FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations Resolution: Reference Guide

FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations Resolution: Reference Guide

Order Code RS21433
Updated February 24, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution: Reference Guide
Robert Keith
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The House and Senate agreed to the conference report on H.J.Res. 2, the
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003, on February 13, 2003, thus
bringing to a close congressional action on the regular appropriations measures for that
fiscal year. President George Bush signed the measure into law on February 20, as P.L.
108-7 (117 Stat. 11-554). The measure incorporates the remaining 11 regular
appropriations acts for FY2003 (the defense and military construction appropriations
acts were enacted on October 23, 2002), providing $397.4 billion for these activities.
The measure includes an across-the-board cut of 0.65%, which is expected to yield
$2.647 billion in offsets.
Toward the beginning of the 108th Congress, the House and Senate brought the
consideration of the regular appropriations acts for FY2003 to a close by incorporating
the remaining 11 bills into a single bill, H.J.Res. 2, the Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution for FY2003. Two of the regular appropriations acts for that fiscal year were
enacted in 2002, during the second session of the 107th Congress, just after the start of the
fiscal year.1 In its final form, H.J.Res. 2 provides $397.4 billion in discretionary budget
authority.2
The House passed H.J.Res. 2 by voice vote on January 8, 2003. In its House-passed
form, H.J.Res. 2 was a continuing resolution for FY2003 providing for the continuation
of stop-gap funding through January 31, 2003. It was anticipated, however, that the
Senate would use the measure as a vehicle for incorporating the remaining regular
appropriations acts. The Senate did so, and passed the measure as amended on January
23 by a vote of 69-29. The House and Senate agreed to the conference report (H.Rept.
1 The Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2003 (P.L. 107-248) and the Military
Construction Appropriation Act for FY2003 (P.L. 107-249) were enacted into law on October
23, 2002.
2 See the remarks of Representative C.W. Bill Young, the chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee, during consideration of H.J.Res. 2 in the Congressional Record of February 13,
2003, at pages H558-559.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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108-10) on February 13, by votes of 338-83 and 76-20, respectively. H.J.Res. 2 was
presented to President Bush on February 19 and he signed it into law on February 20, as
P.L. 108-7 (117 Stat. 11-554).
An abbreviated listing of the contents of H.J.Res. 2 is provided in Table 1. The act
is organized by division, with each division (A through K) corresponding to one of the
regular appropriations acts. Further, there are five other divisions (L thorough P), which
involve such matters as additional emergency funding, amendments to the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 and the Price-Anderson Act, and the United States-China Economic
and Security Review Commission. Citations are provided to the pages of the
Congressional Record of February 12, 2003 (Vol. 149, No. 26—Book II) where the
legislative text of the conference report and the joint explanatory statement are provided.
In order to offset part of the costs of the act, an across-the-board cut of 0.65% is
included in Section 601 of Division N (the Division is referred to as the Miscellaneous
Appropriations Act for FY2003). The cut is expected to yield $2.647 billion in savings.3
Section 601(a) imposes the cut on the regular appropriations provided in Divisions
A-K, as well as to advance appropriations for FY2003 that were enacted in prior
appropriations acts.
Section 601(b) provides that the 0.65% cut is to be applied on a proportionate basis
to each account, and to each program, project, and activity within an account.
Finally, Section 601(c) exempts from the reductions the budget authority provided
in the act for specified programs in the following amounts:
! $4.696 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
! $6.668 billion for the Head Start program;
! $23.889 billion for the Veterans’ Medical Care program; and
! $3.836 billion for NASA’s space shuttle program.
The text of Section 601 is provided in Appendix A.
3 See the table inserted by Representative C.W. Bill Young, the chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, in the Congressional Record of February 13, 2003, on page H658.
The Senate included an across-the-board cut of nearly 3% in the version of H.J.Res. 2 which it
passed on January 23, 2003. According to the table on page H658, the larger cut would have
yielded savings of $11.392 billion.

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Table 1. Contents of H.J.Res. 2 (P.L. 108-7),
the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003
(H.Rept. 108-10; February 12, 2003)
Congressional Record
page number
Section/
Content
Division
Joint
Legislative
explanatory
text
statement
Sec. 1
Short Title
H707
—
Sec. 2
Table of Contents
H707
—
Sec. 3
References
H707
—
Division A
Agriculture, Rural Development,
H707-717
H853-876
Food and Drug Administration, and
Related Agencies Programs
Appropriations
Division B
Commerce, Justice, and State, the
H717-732
H877-948
Judiciary, and Related Agencies
Appropriations
Division C
District of Columbia Appropriations
H732-739
H948-952
Division D
Energy and Water Development
H740-746
H952-1042
Appropriations
Division E
Foreign Operations, Export
H746-762
H1042-1053
Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations
Division F
Interior and Related Agencies
H762-784
H1053-1093
Appropriations
Division G
Labor, Health and Human Services,
H784-797
H1093-1188
and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations
Division H
Legislative Branch Appropriations
H797-807
H1188-1191
Division I
Transportation and Related
H807-818
H1191-H1226
Agencies Appropriations
Division J
Treasury and General Government
H819-831
H1226-1235
Appropriations
Division K
Veterans Affairs and Housing and
H831-845
H1235-1273
Urban Development, and
Independent Agencies
Appropriations
Division L
Homeland Security Act of 2002
H845-846
H1273-1274
Amendments

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Congressional Record
page number
Section/
Content
Division
Joint
Legislative
explanatory
text
statement
Division M
Defense Matters
H847-848
H1274-1275
Division N
Emergency Relief and Offsets
H848-852
H1275-1276
Division O
Price-Anderson Act Amendments
H852
H1276
Division P
United States-China Economic and
H852
H1276
Security Review Commission

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Appendix A. Text of the 0.65% Across-the-Board Cut
Provision in H.J.Res. 2 (P.L. 108-7),
the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003
(Division N, Title VI, Section 601)
Title VI—Offsets
Sec. 601. (a) ACROSS-THE-BOARD RESCISSIONS.—There is hereby
rescinded an amount equal to 0.65 percent of—
(1) the budget authority provided (or obligation limitation imposed) for fiscal year
2003 for any discretionary account in divisions A through K of this joint
resolution;
(2) the budget authority provided in any advance appropriation for fiscal year
2003 for any discretionary account in any prior fiscal year appropriations Act; and
(3) the contract authority provided in fiscal year 2003 for any program subject to
limitation contained in this joint resolution.
(b) PROPORTIONATE APPLICATION.—Any rescission made by subsection (a) shall
be applied proportionately—
(1) to each discretionary account and each item of budget authority described in
subsection (a); and
(2) within each such account and item, to each program, project, and activity (with
programs, projects, and activities as delineated in the appropriation Act or
accompanying reports for the relevant fiscal year covering such account or item,
or for accounts and items not included in appropriation Acts, as delineated in the
most recently submitted President's budget).
(c) The rescission in subsection (a) shall not apply to budget authority appropriated or
otherwise made available by this joint resolution in the following amounts in the
following activities or accounts:
$4,696,000,000 provided for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the Department of Agriculture in division
A;
$6,667,533,000 provided for the Head Start Act in the Department of Education
in division G;
$23,889,304,000 provided for medical care in the Department of Veterans Affairs
in division K; and
$3,836,000,000 provided for the Shuttle program in the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration in division K.