Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999: Emergency Funding in P.L. 105-277 for Agriculture, Embassy Security, Y2K Problems, Defense, and Other Issues

Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999: Emergency Funding in P.L. 105-277 for Agriculture, Embassy Security, Y2K Problems, Defense, and Other Issues

Order Code RL30056
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999:
Emergency Funding in P.L. 105-277 for
Agriculture, Embassy Security, Y2K Problems,
Defense, and Other Issues
February 25, 1999
(name redacted), Coordinator
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

ABSTRACT
During the final days of the 105th Congress, the House and Senate considered a series of
emergency supplemental initiatives providing funds for American farmers affected by natural
disasters and low commodity prices, embassy security and counter-terrorism programs in the
wake of the August embassy bombings, year 2000 (Y2K) computer requirements, the costs
of maintaining U.S. troops in Bosnia, defense readiness, counter-narcotics interdiction
initiatives, and domestic natural disaster related needs. Supplementals officially requested
by the President totaled about $8.9 billion. Following the addition of several new
congressional initiatives, some of which were endorsed by the White House, the final amount
included in the omnibus supplemental appropriation measure (P.L. 105-277; H.R. 4328)
climbed to $20.76 billion.

Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999: Emergency
Funding in P.L. 105-277 for Agriculture, Embassy Security,
Y2K Problems, Defense, and Other Issues
Summary
During the final days of the 105 Congress, the House and Senate considered a
th
series of emergency supplemental initiatives providing funds for American farmers
affected by natural disasters and low commodity prices, embassy security and counter-
terrorism programs in the wake of the August embassy bombings, year 2000 (Y2K)
computer requirements, the costs of maintaining U.S. troops in Bosnia, defense
readiness, counter-narcotics interdiction initiatives, and domestic natural disaster
related needs.
Supplementals officially requested by the President totaled about $8.9 billion.
Following the addition of several new congressional initiatives, some of which were
endorsed by the White House, the final amount included in the omnibus supplemental
appropriation measure (P.L. 105-277; H.R. 4328) climbed to $20.76 billion.
Congress initially considered the emergency farm relief aid separate from other
supplemental requests, adding $4.26 billion to the regular FY1999 Agriculture
Appropriations bill (H.R. 4101). President Clinton vetoed H.R. 4101, however, on
October 7 saying he regarded the amount of emergency agriculture spending as
inadequate.

Congress considered the vetoed agriculture funding measure plus all remaining
supplemental spending packages as part of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (H.R. 4328), that includes eight regular
appropriation bills and other legislative initiatives. Congress cleared the measure and
the President signed H.R. 4328 on October 21.
All supplementals, with the exception of the $1 billion defense readiness request,
were designated by the President as “emergency” spending, which under the 1985
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act means that if Congress agrees,
the costs would not require corresponding reductions in existing expenditures.
Some Members, however, challenged the “emergency” status, arguing that the
entire amount should be offset by the cancellation of previously enacted funds. As
passed, all but about $100 million of the $20.76 billion supplemental is designated as
an “emergency.” Congress included one offset in the bill — a $67 million rescission
of DOD fuel costs.
As signed into law, the omnibus spending measure included $5.9 billion for
agriculture disaster relief; $2.44 billion for antiterrorism and embassy security; $3.35
billion for Y2K conversion costs; $1.44 billion for domestic natural disasters; $943
million for counter-drug and interdiction activities; $6.59 billion for military readiness,
troops in Bosnia, and other national defense needs; and $103 million for other
emergencies.

Key CRS Policy Staff
Issue
Name
Tel.
Agriculture
Ralph Chite
7-....
Defense/Bosnia
Steve Daggett
7-....
Embassy Security
Susan Epstein
7-....
Y2K
Richard Nunno
7-....
Counter-narcotics
Raphael Perl
7-....
Natural disasters
(name redacted)
7-....

