FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations Resolution: Reference Guide
CRS Report for Congress
FY2003 Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution: Reference Guide
Robert Keith
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
The House and Senate agreed to the conference report on H.J.Res. 2, the
Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003, on February 13, 2003, thus
bringing to a close congressional action on the regular appropriations measures for that
fiscal year. President George Bush signed the measure into law on February 20, as P.L.
108-7 (117 Stat. 11-554). The measure incorporates the remaining 11 regular
appropriations acts for FY2003 (the defense and military construction appropriations
acts were enacted on October 23, 2002), providing $397.4 billion for these activities.
The measure includes an across-the-board cut of 0.65%, which is expected to yield
$2.647 billion in offsets.
Toward the beginning of the 108th Congress, the House and Senate brought the
consideration of the regular appropriations acts for FY2003 to a close by incorporating
the remaining 11 bills into a single bill, H.J.Res. 2, the Consolidated Appropriations
Resolution for FY2003. Two of the regular appropriations acts for that fiscal year were
enacted in 2002, during the second session of the 107th Congress, just after the start of the
fiscal year.1 In its final form, H.J.Res. 2 provides $397.4 billion in discretionary budget
authority.2
The House passed H.J.Res. 2 by voice vote on January 8, 2003. In its House-passed
form, H.J.Res. 2 was a continuing resolution for FY2003 providing for the continuation
of stop-gap funding through January 31, 2003. It was anticipated, however, that the
Senate would use the measure as a vehicle for incorporating the remaining regular
appropriations acts. The Senate did so, and passed the measure as amended on January
1 The Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2003 (P.L. 107-248) and the Military
Construction Appropriation Act for FY2003 (P.L. 107-249) were enacted into law on October
2 See the remarks of Representative C.W. Bill Young, the chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee, during consideration of H.J.Res. 2 in the Congressional Record of February 13,
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
108-10) on February 13, by votes of 338-83 and 76-20, respectively. H.J.Res. 2 was
presented to President Bush on February 19 and he signed it into law on February 20, as
P.L. 108-7 (117 Stat. 11-554).
An abbreviated listing of the contents of H.J.Res. 2 is provided in Table 1. The act
is organized by division, with each division (A through K) corresponding to one of the
regular appropriations acts. Further, there are five other divisions (L thorough P), which
involve such matters as additional emergency funding, amendments to the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 and the Price-Anderson Act, and the United States-China Economic
and Security Review Commission. Citations are provided to the pages of the
Congressional Record of February 12, 2003 (Vol. 149, No. 26—Book II) where the
legislative text of the conference report and the joint explanatory statement are provided.
In order to offset part of the costs of the act, an across-the-board cut of 0.65% is
included in Section 601 of Division N (the Division is referred to as the Miscellaneous
Appropriations Act for FY2003). The cut is expected to yield $2.647 billion in savings.3
Section 601(a) imposes the cut on the regular appropriations provided in Divisions
A-K, as well as to advance appropriations for FY2003 that were enacted in prior
appropriations acts.
Section 601(b) provides that the 0.65% cut is to be applied on a proportionate basis
to each account, and to each program, project, and activity within an account.
Finally, Section 601(c) exempts from the reductions the budget authority provided
in the act for specified programs in the following amounts:
!$4.696 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC);
!$6.668 billion for the Head Start program;
!$23.889 billion for the Veterans’ Medical Care program; and
!$3.836 billion for NASA’s space shuttle program.
The text of Section 601 is provided in Appendix A.
3 See the table inserted by Representative C.W. Bill Young, the chairman of the House
Appropriations Committee, in the Congressional Record of February 13, 2003, on page H658.
The Senate included an across-the-board cut of nearly 3% in the version of H.J.Res. 2 which it
passed on January 23, 2003. According to the table on page H658, the larger cut would have
yielded savings of $11.392 billion.
Table 1. Contents of H.J.Res. 2 (P.L. 108-7),
the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003
(H.Rept. 108-10; February 12, 2003)
Congressional Record
page number
Section/Content
DivisionJoint
Legislative explanatory
textstatement
Sec. 1Short TitleH707—
Sec. 2Table of ContentsH707—
Sec. 3ReferencesH707—
Division AAgriculture, Rural Development,H707-717H853-876
Food and Drug Administration, and
Related Agencies Programs
Appropriations
Division BCommerce, Justice, and State, theH717-732H877-948
Judiciary, and Related Agencies
Appropriations
Division CDistrict of Columbia AppropriationsH732-739H948-952
Division DEnergy and Water DevelopmentH740-746H952-1042
Appropriations
Division EForeign Operations, ExportH746-762H1042-1053
Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations
Division FInterior and Related AgenciesH762-784H1053-1093
Appropriations
Division GLabor, Health and Human Services,H784-797H1093-1188
and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations
Division HLegislative Branch AppropriationsH797-807H1188-1191
Division ITransportation and RelatedH807-818H1191-H1226
Agencies Appropriations
Division JTreasury and General GovernmentH819-831H1226-1235
Appropriations
Division KVeterans Affairs and Housing andH831-845H1235-1273
Urban Development, and
Independent Agencies
Appropriations
Division LHomeland Security Act of 2002H845-846H1273-1274
Amendments
Congressional Record
page number
Section/Content
DivisionJoint
Legislative explanatory
textstatement
Division MDefense MattersH847-848H1274-1275
Division NEmergency Relief and OffsetsH848-852H1275-1276
Division OPrice-Anderson Act AmendmentsH852H1276
Division PUnited States-China Economic andH852H1276
Security Review Commission
Appendix A. Text of the 0.65% Across-the-Board Cut
Provision in H.J.Res. 2 (P.L. 108-7),
the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution for FY2003
(Division N, Title VI, Section 601)
Title VI—Offsets
Sec. 601. (a) ACROSS-THE-BOARD RESCISSIONS.—There is hereby
rescinded an amount equal to 0.65 percent of—
(1) the budget authority provided (or obligation limitation imposed) for fiscal year
2003 for any discretionary account in divisions A through K of this joint
resolution;
(2) the budget authority provided in any advance appropriation for fiscal year
2003 for any discretionary account in any prior fiscal year appropriations Act; and
(3) the contract authority provided in fiscal year 2003 for any program subject to
limitation contained in this joint resolution.
(b) PROPORTIONATE APPLICATION.—Any rescission made by subsection (a) shall
be applied proportionately—
(1) to each discretionary account and each item of budget authority described in
subsection (a); and
(2) within each such account and item, to each program, project, and activity (with
programs, projects, and activities as delineated in the appropriation Act or
accompanying reports for the relevant fiscal year covering such account or item,
or for accounts and items not included in appropriation Acts, as delineated in the
most recently submitted President's budget).
(c) The rescission in subsection (a) shall not apply to budget authority appropriated or
otherwise made available by this joint resolution in the following amounts in the
following activities or accounts:
$4,696,000,000 provided for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in the Department of Agriculture in division
A;
$6,667,533,000 provided for the Head Start Act in the Department of Education
in division G;
$23,889,304,000 provided for medical care in the Department of Veterans Affairs
in division K; and
$3,836,000,000 provided for the Shuttle program in the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration in division K.