District of Columbia Fair Federal Compensation Act of 2004

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present the fiscal year 2005 District of Columbia appropriations bill. This bill passed out of full committee on July 14.

The bill before us totals $560 million in Federal funds and $8.2 billion in local funds. Within this total, the District expects to receive approximately $1.9 billion in Federal grant funds.

The bill is the product of hard work by every member of the Subcommittee on the District of Columbia. I personally want to thank each of them for their input into the bill. I especially want to thank my ranking member, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), for his advice, counsel, and support in the development of this bill. I enjoyed working with him on behalf of the city of Washington.

The subcommittee held hearings and visited many local sites, including the District of Columbia public schools and charter schools, and police and fire department facilities, to name just a few. We developed this bill with the input from members of the subcommittee, other House Members, the Mayor and city council, and interested citizens.

I believe that this bill continues Congress's commitment to our Nation's Capital. As with every piece of legislation, there are many deserving projects that could not be accommodated within our funding allocation, but this is a balanced and equitable bill, a bill that everyone can and should support.

I am pleased to note that the District of Columbia continues to make significant progress in improving both its financial and program management. This is the seventh balanced budget the District has submitted to Congress for review; and, once again, the District received a clean audit from the city's independent auditors. The city also had a recent upgrading in its bond rating by Moody's Investors Service to an A rating, and this is the first time the city has received an A rating from all three of the major rating agencies. It should be remembered that it was not long ago that the city's credit rating was the lowest of the low. Mayor Williams and the city council should be commended for their actions.

After detailed review of the budget, the bill continues the Federal commitment began in 1997 for funding the District of Columbia courts as well as the Defender Services and the Court Services and the Defender Supervision Agency and the Public Defender Service. The bill also provides $118.9 million for other high-priority District and congressional programs projects.

Among these: $25.6 million for the recently authorized and very successful resident tuition support program; $15 million for emergency planning and security costs; $10 million for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority to continue the combined sewer overflow project; $3 million for continued work on the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative; as well as $7 million for the capital development in the District to complete construction of a multiagency unified communications center, which benefits police, fire, EMS, and other city agencies; $6 million for a new public library learning center initiative; and $5 million for foster care improvement.

At the city's request, the bill also changes the city's reserve requirement from 7 to 6 percent. This change frees up additional resources, provides the city with more flexibility in balancing its budget, and does so without impacting the city's favorable bond rating.

As I noted earlier, the District has accomplished much, but still more needs to be done. We are particularly troubled by some of the more intractable problems facing the District that seem to revolve around its children. If this bill has a theme, it is to continue to make sure to help the children of the District of Columbia. To help address this issue, this bill also includes $5 million for the recently established foster care improvement program, additional money for family literacy, and $6 million for the new library/learning center initiative subject to a 1-to-1 match by the District.

Over the past year, we visited many of the city's schools, and I can tell my colleagues from personal observation

there is a real need to improve student and teacher performance. In these visits, I was struck by the very poor physical condition of some of the District's schools and by the lack of resources available to students, especially in their school libraries. This is a new initiative, and it is designed to enhance and restore District of Columbia elementary school libraries as fully functioning learning centers and, in doing so, bring together local, Federal, and potentially private resources. This initiative, when implemented, will enhance our ability to provide critical educational resources the city's children deserve in order to receive a quality education.

This bill also fully funds the school improvement program authorized last year. This bill maintains the three-pronged commitment made last year to both the District schools, the District of Columbia charter schools, and $14 million for opportunity scholarships for students in underachieving schools. This three-pronged approach is designed to improve academic performance, while promoting school choice and more potential parent involvement.

Mr. Chairman, this bill also retains the general provisions from last year's bill, which are the same as the President's request.

Mr. Chairman, I believe it is important to move this bill through the appropriations process as quickly as possible so as to allow the District to spend its own funds to operate the programs and projects in the bill at the beginning of the fiscal year in October.

Let me personally thank the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her comments earlier in the day during the debate on the D.C. rule. She is an incredible leader of this city, and it has been a pleasure to work with her. I do appreciate her cooperation by not offering an amendment, because I know in her heart she continues to be a principal advocate on behalf of the city, and I am grateful for her support and her action in that regard.

To summarize, Mr. Chairman, the bill we have before us is a fiscally responsible, balanced bill that deserves bipartisan support. It was not done alone. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) and I count on some key people. I would like to thank them for helping to put this bill together. The subcommittee led by our clerk, Joel Kaplan, Martha Foley, and Clelia Alvarado for their professional work on the bill. I also want to thank Nancy Fox from my staff and Michelle Anderson-Lee from the gentleman from Pennsylvania's (Mr. Fattah) staff for their hard work.