Contents
Recent Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Major Components of the Supplementals and Congressional Initiatives . . . 2
Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Embassy Security and Counter-Terrorism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Year 2000 Computer Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
U.S. Troops in Bosnia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Defense Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Defense Infrastructure Repair in South Korea and Other Storm Damaged
Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Other National Defense Supplementals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Domestic Natural Disaster Relief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Counter-Drug and Interdiction Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Other Foreign Aid Initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
“Emergency” Designation and the Debate Over Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
105 Congress Legislation
th
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
List of Tables
Table 1. Emergency Supplementals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Appropriations Supplemental for FY1999:
Emergency Funding in P.L. 105-277 for
Agriculture, Embassy Security, Y2K Problems,
Defense, and Other Issues
Recent Developments
In the final days of the 105 Congress, lawmakers consid
th
ered several emergency
supplemental appropriations proposals for American farmers affected by natural
disasters and low commodity prices, embassy security and counter-terrorism
programs, year 2000 (Y2K) computer requirements, the costs of maintaining U.S.
troops in Bosnia, additional funds for defense readiness, counter-narcotics interdiction
activities, and several natural disaster requirements. Congress approved and the
President signed on October 21 the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency
Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277; H.R. 4328), that included $20.76
billion in supplemental spending. The legislation provided most of the approximately
$8.9 billion officially requested by the President, plus about another $11.8 billion of
congressional initiatives, including $200 million for U.S. Capitol security and visitor
center, $1.4 billion for domestic natural disasters, $943 million for counter-drug and
interdiction programs, $1 billion for ballistic missile defense, and about $3.5 billion
for additional national defense priorities. Some of the items added by Congress also
had strong White House support. The final omnibus measure also included $5.89
billion for emergency agriculture spending, an increase from the $4.26 billion package
vetoed by President Clinton on October 7, saying it was inadequate.
Background
Before Congress adjourned, it considered a series of emergency and non-
emergency supplemental appropriation proposals totaling $20.76 billion for
agriculture programs, counter-terrorism and diplomatic security at U.S. facilities
around the world, government-wide Y2K requirements, U.S. forces in Bosnia,
defense readiness, counter-narcotics interdiction activities, and several domestic
natural disaster requirements. Of the total, the President officially requested about
$8.9 billion in supplemental spending, with the remainder added through
congressional initiatives. Nevertheless, in most cases congressional leaders worked
closely with executive officials in shaping the supplemental proposals, and as such,
there was general support in Congress for the broad outlines of Administration
recommendations and congressional additions. The largest disagreement occurred
over the size of emergency agriculture aid. President Clinton vetoed on October 7,
H.R. 4101, the FY1999 Agriculture Appropriations, because the bill contained what
he and many Senate Democrats said was an inadequate amount ($4.26 billion) to meet

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current farm relief needs. A second area of contention was over the issue of whether
these appropriations needed to be offset with reductions in spending on existing
programs, and if so, which activities to cut. The President proposed that all but the
defense readiness supplementals be designated as emergencies, thereby not requiring
cuts in existing funds to pay for the added appropriations. As enacted, H.R. 4328
designated all but $100 million of the $20.76 billion supplemental as an emergency
and included $67 million in offsets.
Major Components of the Supplementals and Congressional
Initiatives
The President submitted four separate emergency supplemental requests, three
of which arrived in September. The other — FY1999 funding to cover the
incremental cost of deploying U.S. troops in Bosnia — was received by Congress in
March 1998 as part of an earlier emergency spending proposal. Congress, however,
did not act on the FY1999 Bosnia funding issue at that time. A fifth initiative,
although not designated as an “emergency” supplemental, was transmitted to
Congress on October 5 by OMB proposing $1 billion for defense readiness. Other
supplemental initiatives arose during the final days of the 105 Congress and wer
th
e
included in the omnibus appropriation measure, H.R. 4328. Major emergency and
non-emergency supplementals added to H.R. 4328 included the following.
Agriculture. Several regions of the country, had been experiencing low farm
commodity prices (primarily for wheat, corn, soybeans, and cotton) and/or natural
disasters in 1998 (particularly in the Northern Plains and the South). This had the
effect of significantly reducing farm income. On October 6, 1998, the Senate cleared
for the White House the conference agreement on the FY1999 agriculture
appropriations bill (H.R. 4101) containing separate titles that would provide $4.26
billion in direct payments to farmers to mitigate the effects of low crop prices and
natural disasters. Conferees included language which declared a budget emergency
for this expenditure, which meant that if the full House and Senate and the
Administration concurred with the emergency designation, no budgetary offsets
would be required for the new spending. President Clinton, however, vetoed H.R.
4101 on October 7, stating that the relief for farmers was inadequate. Following
further congressional-Administration negotiations, a $5.89 billion supplemental
agriculture package was added to the omnibus appropriations bill. The compromise,
however, did not include a provision lifting the cap on loan rates for certain
commodities.
The amount provided in the Agriculture Appropriations conference agreement
was based on a proposal announced by House Republican leadership on September
17 and included: $1.5 billion in disaster payments to farmers who have incurred
significant crop losses in 1998 due to natural disasters; an additional $675 million in
direct payments to producers who have experienced multiple years of disasters,
particularly those in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest; a $1.65 billion increase
in FY1999 market transition payments, which translates into a 29% increase in these
payments for each participating farmer of wheat, feed grains, cotton and rice; and
$175 million in cost-share assistance for livestock growers who lost to a natural
disaster a significant amount of feed grown on the farm.

