Government Executive - Authors - Mary E. Thyfault

House panel clears $91 billion VA-HUD spending bill

Mary E. Thyfault — Tue, 08 Oct 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The House bill is $500 million below the $91.4 billion bill (S. 2797) approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee in July, and $2.5 billion below the president's $93.4 billion request. It is $4.5 billion below last year's $95.41 billion bill.

The subcommittee measure gives Veterans Affairs a $2.5 billion boost over last year-$1.1 billion over President Bush's request; continues the drive to nearly double the budget for the National Science Foundation with a $614 million increase over last year's level and $395 million over the administration's request; and raised NASA funding by $398 million to $15.3 billion, or $300 million more than Bush's request.

The subcommittee quickly passed the bill on a voice vote with little discussion. Chairman James Walsh, R-N.Y., asked members to hold amendments until the full committee markup, which is scheduled for Wednesday. "We need to work our way forward playing the hand we're dealt," he said.

But Rep. David R. Obey of Wisconsin, the full committee's ranking Democrat, warned that the spending bill would face rough ride later. "This was an unrealistic budget resolution and unrealistic subcommittee allocation," he said. The bill includes "wildly unrealistic assumptions," such as the zero funding of the national service program, AmeriCorps. "We know that can't survive," Obey said.

More than 250,000 people have served since 1994 in AmeriCorps, which provides assistance to nonprofits and public agencies in education, the environment and health. AmeriCorps has seen a 90 percent increase in applications since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Walsh pledged he would fight for AmeriCorps and another service program, Learn and Serve America, in the conference with the Senate. He said he was holding back funding for AmeriCorps to "prevent mischief on the floor" by members raiding the program. The House has failed to fund the program every year since 1999.

The Senate bill includes $515 million for AmeriCorps. Learn and Serve America and other service programs, an increase of $115 million over fiscal 2002. Bush requested funding for an additional 25,000 AmeriCorps volunteers.

The House subcommittee's bill provides the National Science Foundation with its largest budget ever, $5.4 billion-a $614 million increase over fiscal 2002 and $395 million over the president's request. "This is a remarkable increase considering that we are not under congressional mandate to double it," Walsh said. The Senate appropriations bill calls for slightly smaller NSF budget, $5.3 billion.

The subcommittee dedicated $16.6 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Housing Certificate Fund, a $946 million increase over fiscal 2002. The amount ensures that current Section 8 recipients continue to receive assistance, and allows public housing authorities to increase the numbers of families they can help.

Overall, the subcommittee funds HUD at $36.1 billion, a $1.8 billion increase in total program spending and a net appropriations increase of $1.2 billion. The Home Investments Partnerships is funded at $2.2 billion, $375 million over fiscal 2002.

Other highlights of the bill:

$8.2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency, $538 million above the president's request and $126 million over fiscal 2002.
The Safe Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, which helps finance improvements to water treatment systems, get $850 million, or $25 million more than last year and the budget request. And the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, which pays for improved sewage treatment, are funded at $1.3 billion, which is also $25 million more than fiscal 2002 and Bush's request.
$450 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, an increase of $90 million over fiscal 2002.

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Senate committee approves military tax breaks

Mary E. Thyfault — Thu, 12 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0400

A day after the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Senate Finance Committee voted to give more tax breaks to members of the armed forces and the Foreign Service.

The committee cleared the chairman's mark of the Armed Services Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 5063) on a voice vote. The action came a week after the committee considered the measure but failed to muster a quorum and as U.S troops remain in Afghanistan, the National Guard patrols U.S. borders, and President Bush seeks support for military action against Iraq.

"It's been 30 years since we mobilized our military forces at such great lengths," said Committee Chairman Max Baucus of Montana. The military "deserves to be treated appropriately under the tax laws."

The bill changes the tax code so that military and Foreign Service personnel can lower their real estate and capital gains taxes. It also improves tax breaks for military personnel when they travel for reserve duty, move residences, and pay child care costs. And it improves the tax treatment for membership in veterans' organizations and surviving spouse death benefits.

The tax provisions would be paid for by making it easier for the Internal Revenue Service to tax the assets of citizens who renounce their U.S. citizenship and by extending some IRS user fees. These changes would raise $997 million over 10 years.

The bill helps military personnel who must move frequently. Currently, a home owner living in a primary residence for two out of five years before selling it, can exclude the first $250,000-or $500,000 for a couple-from capital gains taxes. The bill suspends the requirement for up to 10 years for military and foreign service personnel and the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service.

The bill would also help those whose homes have lost value due to base realignment or base closure. It would exclude from income, payments that military personnel receive to offset such declining house values. The bill also clarifies that any dependent benefit provided to military personnel could be excluded from gross income.

In addition, all $6,000 in death gratuity benefits that spouses receive would be excluded from income. Currently, only $3,000 is excluded. The change would be effective retroactively to September 10, 2001.

Under the measure, National Guard and Reserve members who must travel overnight for reserve duty would be able to deduct travel expenses even if they don't itemize their taxes.

The bill passed the House by a vote of 412-0 last month. The House version does not include the funding provisions. A spokesman for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., said he will reserve comment on the funding issue until it passes the Senate.

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Senate panel weighs military tax breaks, but delays vote

Mary E. Thyfault — Mon, 09 Sep 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The committee was expected to easily pass the chairman's mark of the Foreign and Armed Services Tax Fairness Act (H.R. 5063) but Chairman Max Bacus of Montana postponed the vote after the committee failed to round up enough members.

