FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act: Reference Guide

CRS Report for Congress
FY2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act:
Reference Guide
Robert Keith
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Summary
Congress and President Bush brought action on the 13 regular appropriations acts
for FY2005 to a close through the enactment of H.R. 4818, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act for FY2005. The House agreed to the conference report, by a vote
of 344-51, on November 20, 2004, and the Senate agreed to it, by a vote of 65-30, later
that day. On December 6, the House completed action on H.Con.Res. 528, a measure
correcting the enrollment of H.R. 4818, thus clearing the bill for the President’s
approval. Among other things, H.Con.Res. 528 removed from the bill a controversial
provision pertaining to congressional access to income tax returns. President Bush
signed the bill into law on December 8, as P.L. 108-447 (118 Stat. 2809 et. seq.).
The Consolidated Appropriations Act incorporates the remaining nine regular
appropriations acts for FY2005 (four were enacted into law earlier in 2004) and provides
about $388 billion in discretionary budget authority for the fiscal year. In order to offset
part of the costs, the act requires that FY2005 appropriations (and obligation
limitations), except for defense and homeland security spending, be cut across the board
by 0.80%. According to preliminary estimates, the across-the-board cut is expected to
yield savings of about $3.5 billion in budget authority and $1.9 billion in outlays for
FY2005. This report will be updated as developments warrant.
Legislative History
In 2004, during the second session of the 108^th Congress, the House and Senate
cleared four of the 13 regular appropriations acts for FY2005 individually and President
George W. Bush signed them into law.¹ Congress and the President brought action on the
remaining nine regular appropriations acts for FY2005 to a close through the enactment

¹ The four FY2005 regular appropriations acts signed into law individually earlier in 2004 were
(1) Defense, P.L. 108-287 (Aug. 5, 2004); (2) Military Construction, P.L. 108-324 (Oct. 13,

2004); (3) Homeland Security, P.L. 108-334 (Oct. 18, 2004); and (4) District of Columbia, P.L.

108-335 (Oct. 18, 2004).

Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

of a single bill, H.R. 4818, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005. The act,
which first passed the House on July 15, 2004, and the Senate on September 23, initially
provided appropriations only for Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related
Programs. It was expanded at the conference stage to cover the other eight regular
appropriations acts. The conference report, H.Rept. 108-792, was reported on November

19, 2004.

The House agreed to the conference report on H.R. 4818, by a vote of 344-51, on
November 20, 2004. The conference report was considered pursuant to the terms of a
special rule, H.Res. 866, that had been reported by the House Rules Committee earlier
that day (H.Rept. 108-794).² During House consideration of the special rule, it was
amended to provide for automatic adoption in the House of a measure (discussed below)
providing for enrollment corrections in H.R. 4818. The Senate agreed to the conference
report, by a vote of 65-30, later that day.
On December 6, 2004, the House completed action on H.Con.Res. 528, a measure
correcting the enrollment of H.R. 4818, thus clearing the bill for the President’s approval.
Among other things, the enrollment correction measure removed from the bill a
controversial provision pertaining to congressional access to income tax returns. The
provision, originally found in Division H (Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Act),
Title II, Section 222, read as follows:
Sec. 222. Hereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of law governing the
disclosure of income tax returns or return information, upon written request of the
Chairman of the House or Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Commissioner
of the Internal Revenue Service shall allow agents designated by such Chairman
access to Internal Revenue Service facilities and any tax returns or return information³
contained therein.
As automatically adopted by the House on November 20, pursuant to Section 3 of
H.Res. 866, the enrollment correction measure provided for two changes in H.R. 4818:
(1) substituting new language for Division H, Title VI, Section 643, pertaining to debt
collection procedures; and (2) changing the across-the-board reduction percentage in
Division J, Title I, Section 122 from 0.83% to 0.80%. Later that day, the Senate by
unanimous consent adopted H.Con.Res. 528 with an amendment (Stevens amendment no.
4076) removing the provision relating to income tax returns, and then returned the
measure to the House. Earlier on November 20, the Senate had passed by unanimous
consent S.J.Res. 42, a measure declaring that the tax return provision “shall have no force
and effect.” Senate action on H.Con.Res. 528, however, superseded its earlier passage
of S.J.Res. 42.
President Bush signed the bill into law on December 8, as P.L. 108-447 (118 Stat.
2809 et. seq.). The President issued a statement upon signing the bill, indicating his
concern with some of its provisions:

² House consideration of H.Res. 866 is found in the Congressional Record of Nov. 20, 2004,
daily ed., vol. 150, no. 135, on pp. H10087-H10098.
³ Section 222, as contained in the conference report on H.R. 4818, is set forth in the
Congressional Record of Nov. 19, 2004, daily ed., vol. 150, no. 134, book II, on p. H10352.