At this point I will include for the Record a table detailing the various accounts included in the bill.

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Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Government Reform.

(Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), a distinguished member of the committee, who is vice chairman of the committee and has served on the committee for 10 years.

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Yes, it is. I wanted to thank my distinguished colleague for bringing this issue to my attention. Let me say from the onset that I am very sympathetic to the gentleman's position on the issue. It is my understanding that the Committee on Government Reform has a 30-day review period in which to approve or disapprove all legislative provisions enacted by the city council.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Let me say, Mr. Chairman, I have watched the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley) stand on an appropriations bill, and I know his heart is in the right place; and, reluctantly, I do rise in opposition to his amendment.

The entire Federal portion of the bill is only $560 million. Within this total, the committee had to make some hard funding choices. It reduced a number of things that are key priorities to the Members of Congress and to the city's leadership. An additional 1 percent reduction in this bill would, I think, seriously hinder the District's ability to effectively manage its program at a time when the District government is sincerely making major improvements to its financial and program management.

I will not go through any examples, but I do rise in opposition. I understand where his heart is.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) for yielding me this time.

We are not going to tarry long this time, and that is itself an extraordinary victory and feat of leadership. Members should know that I have seen this. The smallest appropriation often take the longest period of time to get through this House, much to the consternation of Members.

I spoke during the Committee on Rules about the extraordinary leadership of the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), who have always been wonderful captains of the ship, pressing to get this appropriation out, understanding what a waste of time it would be for Members to involve themselves deeply in this matter, often going to extraordinary lengths to clear this bill. They have been just where they always were.

The gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) deserves a lot of credit for his invaluable assistance to the Committee on Appropriations and to me with this bill, and I have already given my thanks to the Committee on Rules, who gave us the cleanest bill under the circumstances.

But the real applause belongs to the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Frelinghuysen) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah). I can

say to both of them that I do not believe we have gotten this bill through in as short a period of time since I have been in Congress. This is my seventh term.

I want to thank them for the exceptionally smooth and efficient way they have handled the D.C. appropriation now for 2 years. It has affected the operations of the District of Columbia, not only the efficiency of this House.

I want to thank them for their regard for self-government in the District of Columbia. I want to thank them for their respect for the efficiency of the House of Representatives itself and the processes. There are very few Members that care beans about this. That is no insult to you, Members. I don't care beans about your districts either. That is your job.

And finally, I want to thank both the chairman and the ranking member for their keen understanding of the need to move the bill to get the city's own money to the bill, and that has been what has been most important about the way in which they have handled this bill. We cannot spend a red cent of our own money until the House says so, and almost all of this bill consists of our own money.

The District has always deserved self-respect for running its own affairs. That is the way we believe in this country, but I must say, Mr. Chairman, that the city today, and most of the Members of the House agree, has really earned congressional respect. I think a real tribute is due to Mayor Tony Williams, Chair of the Council Linda Cropp and the entire D.C. Council for the way they have improved the city, I mean in every important way, from the city operations, the day-to-day operations, to its bond rating.

They have taken this city from fiscal crisis, now to more than a balanced budget, to a better financial position than our far-richer surrounding States, not because they have managed to raise significant revenue, but because of the very conservative prudence with which they have run the D.C. government.

I mean, they still have a structural deficit, which means that we have high taxes and high debt because of the structural relationship with the Federal Government, and I appreciate that this entire region and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) have gone on to a bill to help us correct the structural deficit.

So to be prudent, even though you are carrying a federally imposed structural deficit is to deserve high praise. In Virginia, they have just gone through a terribly long period, and they finally had to raise taxes in order to assure their financial standing and keep their bond rating. Maryland, they are still struggling with gambling, something we are not going to have in the District of Columbia in order to pull it out of crisis.

The D.C. economy is run so well that people are moving in, not moving out. The city has become so attractive, that you cannot find a scrap of land on which to build any longer. We are building all through the inner city, the poorest wards of the city, because of the way in which the city is now being run.

Finally, to let me give you a sense of the District's financial prudence, I appreciate that the committee is going to allow the District to save for its emergency and contingency fund not 7 percent of it budget but 6 percent. Now, that is interesting, because going down from 7 percent to 6 percent is not going to affect its bond rating, because it is still the strictest conditions for an emergency and contingency fund in the United States, or pretty close to it.

The District is going to have 2 years instead of 1 year to repay any funds it happens to withdraw, does not withdraw from this bond, 2 years instead of 1 year to repay the fund, and that still makes these conditions among the strictest in the country. Forty-five States with similar emergency contingency funds have no replenishment requirement; and yet, the District must pay it back if it uses it within 2 years.

