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The Human Needs Report is the Coalition on Human Needs' newsletter on national policy issues affecting low-income and vulnerable populations. It is published every other week while Congress is in session.
Article from the January 30, 2004 edition of the CHN Human Needs Report: Promises Broken on More Funding for Human Needs Programs
On Thursday, January 22, the Senate passed the conference agreement on the final omnibus spending bill (HR 2673, H Rept 108-401). The $820 billion bill passed by a 65-28 vote. Seven of the 13 appropriations bills that must be passed to keep the federal government running each year were part of the omnibus, including appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. The President signed the bill into law the next day.
The bill passed despite earlier efforts by most Democrats to keep debate open on the bill, in part to register concerns about Labor Department overtime pay rules that would deny the right to overtime to as many as eight million workers. But concerned the only alternative to the omnibus bill was a long-term continuing resolution that would keep almost all government funding at 2003 levels, Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD), joined by 13 other Democrats, agreed to close debate.
For moderate- and low-income families, the bill fails to deliver on promises made by Congress and the President. Funding for schools with low-income students fell more than $6 billion short of the stated Administration goal of $18.5 billion for the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. The continuing shortfall in NCLB funding hurts education programs for high quality teachers, after school services, and ESL programs. Although the NCLB Act is the President's signature education legislation, he has failed to demand full funding.
Although the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees the federal government will reimburse states for 40 percent of the cost of educating special needs children, Congress has never kept this promise. Funding in the omnibus bill will reimburse states with just 18 percent of the cost. Funding even falls about $1 billion short of the amount agreed to by Republicans in the FY 2004 budget resolution.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families pay their heating and cooling bills, got a small boost in funding, but was $100 million less than the President requested in his Fiscal Year 2004 budget. Despite the increase, fewer than one in five eligible households receive LIHEAP assistance. Section 8 housing assistance levels were increased to $14.182 billion, allowing for the renewal of all current vouchers. Only one in four households with qualifying incomes for federal housing assistance receives such aid.
The Child Welfare League of America commented the bill "fails to deliver for our most vulnerable children." Funding for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program, the premier federal prevention and support program for abused and neglected children, has been frozen for two straight years. For the past three years the President pledged to increase funding for this program by $1 billion over five years, but Congress has failed to deliver and the President has taken no action. The bill cuts funding for adoption incentive programs from $43 million to $7.5 million and keeps funding for most other prevention, training, and family support services at last year's level or less.
Many other programs and services for low-income families, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant remained at 2003 funding levels. Congress has once again broken its promise to restore funding for the Social Services Block Grant to the 1996 level of $2.8 billion, leaving funding at $1.7 billion. Funding for Head Start, which provides high quality early education for low-income three- and four-year olds, just barely kept pace with inflation.
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