Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
On FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

December 18, 2007

LEAHY - Mr. President, the fiscal year 2008 omnibus appropriations bill is the product of more than nine months of work by the Senate and House Appropriations Committees. It meets the President’s arbitrary budget ceiling, and for that reason it short changes many key programs.

But it is far preferable to another continuing resolution at fiscal year 2007 levels, which the government has been operating under throughout this year.  Another continuing resolution would mean lay offs, short falls, program cut backs and terminations that would have repercussions throughout the government and across this country. That is what will happen if the President does not sign this bill.

There are ample reasons for him to sign it. As Chairman of the State and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I can say that the portion of this omnibus bill that I and Senator Gregg and Congresswoman Lowey and Congressman Wolf agreed to contains a balanced allocation of the funds we were given.

This is not a Democratic bill or a Republican bill. It is a bipartisan bill that attempts to address the myriad of foreign policy, national security, and domestic needs of this country.

Other subcommittees worked just as hard and in a similar bipartisan manner. None of us are completely happy with the outcome. We had to make exceedingly difficult cuts to get to the President’s number. But that is the nature of this process.

It is ironic that a President who said he would veto this bill unless it was within his self-proclaimed budget ceiling because he wants to keep a lid on spending, is asking Congress for another $70 billion in emergency funding to continue the war in Iraq.  Those dollars do not score against the budget, so the White House can espouse the fiction that the President is being fiscally responsible at the same time that he piles on the debt for future generations.  Of course, he never threatened to veto any of the appropriations conference reports during the past six years.

It is a political ploy after inheriting a balanced budget and tripling the national debt, but it is going to be hard felt by the American people. Cuts in funding for education, health care, public infrastructure, homeland security, environmental protection, transportation – no part of the federal budget was exempted except defense.

The State and Foreign Operations portion of the bill is $2 billion below the President’s budget. A full $1.3 billion of that cut was the result of the President’s veto threat.  It means fewer children will receive vaccinations in the poorest countries, less money for international peacekeeping, less for HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, less for non-proliferation and anti-terrorism programs, less for disaster relief, less for education, environment, energy and agriculture programs.  But, if the President gets his way, there will be tens of billions of dollars more to keep our troops bogged down in Iraq, while the Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites continue to fight among themselves.

Despite that, this omnibus bill is a far, far better outcome than continued spending at the fiscal year 2007 levels, and the dire consequences that would bring.  The State and Foreign Operations portion totals $35.1 billion in discretionary budget authority including $2.4 billion in emergency spending.  Without emergency spending, the bill totals $32.8 billion, which is $2 billion below the President’s regular fiscal year 2008 request and $1.52 billion above the fiscal year 2007 level.

Here are some of the highlights:

We provide $6.5 billion for global health programs, including $345 million to combat malaria, $150 million for tuberculosis, and $5 billion for HIV/AIDS.

We provide $546 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Added to funds in the Labor, Health and Human Services bill, this omnibus bill provides a total of $841 million for the Global Fund, an increase of $115 million above last year’s level.

It includes $446 million for child and maternal health, which is almost $100 million above last year’s level.

We provide $1.69 billion for United Nations peacekeeping, $550 of which will support the desperately needed UN-African Union force in Darfur.

The bill provides $1 billion to assist the world’s refugees, and $100 million to help Jordan cope with the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees that have flooded that country, which is already home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The bill provides the requested funds for Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the West Bank, Lebanon, and other needy countries.

It provides $1.54 billion for the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which is $344 million above the Senate passed level.

It provides $501 million for Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs, an increase of $55 million above the fiscal year 2007 level.

The bill does not include the so-called Mexico City language concerning international family planning which would have led to a Presidential veto. It is regrettable that the President would rather score political points than support private organizations that would use our funds for voluntary family planning services.

The bill provides $968 million for embassy security, which is $190 million above the fiscal year 2007 level.

There are several other important provisions in the State and Foreign Operations portion of this omnibus bill.  One would make long overdue reforms to current law by allowing thousands of persecuted refugees – barred because they were members of armed groups that were allied with the U.S., or who were forced to offer food, shelter or other services to terrorist groups – to seek asylum here.  This change was worked out by myself and Senator Kyl, and would provide relief to such Vietnam-era allies as the Hmong [MUNG] tribesman of Laos and the Montagnards [MON-TEN-YARDS] of Vietnam, and for child soldiers and others who were forced against their will to provide support to terrorist groups.

These people were there for us when we needed them, and we should not turn our backs when they need the safety of our shores. It is an affront to our values and to our reputation as a safe haven for victims of persecution.

The changes we are making will also provide relief for Iraqi refugees, some of whom have been barred for paying ransom to secure the release of a family member who was kidnapped by insurgents.

This change will not raise the number of refugees admitted to the United States, but it will bring our laws back in line with our values.

This bill contains other provisions, some proposed by Democrats, some by Republicans, which make important improvements in our foreign assistance programs.

We provide $300m for safe drinking water and sanitation programs, consistent with the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act.

There are funds set aside for reconciliation and people-to-people coexistence programs in the Middle East, as well as in other countries divided by ethnic, religious, or political conflict.

There are new provisions which address the problem of corruption and governance in countries that receive U.S. assistance.

There are new provisions to improve monitoring of U.S. military aid to countries that have human rights problems, and to address the problem of child soldiers.

Mr. President, these are only a few of the items supported by both Democrats and Republicans in this omnibus bill, and they are only within the State and Foreign Operations portion. There are thousands of other important domestic programs funded by each of the other subcommittees whose bills make up this omnibus.  I understand there will be amendments having to do with funding for the war in Iraq, and the outcome of those amendments will be important to every Senator.  I would hope that we can debate those amendments and go to final passage on this bill by mid afternoon.
 

# # # # #