Congress, Bush Prepare for Budget Showdown

President Bush is expected to veto the currently proposed Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill for fiscal year 2008, increasing the chances that primary care training programs and other health-related programs funded via Title VII of the Public Health Service Act will remain at current funding levels for the next several weeks.

House and Senate conferees agreed to an appropriations bill, H.R. 2642, (at the THOMAS Web site, type "HR 2642" in the search box after selecting "Bill Number") that combines funding for the Departments of Labor, HHS and Education; the Veterans Administration; and military construction into one spending package that contains billions more than the president requested. The package provides $150.7 billion in discretionary spending for Labor, HHS and Education and related agencies, representing a $6.2 billion increase over FY '07 levels and $9.8 billion above the president's request.

But without significant changes, Bush has said he would veto the legislation, forcing Congress to resort to passage of a continuing resolution -- a short-term funding measure -- to keep the federal government going until at least December as Congress and the president negotiate a final appropriations bill. The Senate has enough votes to override Bush's veto; the House does not.

If passed, the legislation would increase overall funding for Title VII health professions programs to $212 million in FY '08, a 14.7 percent jump from current levels. However, the bill would maintain current funding levels of $48.9 million for Title VII primary care health professions training programs.

Some House Democrats wanted to combine funding for Labor, HHS and Education with funding for veterans' programs and the Department of Defense into one spending bill in an effort to make it more difficult for Bush to veto. But Democrats backed away from that proposal after Republicans strongly objected to the inclusion of Department of Defense funding in the bill. In an Oct. 30 press statement, Bush condemned the tactic, vowing to veto "such a three-bill pileup."

"Congress should pass each bill one at a time in a fiscally responsible manner that reflects agreement between the legislative branch and the executive branch," Bush said.

H.R. 2642 would provide the following funding levels for key-health related programs:

Congressional appropriators acknowledge they will have to reconsider these funding levels if the president vetoes the bill.