Many provisions of the CAA [Consolidated Appropriations Act] are inconsistent
with the constitutional authority of the President to conduct foreign affairs, command
the Armed Forces, protect sensitive information, supervise the unitary executive
branch, make appointments, and make recommendations to the Congress. Many other
provisions unconstitutionally condition execution of the laws by the executive branch⁴
upon approval by congressional committees.
The statement identified the various provisions of concern and indicated the
executive branch’s response in each case.
Structure and Content
Representative C. W. Bill Young, the chairman of the House Appropriations
Committee, inserted explanatory materials into the Congressional Record of November
20 indicating that the act provides $388.4 billion in discretionary spending for FY2005
and complies with the FY2005 cap of $821.9 billion agreed to earlier in the session by⁵
congressional leaders and the President. In addition, Chairman Young inserted detailed
tables on the discretionary spending provided in the measure.⁶
An abbreviated listing of the contents of H.R. 4818 is provided in Table 1. The act
is organized into 11 divisions, with each of the first nine divisions (A through I)
corresponding to one of the unfinished regular appropriations acts. The next division,
Division J, pertains to “Other Matters,” including miscellaneous appropriations and
offsets. The final division, Division K, involves “Small Business” legislation. Citations
are given to the pages of the Congressional Record of November 19, 2004, where the
legislative text of the conference report and the joint explanatory statement are provided
(as noted, the explanatory material for Division K is provided in the Congressional
Record of November 20).
Across-the-Board Spending Cuts
Government-Wide Cuts. In order to offset part of the costs of the act, Division
J, Title I, Section 122, requires that FY2005 appropriations (and obligation limitations),
with certain exceptions, be cut across the board. (The exceptions pertain to funding
provided in the Defense, Homeland Security, and Military Construction Appropriations
Acts enacted earlier in the session, as well as any supplemental appropriations for
FY2005.) In addition, the cut applies to advance appropriations for FY2005 provided in
prior appropriations acts and certain contract authority. Under the enrollment correction
measure, the across-the-board reduction percentage was changed from 0.83% to 0.80%.
According to preliminary estimates, the across-the-board cut is expected to yield savings
of about $3.5 billion in budget authority and $1.9 billion in outlays for FY2005.

⁴ See “President’s Statement on the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005” (Dec. 8, 2004) at
[ ht t p: / / www.whi t e house.gov/ news/ r el eases/ 2004/ 12/ 20041208-13.ht ml ] .
⁵ See “Highlights of the Final FY05 Spending Bills” in the Congressional Record, Nov. 20, 2004,
daily ed., vol. 150, no. 135, pp. H10186-H10189. The document also is available on the House
Appropriations Committee’s website at [http://appropriations.house.gov].
⁶ See the Congressional Record, ibid., pp. H10099-H10185.

Pursuant to Section 122, rescissions made under the 0.80% across-the-board cut have
to be made proportionately at the account and program, project, and activity (PPA) level.
Unlike across-the-board cut provisions included in past consolidated appropriations acts,
there is no requirement that the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
report to Congress on the implementation of the cuts. OMB Bulletin 05-01, issued on
December 16, 2004, provides guidance to agencies on implementing the 0.80% cut, as
well as the other spending cuts discussed below.⁷ The text of Section 122, as it was
modified by H.Con.Res. 528 and enacted into law, is provided in Table 2.
In his statement on the act, Chairman Young indicated that the across-the-board cut
in Section 122 and two other provisions in the act were involved in constraining total
funding to the capped level:
All additional spending is paid for by an across the board cut of .80% in all non-
defense and non-homeland security spending, [a] $300 million rescission in non-war,
non-emergency defense funds, [and ]$283 million from limitations on expenditures⁸
from the Crime Victims Fund.
Cuts Within Divisions of the Act. The Consolidated Appropriations Act for
FY2005 also includes three other provisions requiring across-the-board spending cuts
focused on particular divisions of the act. The cuts must be made on a proportionate basis
and are expected to yield total savings of about $367 million in budget authority for
FY2005.
First, Division B (Commerce-Justice-State-the Judiciary Appropriations Act),
Section 640 rescinds 0.54% of discretionary appropriations for FY2005 provided in the
act. According to the House Appropriations Committee, savings from the cut are⁹
estimated at $229 million in budget authority.
Second, Division E (Interior Appropriations Act), Section 501 rescinds 0.594% of
discretionary appropriations for FY2005 provided in the act, as well as advance
appropriations for FY2005 provided in the Interior Appropriations Act for FY2004. The
estimated savings from the cut, according to the House Appropriations Committee, are¹⁰

