FY 2000 Budget: On February 1, 1999, President Clinton submitted his FY 2000 budget proposal to Congress. The $1.77 trillion "balanced" budget plan projects a $117 billion surplus in FY 2000 expected to increase to $134 billion and $187 billion in FY 2001 and 2002 respectively. The President’s budget proposes using 62% of the surplus to "shore up" Social Security; 15 to "bolster" Medicare; 11% for individual retirement savings plans and another 11% for increased spending for defense and education.

The President’s budget also includes additional discretionary appropriations of $240 billion over five years and increased mandatory spending for such initiatives as child care, education and health care. A 55-cent-per-pack cigarette tax, user fees and some offsetting cuts are also part of the president’s FY 2000 proposal.

The next step in this process is a draft budget resolution by the House and the Senate Budget Committees. The statutory deadline for adoption of a House/Senate conference report on the FY 2000 congressional budget resolution is April 15, a date that is seldom met. The House Budget Committee chairman John Kasich (R-OH) has indicated that his main priorities are tax cuts, preserving Social Security and education. At the time of this writing, the House Budget Committee is tentatively scheduled to report out the FY 2000 budget resolution in March and bring it to the floor by the beginning of April. Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) chairman of the Senate Budget Committee has indicated that the Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to markup its FY 2000 budget resolution in mid-March. It will reflect similar priorities as the House – Social Security, increased defense and education spending and tax cuts. However, over the last several weeks there has been growing concern about the size, shape and form of the tax cut expressed by the congressional majority rank and file, thus suggesting some possible slippage in the dates for Budget committee and floor action by both the House and the Senate.

The President’s budget includes the following:

• $15.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $320 million or 2.1% increase over FY 1999;
• $206 million for the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), an increase of $35 million or 21% over FY 1999 funding;
• $3.1 billion for the Centers for Disease Control, an increase of $201 million over FY 1999, including funding for such initiatives as increased protection from bioterroism and improved food safety; in addition, the CDC’s budget includes $35 million to continue and expand new research and demonstration projects in communities across the country which address six identified areas of health disparities: infant mortality, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, HIV infections, and child and adult immunizations;
• $4.2 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration, an increase of $42 million;
• $945 million; $20million increase above FY 1999 for Consolidated Health Centers [community, rural and homeless health centers;
• $116 million for the National Health Service Corps, no increase over FY 1999 funding;
• $40 million for a new temporary program to provide graduate medical education funding to independent children’s hospitals;
• $252 million for Health Professions Training and Nursing Education (Title VII and VIII), a $50 million reduction from FY 1999; this also includes zero funding for both the primary care cluster which funds grants for general pediatrics training and the public health workforce development cluster;
• $695 million for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant [level funding from FY 1999].

The PPC will continue to work with both the Administration and Congress to ensure that federal programs and services for children receive adequate funding.

FY 2000 Appropriations: Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committee staff have indicated a desire to keep the appropriations process on schedule. Fiscal Year 2000 begins on October 1, 1999. The Public Policy Council has submitted a formal request to testify before both Committees and present recommendations for funding levels for programs and services that effect children’s health. At the time of this writing, neither Committee has selected its public witnesses. Hearings are likely to be held in early to mid-April. In the meantime, members of the Clinton Administration are appearing before the budget and appropriations committees to defend the president’s FY2000 budget proposal.

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Last Modified: March 14, 2001