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A provision not included in the conference agreement, but strongly supported
by the Administration and Senate Democratic leadership, was a temporary increase
in the loan rate (price guarantees) for certain farm commodities. In July, the Senate
rejected an amendment to S. 2159 that would have removed the current cap on the
loan rate for wheat, feed grains, cotton, and rice, for the 1998 crop year. Another
attempt to remove the cap on loan rates was defeated on September 15, when the
Senate tabled a similar amendment to the Interior appropriations bill (S. 2237). In
September, the Administration threatened a veto of the agriculture appropriations bill
if it contained a farm economic assistance package that did not include a provision to
remove the cap on the loan rates. The estimated cost of uncapping the loan rates for
a year is approximately $5 billion. The Administration proposal also included more
than $2 billion in disaster payments, bringing the total cost of its recommendation to
more than $7 billion. The President and congressional Democrats contended that the
$4.26 billion in the conference agreement on H.R. 4101 was not sufficient to address
the financial problems of farmers. Republicans maintained that the Democratic
package would spend too much and would fundamentally undermine the policy
changes made by the omnibus 1996 farm law.
.
For more background on the agriculture issues, see CRS Report 98-201,
Appropriations for FY1999: U.S. Department of Agriculture and Related Agencies,
by Ralph Chite CRS Report 98-682, Farm Disaster Assistance: USDA Programs and
Legislative Issues, by Ralph Chite ; CRS Report 98-743, U.S. Farm Income: Recent
National and Regional Changes and the Federal Response, by (name redacted); and
CRS Report 98-744, Agricultural Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency
Payments, by (name redacted).
Embassy Security and Counter-Terrorism. On September 22, 1998, in
response to the terrorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar
es Salaam, Tanzania, the White House submitted a $1.8 billion emergency
supplemental appropriation request for embassy security and antiterrorism programs.
Of the total, $1.4 billion would fund State Department improvements of perimeter
security at U.S. facilities, hire more diplomatic security agents, establish a new
security review panel (which would require authorization from Congress), and rebuild
the two bombed embassies in Africa. Although the recent terrorist attacks prompted
the supplemental proposal, concern over embassy vulnerability dates back many years,
and led in 1985 to a series of recommendations issued by the Advisory Panel on
Overseas Security. The so-called “Inman report” identified 126 facilities with
inadequate security, but by September 30, 1998, only 49 facilities had been built or
enhanced to meet the security standards recommended by the Panel.
In addition to embassy security, the supplemental proposed $400 million, among
other things: 1) to reimburse the Defense Department for its response to the embassy
bombings and other security-related efforts ($200 million); 2) to improve Secret
Service protection activities and perform law enforcement training ($90 million); 3)
to augment the State Department’s $20 million annual worldwide anti-terrorist
program ($20 million); 4) to provide additional economic aid to Kenya and Tanzania
($50 million) that would be used to compensate bombing victim families and rebuild
some structures that surrounded the destroyed embassies; and 5) to increase the FBI’s
capacity to respond to terrorist acts ($21.7 million).

