Highlights of the Conference Agreement on the Fiscal Year 2005 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 1268)
On Tuesday, May 3, conferees completed their work on the Fiscal Year 2005 Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 1268), making emergency funding available to support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism, and tsunami disaster relief. In all, the conference agreement includes just over $82 billion — $75.9 billion for defense, $4.1 billion for foreign assistance, $1.2 billion to support the domestic war on terrorism and $907 million for tsunami relief. The House is expected to take up the conference agreement on May 5, while the Senate will consider the legislation when it returns from recess the week of May 9.
[Note: A full breakout of the numbers will be available shortly on the Center’s website.]
Defense (Title I) – The conference agreement includes a total of $75.9 billion for military related appropriations, $921 million above the Administration’s request. The House version of the legislation included $76.9 billion, while the Senate version included $74.8 billion. This total includes $17.4 billion for Military Personnel ($580 million above the request), $37.1 billion for Operations and Maintenance ($1 billion below the request), $17.4 billion for Procurement ($1.3 billion more than requested), $637 million for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, ($180 million above the request) and $1.1 billion for Military Construction ($300 million less than requested). It also includes $242 million for Drug Interdiction and Counter-drug Activities and $222 million for military operations in support of humanitarian relief of tsunami victims. The bill includes $354 million, the amount requested, for the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, which makes cash available to local U.S. military commanders to fund humanitarian assistance and reconstruction programs.
Foreign Assistance (Title II) – The conference agreement includes $4.1 billion in foreign assistance, $1.5 billion below the President’s request. The House version of the legislation included $3.2 billion, while the Senate version included $4.1 billion. The legislation does not fund the administration’s $200 million request for the newly created Global War on Terror Partners fund, an assistance program for nations aiding in the war on terrorism that is controlled by the President. It does, however, increase the $200 million request for assistance to coalition partners in Iraq & Afghanistan by $30 million.
In addition, the report recommends $680 million for international peacekeeping activities ($100 million below the request), $592 for the construction of a new U.S. embassy in Bagdad ($66 million below the request), and $734 million for diplomatic and consular programs ($33 million less than requested). Up to $50 million of the peacekeeping funds can be used to support efforts to halt genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The report also contains $70 million in assistance for Ukraine, North Caucasus and Belarus.
War on Terrorism (Title III) – The conference agreement includes $1.2 billion for domestic spending to support the war on terrorism, $800 million above the Administration’s $418 million request. The House version of the legislation included $358 million, while the Senate version included $1.2 billion. Funding includes $635 million for increased border security and enforcement of which $176 million is to hire, train, equip and support an additional 500 Border Patrol Agents and relieve current facility overcrowding, $454 million is for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and $97.5 million to hire and train additional criminal investigators and Immigration Enforcement Agents. The agreement also includes $84 million for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation.
Tsunami Relief (Title IV) – The conference agreement includes $907.3 million for tsunami disaster relief, $43 million below the administration’s request. The House version of the legislation included $907.6 million, while the Senate version included $907.3 billion. Of this amount, $656 million is provided for tsunami disaster relief, $45 million below the request. The $45 million reduction is for debt relief for affected nations. An additional $25 million is included for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a tsunami warning system.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Military Death Benefits – The agreement increases death benefits to families of U.S. troops killed in combat to $500,000, double the current level. The benefits fall into two categories. The one-time, tax-free “death gratuity� paid to survivors would rise from $12,420 to $100,000. The limit on life insurance coverage for service members would rise from $100,000 to $400,000. The one-time benefit payment is retroactive back to October 7, 2001 to cover previous combat fatalities. Similar provisions were included in the Bush Administration’s FY’06 budget request. The bill also contains language adopted by the House that extends the one-time benefit to non-combats fatalities for personnel on active duty, retroactive to October 7, 2001. The conference report also includes a new Traumatic Injury Protection Insurance benefit of up to $100,000 for soldiers who have suffered traumatic injuries such as loss of limb, sight or other debilitating injuries.
Elimination of Proposed Weapons Cuts – The conference report contains several provisions aimed at blocking weapons funding reductions proposed by the Pentagon. Specifically, it halts Navy plans to reduce the number of active aircraft carriers to below 12 until after the Pentagon completes the 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, delaying the planned retirement of the USS John F. Kennedy. It contains provisions that would block Navy plans to adopt a “winner-take-all� strategy for awarding the next generation DD destroyer program. And finally, it blocks the Pentagon’s planned termination of the C-130J transport aircraft program.
Funding for Overseas Military Operations – The agreement retains sense of the Senate language that funds requested after fiscal year 2006 for ongoing military operations overseas, including Iraq and Afghanistan, should be included as part of the normal annual budget request.
Report on Iraq — The conference agreement requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress identifying the economic, stability and Iraqi security force training performance standards and goals, and includes “a notional timetable for achieving these goals.�
Prohibition On Torture – The legislation contains language protecting individuals being detained by the United States from “torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.�
Immigration — The agreement requires uniform national standards for issuing driver’s licenses used for federal purposes including boarding airplanes, and requires information sharing between states and the federal government. It allows the Department of Homeland Security to pre-empt state and federal laws to build border fences. House language that would have permitted the deportation of asylum applicants while their cases were pending in federal courts was dropped. Language in the Senate version lifting the cap on temporary seasonal workers (H-2B visas) was included.
Pre-packaged News Videos – The agreement includes language blocking the production or distribution of news stories by the federal government without identifying the government as the source of information.
For highlights and analysis of the Administration’s $81.9 billion FY’05 supplemental spending request and previous House and Senate action, see the Center’s 2005 Supplemental webpage.
Sources: Conference Report 109-72, and House and Senate Appropriations Committee press release