$120.024 million in budget authority.
⁷ The bulletin may be found at [http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy05/b05-01.pdf]
⁸ See the Congressional Record, ibid., p. H10186.
⁹ The Congressional Record, daily ed., Nov. 19, 2004, vol. 150, no. 134, book II, sets forth the
text of Section 640 on p. H10265 and the pertinent portion of the joint explanatory statement on
p. H10476. The estimated savings from Section 640 are set forth in materials inserted by
Chairman Young in the Congressional Record, daily ed., Nov. 20, 2004, vol. 150, no. 135, p.
H10117.
¹⁰ The Congressional Record, daily ed., Nov. 19, 2004, vol. 150, no. 134, book II, sets forth the
text of Section 501 on p. H10317 and the pertinent portion of the joint explanatory statement on
p. H10609. The estimated savings from Section 501 are set forth in materials inserted by
Chairman Young in the Congressional Record, daily ed., Nov. 20, 2004, vol. 150, no. 135, p.
H10137.

Finally, Division F (Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Act), Section 519 reduces
amounts made available under the act for administrative and related expenses for
departmental management (except for the Food and Drug Administration and the Indian
Health Service) by $18 million.¹¹
Table 1. Contents of the Consolidated Appropriations Act
for FY2005 (H.R. 4818, Conference Report, H.Rept. 108-792)
Congressional Record
Page Number
Section/Content
DivisionJoint
Legislative Explanatory
TextStatement
Sec. 1Short TitleH10235 —
Sec. 2Table of ContentsH10235 —
Sec. 3ReferencesH10235 —
Sec. 4Statement of AppropriationsH10235 —
Division AAgriculture, Rural Development, FoodH10235-H10411-
and Drug Administration, and RelatedH10247H10426
Agencies
Division BCommerce, Justice, and State, theH10247-H10426-
Judiciary, and Related AgenciesH10268H10476
Division CEnergy and Water DevelopmentH10268-H10476-
H10277H10576
Division DForeign Operations, Export Financing,H10277-H10576-
and Related ProgramsH10297H10590
Division EInterior and Related AgenciesH10297-H10590-
H10317H10627
Division FLabor, Health and Human Services, andH10317-H10627-
Education, and Related AgenciesH10331H10770
Division GLegislative BranchH10331-H10770-
H10340H10775
Division HTransportation, Treasury, IndependentH10340-H10775-
Agencies, and General GovernmentH10364H10824
Division IVeterans Affairs and Housing and UrbanH10364-H10824-
Development, and Independent AgenciesH10379H10887

¹¹ The Congressional Record, daily ed., Nov. 19, 2004, vol. 150, no. 134, book II, sets forth the
text of Section 519 on p. H10331 and the pertinent portion of the joint explanatory statement on
p. H10700. The required savings are specified in the text of the provision and included in the
cost data set forth in materials inserted by Chairman Young in the Congressional Record, daily
ed., Nov. 20, 2004, vol. 150, no. 135, p. H10158 (see line code 50240).

Congressional Record
Page Number
Section/Content
DivisionJoint
Legislative Explanatory
TextStatement
Division JOther MattersH10379-H10887
H10405
Division KSmall BusinessH10405-H10196-^a
H10411H10202
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Table 2. Text of the 0.80% Across-the-Board Spending Cut
Provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2005
(Division J, Title I, Section 122 of P.L. 108-447)
Sec. 122 (a) Across-the-Board Rescissions. — There is hereby rescinded an amount equal to

0.80 percent of —

(1) the budget authority provided (or obligation limitation imposed) for fiscal year
2005 for any discretionary account in divisions A through J of this Act and in any
other fiscal year 2005 appropriation Act (except any fiscal year 2005 supplemental
appropriation Act, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act,
2005, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005, or the Military
Construction Appropriations Act, 2005);
(2) the budget authority provided in any advance appropriation for fiscal year 2005
for any discretionary account in any prior fiscal year appropriation Act; and
(3) the contract authority provided in fiscal year 2005 for any program subject to
limitation contained in any division or appropriation Act subject to paragraph (1).
(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
such subsection; 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).
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