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As enacted, H.R. 4328 included the $1.8 billion embassy security request, plus
over $600 million for other antiterrorism initiatives attached by Congress. Added to
the original proposal was $206 million to enhance security at the Capitol and to
construct a new visitor center, $100 million for the Federal Aviation Administration
to install more explosive detection devices at airports, and about $350 million for
DOD anti-terrorism activities. For more details, see CRS Report 98-771F, Embassy
Security: Background, Funding, and FY1998 Supplemental Request, by Susan
Epstein.
Year 2000 Computer Conversion. For over two years, Congress has helped
to focus national attention on the year 2000 computer problem, the inability of many
computer systems to process dates correctly beyond January 1, 2000. The problem
arises because most computer systems store dates using only the last two digits for
the year field (e.g., 98 for 1998). With this format the year 2000 is indistinguishable
from 1900. The year data-field in computer programs can perform various functions
such as calculating age, sorting information by date, and comparing dates. When years
beyond 1999 are entered in the two-digit format, those functions will often fail to
operate properly.
Federal agencies maintain many computer systems that manage large databases,
conduct electronic monetary transactions, and control numerous interactions with
other computer systems. These agencies face a major challenge to convert their
software and hardware to handle dates beyond the year 2000. OMB’s cost estimate
for federal agency year 2000 conversion increased steadily and is currently $5.4
billion. OMB has targeted March 31, 1999, as the deadline for federal agencies to
have completed the renovation, validation, and implementation phases of all year 2000
conversions. Agencies of greatest concern are the Departments of Defense,
Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation (in particular the
Federal Aviation Administration), State, and the Agency for International
Development.
On September 2, 1998, President Clinton asked Congress for a $3.25 billion
emergency supplemental to address government-wide Y2K conversion activities.
Such funds would be transferred, as necessary, by OMB to all affected federal
agencies and departments. The Senate, in the regular FY1999 Treasury and General
Government Appropriation bill (H.R. 4104), included a similar funding provision to
address the Y2K problem. House/Senate conferees, however, deleted the Y2K funds
from H.R. 4104, expressing their expectations that the issue would be resolved as part
of a supplemental appropriation. The Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277)
included $3.35 billion for Y2K conversion, slightly more than the request. Of the
total, $1.1 billion was designated for the Defense Department. For more information
on the Y2K issue, see CRS Issue Brief 97036, Year-2000 Computer Problem:
Activity in the 105th Congress, by Richard Nunno.
U.S. Troops in Bosnia. On March 1, 1998, the Administration submitted an
amendment to its FY1999 defense budget request asking Congress to approve
emergency funding of $1.9 billion for costs of operations in Bosnia. The money
would mainly pay for increased personnel and operating expenses associated with
ongoing peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. The Senate-passed version of the regular
FY1999 defense appropriations bill (H.R. 4103) included the requested funding, but

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the House-passed version of the bill did not. The conference agreement on the
defense bill did not include the money, explicitly leaving it for consideration in a
supplemental appropriations measure. As enacted, the Omnibus Appropriations Act
included the full $1.9 billion proposal. For more information, see CRS Report 98-
205, Appropriations for FY1999: Defense, by (name redacted), CRS Issue Brie f
93056, Bosnia: U.S. Military Operations, by (name redacted), CRS Issue Brief 94040,
Peacekeeping: Issues of U.S. Military Involvement, by Nina Serafino, and CRS
Report 98-823, Military Contingency Funding for Bosnia, Southwest Asia, and Other
Operations: Questions and Answers, by Nina Serafino.
Defense Readiness. Senior appropriations committee members had been
considering for some time whether to add emergency funding for military readiness
either to the regular FY1999 defense appropriations bill or to a separate supplemental
measure. The funding was intended mainly to bolster military recruitment, purchases
of spare parts, maintenance of equipment and real property, and training. No
emergency funding for this purpose was added to the regular defense bill (H.R. 3616),
and was widely expected that appropriators would, therefore, propose some
emergency funding for military readiness in a supplemental measure.

