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 few highlights of the President’s FY 2000 budget proposal are:

• $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; $20 million 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].

On March 25, 1999, the House, by a vote of 221 – 208, and Senate, by a vote of 55 – 45, adopted similar versions of the FY 2000 budget resolution (H.Con. Res. 68/S.Con.Res. 20). During the debate in the Senate members rejected an amendment by a vote of 47 to 52, offered by Senators Specter and Harkin to increase funding for the NIH. The amendment would have provided funds to NIH from revenue made available by disallowing tobacco companies from taking a federal income tax deduction "for any payment to the federal government or any state or local government in connection with any tobacco litigation or settlement…." If approved, this amendment would have provided an additional $1.4 billion for the NIH in FY 2000 above the $600 million increase in the NIH budget assumed by the Senate Budget Committee-passed version of the resolution.

Determined to meet their statutory deadline, the Republican leadership met with the Budget Committee chairmen on April 12 to hammer out the minor differences between the two budget resolutions. The House passed the conference report by a vote of 220-208 on April 14 and the Senate followed on the 15^th with a vote of 54-44. The report reflects the GOP goals of tax cuts, increased defense and education spending, reserved Social Security surplus dollars for debt reduction and retirement programs, and the preservation of the statutory spending caps. Given these priorities, unless something changes, it is currently estimated that, appropriators will be required to cut about $30 billion from discretionary spending in FY 2000.

The FY 2000 budget resolution also directs that the Senate Finance Committee take up the Medicare reform proposal offered by the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.

The PPC will continue to work aggressively with both the Administration and Congress to ensure that federal programs and services for children and adolescents maintain and receive adequate funding. In addition, the Academy joined with the Coalition for Health Funding and over 140 public health supporters to encourage the budgeters to adjust the spending caps for overall spending on public health programs such as the NIH, AHCPR, MCH etc..

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 submitted a written statement for the record. The PPC is working together with a number of coalitions to increase funding for medical and health services research (including pediatric research), MCH Block Grant, health professions training to name just a few important programs for children and adolescents.

Back to Legislative Report Index

Back to APS/SPR Home Page

Last Modified: March 14, 2001