law Enforcement
$553.5
$483.2
$706.1
$498.5
Federal Bureau of Investigation
$5,209.5
$5,737.7
$6,040.0
$6,043.4
Drug Enforcement Administration
$1,638.8
$1,674.9
$1,736.5
$1,751.5
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
$882.5
$931.8
$860.1
$950.1
Federal Prison System
$4,779.8
$4,933.4
$4,964.6
$5,078.5
Office of Justice Programs
$2,611.0
$2,416.2
$1,201.0
$2,376.1
Other
$407.1
$381.6
$347.2
$418.3
Title I Total:
$20,893.8
$21,624.7
$21,325.0
$22,455.8
Title II: Department of Commerce and Related Agencies
International Trade Administration
$388.3
$393.8
$408.8
$416.8
Bureau of Industry and Security
$67.5
$75.0
$78.6
$76.8
Economic Development
$284.1
$280.4
$327.2
$260.4
Administration
Minority Business Development
$29.5
$29.6
$29.6
$29.6
Agency
Economic and Statistical Analysis
$78.9
$79.2
$80.5
$79.9
Bureau of the Census
$744.8
$801.9
$878.2
$825.9
National Telecommunications and
$38.7
$39.6
$17.8
$17.8
Information Administration
Patent and Trademark Officea
($1,544.8)
($1,683.1)
($1,843.0) ($1,771.0)
Technology Administration
$6.5
$5.9
$1.5
$2.0
National Institute of Standards and
$699.2
$745.0
$581.3
$627.0
Technology
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
$3,925.2
$3,950.0
$3,678.1
$3,376.9
Administration
Departmental Management
$78.7
$73.3
$98.5
$52.6
Other
$209.0
—
—
—
Department of Commerce Subtotal:
$6,550.4
$6,473.9
$6,180.1
$5,765.7
U.S. Trade Representative
$41.0
$44.2
$42.2
$46.2
International Trade Commission
$60.8
$62.0
$64.2
$62.6
National Intellectual Property Law
$2.0
—
—
—
Enforcement Coordinating Council
Related Agencies Subtotal:
$103.8
$106.8
$106.4
$108.8
Title II Total:
$6,654.2
$6,580.1
$6,286.5
$5,874.5
CRS-63
FY2005
FY2006
FY2007
Bureau or Agency
House
Senate
Enacted
Estimate
Request
Title III: Science
NASA
$16,196.4
$16,596.4
$16,792.2 $16,709.0
National Science Foundation
$5,472.8
$5,581.2
$6,020.2
$6,020.0
Exec Office of the President
$6.3
$5.5
$5.4
$5.4
Title III Total:
$21,675.5
$22,183.1
$22,817.8 $22,734.4
Title IV: Department of State
Administration of Foreign Affairs
$7,688.4 $6,566.8
$6,931.0
$6,656.5
International Organizations and
$2,329.7 $2,173.6
$2,403.9
$2,257.6
Conferences
International Commissions
$63.3 $66.5
$63.9
$67.9
Related Appropriations
$100.0 $113.6
$103.6
$68.1
Subtotal: State Departmentb
$10,181.4
$8,920.5
$9,502.4
$9,050.1
International Broadcasting
$598.9
$644.0
$671.9
$653.9
Title IV Total
$10,780.3
$9,564.5
$10,174.3
$9,704.0
Title V: Related Agencies
Commission on Civil Rights
$9.0
$8.9
$9.3
$8.9
U.S. Commission on International
Religious Freedomc
$3.0
$3.2
$3.0
$3.0
Equal Employment Opportunity
$326.8
$327.0
$322.8
$322.8
Commission (EEOC)
Federal Communications
Commission (FCC)d
$1.0
$1.0
$26.0
$1.0
Federal Trade Commission
$81.4
$71.1
$76.0
$61.1
Legal Services Corporation
$330.8
$326.6
$310.9
$313.9
Securities and Exchange
$856.0
$863.1
$890.8
$900.5
Commissione
Small Business Administrationf
$1,500.8
$896.6
$639.0
$672.8
State Justice Instituteg
$2.6
$3.5
$0.0
$2.0
U.S. Institute of Peacec
$121.9
$22.1
$27.0
$27.0
Otherh
$13.1
$12.9
$12.2
$17.3
Total Title V
$3,246.4
$2,536.0
$2,317.0
$2,330.3
Title VII: Rescissions
Total Title VII Rescissions
($311.2)
($396.9)
($518.0)
Grand Total (in Bills)i
$62,939.0
$62,091.5
$62,482.1
$62,580.8
Source: House Appropriations Committee.
a. The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) is fully funded by user fees. The fees collected, but not
obligated during the current year, are available for obligation in the following fiscal year and do
not count toward the appropriation totals. Only newly appropriated funds count toward the
annual appropriation totals.
b. In addition to appropriations, State has authority to spend certain collected fees from machine
readable visas, expedited export fees, etc. The amount for such fees for the FY2005 appropriation
CRS-64
was $668.1 million; the FY2006 estimate is $734.0 million, and the FY2007 request is for $683.0
million in fee collections.
c. Senate funding for these agencies is through the State/Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
d. The FCC is partially funded by fee collections.
e. The SEC is fully funded by transaction fees and securities registration fees.
f. In addition, there were disaster loan appropriations of $1,042.2 million in FY2005, $446 million
in FY2006, and $199.9 million proposed in FY2007.
g. Under the terms of its enabling legislation, the State Justice Institute (SJI) is authorized to present
its budget request directly to Congress. Although the President’s FY2007 budget proposed
nothing for SJI, the Institute requested $4.5 million for itself.
h. “Other” includes agencies receiving appropriations of $3.0 million or less in FY2005. These
agencies include the Commission for the Preservation of American Heritage Abroad; the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; the Antitrust Modernization Commission;
the Marine Mammal Commission; the Congressional/Executive Commission on China; the
National Veterans Business Development Corp; the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review
Commission; the U.S. Senate-China Interparliamentary Group, and the HELP Commission —
all of which are funded by the House SSJC bill. Of these, only the Antitrust Modernization
Commission, the National Veterans Business Development Corp, and the Marine Mammal
Commission are funded through the Senate CJS bill and reflected in the Senate total. The others
are funded by the State/Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.
i. Totals may not add up due to rounding.