On October 5, OMB sent letters to the Chairmen of the Appropriations
Committees outlining a $1 billion defense readiness package that would include funds
for additional spare parts ($239 million), personnel recruiting enhancements ($113
million), Marine Corps and Army operating force support ($348 million), Navy and
Air Force depot maintenance ($251 million), and other items ($49 million). The entire
amount would have been offset by funds becoming available due to lower-than-
expected fuel costs ($180 million) and inflation ($530 million), and by the rescission
of unidentified “lower priority” projects ($290 million). Congress raised the
Administration proposal by about $300 million in the Omnibus Appropriations Act,
designated all but $118 million as an emergency, and included a $67 million rescission
related to lower fuel prices. For more information, see CRS Report 98-205,
Appropriations for FY1999: Defense, by (name redacted).
Defense Infrastructure Repair in South Korea and Other Storm Damaged
Facilities. The President requested $253.8 million to restore Defense Department
infrastructure in South Korea that was severely damaged during monsoons that struck
the Korean Peninsula in early August. The funds were intended to cover repairs in
barriers and fortifications along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In the omnibus
spending measure, Congress included the full $254 million for damaged facilities in
South Korea, plus added $115 million for other DOD infrastructure damaged by
recent hurricanes in the United States.
Other National Defense Supplementals. Included in the Omnibus
Appropriations Act were several other emergency supplementals for national defense
initiated by Congress:
! $525 for the disposition of Russian fissile materials, managed by the
Department of Energy.
! $1 billion for ballistic missile defense programs.

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! $1.5 billion for classified intelligence programs.1
Domestic Natural Disaster Relief. In addition to supplemental funding
provided for damaged DOD facilities noted above, H.R. 4328 included about $1.4
billion to address the impact of Hurricane Georges, most of which ($906 million) was
provided to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Omnibus bill also
included $250 million for Community Development Block Grants, $101 million for
the Small Business Administration, and $30 million for the American Red Cross.
Counter-Drug and Interdiction Funding. Another congressional initiative
enacted as an emergency supplemental in H.R. 4328 was a series of appropriations
for counter-drug and interdiction activities. Largest recipients of the $943 million
package included the State Department’s international narcotics control program
($233 million), primarily to bolster activities in the drug-producing countries of Peru,
Bolivia, and Colombia; $344 million for the Coast Guard; and $276 million for the
U.S. Customs Service, including funds for the procurement and conversion of several
P-3 and Citation aircraft. For more information, see CRS Issue Brief 88-093, Drug
Control: International Policy and Options, by Raphael Perl.
Other Foreign Aid Initiatives. Also included as an emergency supplemental
appropriation were funds for two foreign assistance activities. P.L. 105-277 added
$46 million in aid to Russia and other former states to the $801 million funded
elsewhere in the bill as part of the regular Foreign Operations Appropriations for
FY1999. The $847 million available for assistance to the former Soviet Union fell
short of the $925 million request for FY1999, but was significantly higher than the
House ($590 million) and Senate ($740 million) approved earlier in September in
votes on the regular Foreign Operations measure. The supplemental further added
$50 million in emergency funds for USAID child survival programs, an activity that
has become one of the highest congressional foreign aid priorities in recent years.
Combined with the $650 million appropriated in the regular Foreign Operations
Appropriations, Congress approved nearly $100 million more for child survival and
infectious disease programs than the Administration proposed for FY1999.
“Emergency” Designation and the Debate Over Offsets
The White House designated all but the defense readiness supplementals as
“emergency” requirements. The emergency designation allows Congress to approve
the additional funds without offsetting the amounts with rescissions in enacted
discretionary appropriations or finding cuts in mandatory spending programs. If
Congress agrees with the President to define the supplementals as an “emergency”
and not offset the amounts, discretionary spending would rise above the budget caps
1Subsequently, in February 1999, OMB said it wants to use $320 million of the missile
defense funds and $562 million of the intelligence money to offset the costs of a new $900
million FY1999 supplemental to help implement the Wye Memorandum and provide
additional assistance to Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians. OMB says the President would
request that Congress restore these DOD funds at a later date — most likely for FY2001.
Some Members oppose the use of the missile and intelligence funds for supplemental Middle
East aid, and are recommending offsets from other funding sources.

