Making Further Continuing Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2007

MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2007 -- (Senate - February 14, 2007)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to speak on two matters concerning the 2007 continuing resolution.

First, as the chairman of the Interior Subcommittee, I want to let my colleagues know exactly what this continuing resolution means for the agencies within my subcommittee's jurisdiction.

Second, I want to touch briefly on the appropriations process and why it is so important that Congress pass individual appropriations bills.

Let me go through some funding highlights for the agencies and programs under my subcommittee's purview:

The President recently announced his new, National Parks Centennial Initiative. This will provide up to $3 billion over the next 10 years to improve our national parks in preparation for their centennial in 2016. This continuing resolution contains the first $40 million of the $100 million installment the President requested in his 2008 budget.

The amount provided in the continuing resolution for basic operations at our national parks is $1.758 billion, a $40 million increase over last year's level.

The continuing resolution also contains an increase of $70 million in the Forest Service firefighting account. Of that amount, $51 million is provided for basic fire suppression activities.

We have added $19 million to the hazardous fuels reduction account so that important preventive work can continue as well.

The continuing resolution provides an additional $125 million for the Indian Health Service so that the critical medical care so desperately needed in Indian country can be made available.

There is also $60 million for basic operational needs for the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. Together, these agencies manage a conservation and recreation network that spans more than 550 million acres.

Finally, I would like to point out that under this continuing resolution, EPA's Clean Water State Revolving Fund will receive nearly $1.1 billion. That is $200 million more than the 2006 level, which will be used to help local communities meet their wastewater infrastructure needs.

But while there are some funding increases in this continuing resolution, the fact that we are now considering this on the floor today--over 4 months into fiscal year 2007--underscores the problem with not going through the regular appropriations process.

This resolution essentially provides the same level of funding as fiscal year 2006, with a few exceptions. But this means that dozens of programs and projects did not receive an increase over 2006 levels or did not receive funding at all.

There are, however, a few bright spots in what has otherwise been tough times.

For instance, there is an increase of $3.6 billion in veterans health care and $1.2 billion to help care for our brave military personnel and their families; over a billion dollars for State and local law enforcement assistance grants; $399 million for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, SCAAP, the same as fiscal year 2006; $1.2 billion for Ryan White CARE grants, an increase of $75.8 million to fund at the newly authorized level; $4.5 billion for Global HIV/AIDS, an increase of $1.3 billion; a $502 million increase for section 8 tenant-based housing vouchers and the first increase in the maximum Pell grant in 4 years, from the current $4,050 to $4,310; and full funding of the Transportation Reauthorization bill for fiscal year 2007.

Yet many programs will not receive increases. For example, in California there is no increase for CalFed. This program plays an important role in increasing California's water supply, restoring fisheries and delta levees, and improving the water quality of the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Additionally, programs of a critical nature in my State that I fought hard to secure funding for will not receive the resources they deserve. These include State agricultural pest detection, Perchlorate cleanup efforts, and important flood control projects.

That is why it is so significant that Congress does its job to fully consider and approve each individual appropriations bill. This is the best way to ensure that needed projects and programs are funded adequately.

For this reason, I am glad to serve on the Appropriations Committee under the leadership of the Senator from West Virginia. Under his direction, I believe we will pass all 12 bills for fiscal year 2008. First, however, we must dispose of the leftover business from last Congress.

The Chairman is proceeding the best he can, and I believe we need to support this effort and get this done. I urge my colleagues to vote for the passage of this continuing resolution.

http://thomas.loc.gov/