The chairman's mark-which is based on a bill (S. 2816) introduced by Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley of Iowa-includes tax breaks for military personnel when they travel for reserve duty, move residences, and pay child care costs. It also improves the tax treatment for membership in veteran's organizations and surviving spouse death benefits.

"This bill does a small part to improve our tax code and, more importantly to pay respect to the men and women who are making sacrifices and risking their lives to defend us all," Baucus said in his opening statement. H.R. 5063 passed the House by a vote of 412-0 in July.

The tax provisions would be paid for by making it easier for the Internal Revenue Service to tax the assets of U.S. expatriates and extending some IRS user fees. The provisions would raise $997 million over 10 years.

The bill provides relief for military personnel who frequently move and sell their homes. Currently, if a home owner lives in his or her primary residence for two of the five years before a sale, he or she can exclude the first $250,000-or $500,000 for a couple-from capital gains tax. The bill suspends the five-year test for up to 10 years for military and foreign service personnel and for the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Public Health Service.

"It is important to ensure that our military personnel are eligible for the same tax incentives for home ownership available to all Americans," Grassley said in a prepared statement.

The bill would also help personnel whose homes have lost value due to base realignment or base closure. It would exclude from income payments military personnel receive under the Department of Defense Homeowner's Assistance Program (HAP). The program pays up to 95 percent of the fair market value of property prior to a base closure or realignment announcement.

The bill also clarifies that any dependent benefit provided to military personnel would be excludible from gross income. Present law states that qualified military benefits are not included in gross income, but it was unclear if this applied to dependent care benefits.

And, the measure excludes all death gratuity benefits from being taxed as income. Currently, surviving spouses receive a $6,000 death benefit but $3,000 of it is taxable. The exclusion would be effective retroactively to September 10, 2001.

The measure also improves the deductibility of non-reimbursable overnight travel expenses for National Guard and Reserve Members who must travel overnight for reserve duty. The proposal provides for an-above-the line deduction for these expenses. The reservist may deduct these expenses from gross income regardless of whether they itemize.

Under the bill, the lineal descendants and ancestors of current and former military personnel to deduct their contributions to veteran's organizations. It also extends filing deadlines for military personnel assigned to contingency operations. Currently, only military personnel-not contingency personnel-in a combat zone can suspend many tax deadlines while in the combat zone.

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Senate panel creates ombudsman to push small business contracting

Mary E. Thyfault — Thu, 25 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The bill (S. 2753) would establish an ombudsman in the SBA's Office of Advocacy. It also raises the statutory goal for federal contracts awarded to minority and women-owned businesses.

The measure passed on an 18-0 roll call that included several other bills.

The committee has been struggling with ways to help small and minority businesses win more federal contracting dollars.

"The federal government is not keeping the faith with America's small business," Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., said when he introduced the bill last week. "The administration is allowing bureaucratic excuses to shortchange millions of small business owners."

Originally, Kerry wanted to set up a separate office at SBA for the Small Disadvantaged Business Ombudsman. But Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo, ranking minority member, said he feared the new office would not be funded. The committee agreed by voice vote to place the ombudsman in SBA's Office of Advocacy.

The ombudsman would be responsible for ensuring that small businesses are treated fairly in the procurement process. That includes tracking and rectifying complaints received from small businesses regarding federal contracts.

The bill also raises the federal procurement goal for small businesses from the current 23 percent per year to 30 percent by 2006.

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Keep visa office at State Department, two panels say

Mary E. Thyfault — Wed, 10 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

The House International Relations and Judiciary committees both approved amendments Wednesday that keep the visa-issuing authority with the State Department, but strengthen the Homeland Security Department's role. The committees adopted an amendment sponsored by Rep. Henry Hyde, D-Ill., chairman of the International Relations Committee. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., is expected to present a similar amendment during the House Government Reform markup of the bill on Thursday.

Under the Hyde amendment, the new secretary of Homeland Security would have the authority to set visa policy, train foreign-service consulates to interview visa applicants, and make the final determination on whether visas should be issued. Homeland Security also would have the authority to send officers overseas to identify and review cases that represent potential terrorist threats.

"The current system can be improved," said Lantos, ranking minority member and a co-sponsor of the successful amendment that strengthened Homeland Security's role in the visa process. "I do not believe we need to make fundamental changes."

The International Relations Committee adopted that amendment by a voice vote. But it quickly faced a tougher challenge later in the morning when the House Judiciary Committee adopted the amendment by a vote of 18 to 15.

Hyde was attempting to offer a compromise to a proposal from Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., to move all visa issuing to the Homeland Security Department. Hyde argued that such a move would create a huge, new bureaucracy within the new department. Currently, the State Department issues about 10 million visas annually, and rejects about 3 million.

Sensenbrenner said that foreign-service employees do not have the skills and motivation to identify and reject terrorist visa applications. Several of the Sept. 11 hijackers were issued U.S. visas.

Foreign-service employees are motivated to approve visas to appease the local U.S. ambassador who is trying to build goodwill by allowing local citizens into the United States, according to Sensenbrenner.

"It is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house," Sensenbrenner said at the Judiciary markup. Plus, foreign-service employees receive just a few hours of training in interviewing techniques; FBI agents receive over 50 hours of training in interview techniques, he said.

The markups came the same day that The Washington Post reported that a State Department employee in Qatar sold 70 visas to Jordanian nationals for $10,000 apiece. A roommate of the Sept. 11 hijackers obtained one of those phony visas.

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