Details of the omnibus spending bill

DAILY BRIEFING

Details of the omnibus
spending bill

The $500 billion omnibus spending bill that Congress is preparing to approve includes eight appropriations measures and $20 billion in emergency spending. While the bill is still subject to change, here are some of its major provisions:

• $9.2 billion in emergency appropriations for Defense. This includes $1.9 billion for peacekeeping in Bosnia; $1.1 billion for fixing the year 2000 problem in DoD computers; $1.1 billion for readiness problems like Army training, Navy recruitment and spare parts; $2 billion for intelligence programs; and $1 billion for missile defense.
• $1.7 billion for the Clinton administration's Clean Water Action Plan.
• A measure requiring federal employees' health plans to cover five methods of prescription contraceptives: birth control pills, diaphragm, IUDs, Norplant and Depo-Provera. Five plans with religious affiliations are exempt from the provision, as are doctors who object to contraceptives.
• $2 billion in additional funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health.
• $17.9 billion for the International Monetary Fund.
• $6 billion in aid and tax relief for farmers.
• Blockage of a Department of Health and Human Services plan to change organ transplant rules.
• $1.1 billion in funding for the goal of hiring 100,000 new teachers.
• Funding of the Census bureau only through June 15. By then, the Supreme Court should decide on the contentious issue of using statistical sampling in the 2000 census.