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set in 1998 by Congress and reduce the size of the budget surplus for FY1999. Over
the past five years, Congress has usually enacted budget authority offsets for
supplementals. The question over whether to include corresponding reductions when
approving additional spending became highly contentious earlier in 1998 during
debate over another supplemental appropriations package (P.L. 105-174; H.R. 3579).
As enacted, Congress provided $2.6 billion to offset natural disaster supplemental
funding, but did not offset $2.86 billion in additional defense spending.
Lawmakers supporting the emergency designation believed that with the
enactment of each new rescission package to offset supplementals the past few years,
most of the viable options for reductions had been exhausted; that what choices
remained for further cuts had narrowed to a very difficult set of alternatives.
Moreover, many said that defense spending reductions in recent years, combined with
the practice of paying for overseas missions by raiding other DOD accounts, had
stretched military readiness capabilities to the limit. Protecting defense spending by
finding offsets exclusively among domestic programs, however, presents the problem
of breaking the so-called “firewalls” between defense and domestic accounts. In the
past, defense supplementals would be offset by cuts in the defense budget, while
additions for domestic programs would be paid for by reducing existing domestic
appropriations. Members critical of the emergency designation, argued that Congress
and the President should adhere to the discretionary caps established for the next five
years in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and include offsets for the entire
supplemental package. Exceeding the caps, they believed, would set a dangerous
precedent for future spending requirements.
Some Members challenged the use of the “emergency” designation for parts of
the supplementals. As one example, a group of House Republicans proposed
offsetting items that represented “true” emergencies with changes in FHA and Ginnie
Mae mortgage programs and Medicaid administrative reforms that would generate
more revenues. Under their plan, other, “non-emergency” elements would be paid for
by an across-the-board cut in non-defense discretionary funds on March 1, 1999, if
the Administration had not yet found other spending cuts. (Livingston Optimistic as
Funding Deadline Approaches. National Journal’s Congress Daily PM, October 5,
1998.) Even though the President’s official supplemental requests did not include
offsets, reportedly on October 12 Administration negotiators identified several
possible offsets, totaling about $4 billion, that might be considered if Congress
insisted on covering the costs of some parts of the supplementals. (Administration
Delivers Offsets for Requested Spending. National Journal’s Congress Daily PM,
October 13, 1998.)
Reversing recent practice, Congress chose to designate all but about $100
million of the $20.76 billion supplemental as an “emergency.” The enacted bill
included one offset proposed by the President for military readiness — a $67 million
rescission of DOD fuel costs.

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105 Congress Legislation
th
P.L. 105-277, H.R. 4328
Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999.
As reported on October 19 by the House Appropriations Committee, includes $20.76
billion for emergency supplementals. Report filed October 19 (H.Rept. 105-825).
Passed the House October 20 (333-95); passed the Senate October 21 (65-29); signed
by the President October 21, 1998.
H.R. 4101 (Skeen)
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999. Conferees agreed
to include $4.26 billion in emergency supplemental farm relief assistance on
September 28 (H.Rept. 105-763). House passed conference report (333-53) October
2; Senate passed conference report (55-43) October 6. President Clinton vetoed H.R.
4101 on October 7.
H.R. 4104 (Kolbe)
Treasury and General Government for Appropriations FY1999. Senate-passed
version included $3.25 billion in emergency funding to address the year 2000
computer crisis. Conferees deleted the Senate provision in the expectation that the
Y2K issue would be resolved as part of a supplemental appropriation. H.R. 4104
passed the House July 16, 1998; passed the Senate, in lieu of S. 2312, on September
3; conference report issued on October 1 (H.Rept. 105-760).

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Table 1. Emergency Supplementals
(amounts in billions of dollars; budget authority)
Enacted
Supplemental
Date of
Amount of
P.L. 105-
Request
Request
277
Agriculture Disaster Relief:
Disaster payments to farmers for 1998 losses
9/22/98
$0.610
$1.500
Disaster payments to farmers for multi-year losses
9/22/98
$0.935
$0.875
Livestock feed disaster assistance
9/22/98
$0.085
$0.200
Market loss assistance payments
9/22/98
—-
$3.057
Cotton producers indemnity payments
—-
—-
$0.005
Economic losses—Alaska salmon
—-
—-
$0.050
Food for Progress
—-
—-
$0.025
Farm Service Agency—salaries & loan subsidies
9/22/98
$0.071
$0.071
Dairy production
—-
—-
$0.003
Forestry Incentives Program
—-
—-
$0.010
Crop insurance—mandatory purchase
—-
—-
$0.066
Other agriculture
9/22/98
$0.060
$0.031
TOTAL, AGRICULTURE DISASTER RELIEF
—-
$1.761a
$5.894
Antiterrorism/Embassy Security:
State Dept security
9/22/98
$1.398
$1.424
State Dept terrorism
9/22/98
$0.020
$0.020
Kenya/Tanzania economic aid
9/22/98
$0.050
$0.050
DOD counter-terrorism/security enhancements
9/22/98
$0.200
$0.529
Secret Service
9/22/98
$0.090
$0.081
FBI antiterrorism
9/22/98
$0.022
$0.022
National Park Service
9/22/98
$0.006
$0.006
Federal Aviation Admin
—-
—-
$0.100
Capitol Security/Visitor Center
—-
—-
$0.207
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
—-
—-
$0.004
TOTAL, ANTITERRORISM/EMBASSY
—-
$1.786
$2.441
SECURITY
Y2K CONVERSION
9/2/98
$3.250
$3.350
Natural Disasters:
Federal Emergency Management Agency
—-
—-
$0.906
Community Development Block Grants
—-
—-
$0.250
Small Business Administration
—-
—-
$0.101
Army Corps of Engineers
—-
—-
$0.102
American Red Cross
—-
—-
$0.030
Other natural disaster relief
—-
—-
$0.054
TOTAL, NATURAL DISASTERS
—-
—-
$1.443
Other Emergencies:
International Child Survival aid
—-
—-
$0.050
Russia & other former Soviet aid
—-
—-
$0.046
DOL training-migrant farm workers
9/22/98
$0.007
$0.007

CRS-10
Enacted
Supplemental
Date of
Amount of
P.L. 105-
Request
Request
277
TOTAL, OTHER EMERGENCIES
—-
$0.007
$0.103
Counter-Drug & Interdiction:
USDA-Counter-drug R&D
—-
—-
$0.023
Drug Enforcement Administration
—-
—-
$0.010
INS-surveillance systems
—-
—-
$0.010
State Dept-international narcotics control
—-
—-
$0.233
Defense Department
—-
—-
$0.042
Coast Guard
—-
—-
$0.344
Treasury Dept-money laundering intelligence
—-
—-
$0.002
Customs Service
—-
—-
$0.276
National Drug Control Policy Office
—-
—-
$0.001
Special Forfeiture Fund
—-
—-
$0.002
TOTAL, COUNTER-DRUG & INTERDICTION
—-
—-
$0.943
National Defense:
Military readiness
10/5/98b
$1.000b
$1.301
Troops in Bosnia
3/98
$1.858
$1.858
Defense facilities storm damage
9/22/98
$0.254
$0.469
Ballistic Missile Defense
—-
—-
$1.000
Russian fissile materials disposition (DOE)
—-
—-
$0.525
Intelligence (classified)
—-
—-
$1.497
Defense Health Program Fisher Houses
—-
—-
$0.002
Fuel cost rescission (offset)
10/5/98b
-$0.180b
-$0.067
Other offsets for readiness
10/5/98b
-$0.820b
—-
TOTAL, NATIONAL DEFENSEc
—-
$2.112c
$6.585c
TOTAL, SUPPLEMENTAL
—-
$8.916
$20.759
APPROPRIATION
a The President’s request of $1.761 billion in budget authority would have supported a $2.3 billion
program. Senate Democratic leadership announced a package ($6.8 billion in new spending to
support a program level of $7.3 billion) based on the White House request. Although the President
supported the Senate plan to temporarily raise support prices, his request did not include the $5
billion cost. House Republican leadership announced an agreement on September 17 that would have
provided $3.9 billion in farm financial assistance, which would be made primarily as direct payments
to farmers.
b Received by Congress in the form of a letter from OMB to House and Senate Appropriations
Committees. The Military Readiness request was not designated as an “emergency” supplemental;
offsets were identified in the letter.
c Additional defense funds were also requested and appropriated under other emergency
supplemental initiatives noted above: Antiterrorism and embassy security, Y2K conversion, and
Counter-drugs and interdiction. DOD funding for these activities totals $1.671 billion. Including
these additional supplemental appropriations brings the National Defense total to $8.256 billion.

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