And among the six States which do require you to replenish any money you take out of the contingency fund, no State requires you to pay back as readily as our fund does.

But, Mr. Chairman, perhaps what I am most proud of is that the District has the highest rating. You have alluded to that in its history, an A rating. This is a city that 8 years ago was in virtual bankruptcy, and I would like to read what Moody's, one of the three investment houses that has given the District an A rating, has said. ``The upgrade reflects the sustained improvement in the District's economy and property tax base, as well as the District's multiyear record of improved financial management, controls and results. In addition, the District's elected leadership has demonstrated a commitment to maintaining this balance,'' that enviable language from investment houses.

The District has done this with the assistance of Congress. It has done it with the structural deficit. It is not because it struck it rich. It is because of conservative budgeting and financial management. We have taken the lead as a city, but we have done it with a partnership, with a Congress, that is now paying off.

I am proud to represent the city. I believe that the city has made us proud of our Capital, and I am particularly grateful to the Chair and to the ranking member for their contribution to what the District has achieved.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. FATTAH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee, who has done a yeoman's job in working and providing leadership to the Congress on the critical issues facing the District. A great Nation indeed requires us to have a capital that is responsive in both substance and symbol to the Nation and to the world, and the chairman has worked long and hard with his staff on this bill. I would accept his comments as my own opening comments on the bill, because I think it puts into perspective the approach that he has taken, which is that we have worked in a bipartisan fashion; and I think we have a product that is worthy of unanimous support here in the House as we move this bill through the process.

I join with him again, although I will not name them all, in complimenting the staff who have really done a great job. This would not have been possible without the help and advice and counsel of the delegate, the person elected by the residents here in the District to represent their interests; and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) has been invaluable to both the chairman and me as we have worked through this process.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the remainder of my time.

Mr. Chairman, consuming whatever time I may, just to make a few brief remarks before I yield to the delegate, the District operates unlike any other city in our country, because it has the responsibility to be the home of the Nation's Federal Government. There are no problems that exist in the District that have been solved elsewhere in the country. Whatever problems exist in this city exist other places. But the District has, in a unique way, been able to tackle its fiscal problems far better than any other city in the country: a 7-year balanced budget, bond ratings that have been elevated by all three of the rating agencies, and a cash reserve, I say to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), that any city would be the envy of. The city's leaders, I would say, deserve all of the credit; that is, the Mayor, the city council, and the civic leadership here have worked so very hard.

The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and I and others, like our chairman, have been involved in important ways, whether it is the financial relief bill or the college access program, the chairman's initiative on libraries that he has allowed me to join with him on; but it is really his initiative to make sure that in our elementary schools here in the District that there is real access to material that will help inspire reading as a lifelong activity of the young people here.

All of that is important, but the District has had to operate without the benefit of a State government. It has had to operate with the increased cost of being the home of the Nation's Capital, and again, its own leadership has brought it to this moment when I think we can have a bill come to the floor without controversy and move through, because it is out of respect for their hard work.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 7 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. Chairman, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I wanted to say that I would like to commend the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley) for his great service to the House as chairman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. I served with him for many years on the committee. I cannot find a way to support his amendment today; but if he were to offer, for instance, to reduce by even a greater percent the reconstruction dollars of 20 billion we sent to Iraq, I would be prepared to vote to cut those dollars. But here in the Nation's Capital I believe that there are too many needs to be met.

I still have great respect for my colleague. Colorado has a warm place in my heart. My wife is from Colorado; but I would oppose this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend for yielding me this time.

Over the past decade, the District of Columbia, which previously had faced a fiscal crisis of Shakespearean proportions, has embarked on an impressive road to financial recovery. With the help of the now-dormant Control Board and the 1997 Revitalization Act, the District has taken care of its financial house. It has balanced its budget for 7 consecutive years without tricks or gimmicks, and it has a cash reserve that is the envy of almost every municipality in the Nation.

The Federal assistance provided in our annual appropriation bills promotes and advances the rebirth of our Nation's Capital.

This year's bill funds a wide range of programs that will enhance the quality of life for D.C. residents and those who visit and work in the Nation's Capital. The increase in funding for emergency planning and security will help ensure that we are ready for the worst. I am pleased to see that the Child and Family Services Agency will continue to receive adequate funding to help protect the District's most vulnerable residents and that the D.C. court will have additional funds to continue its much-needed renovation project.

I am particularly pleased the D.C. College Access Program will receive enhanced funding. The increase reflects the program's indisputable positive impact on the District. The College Access Program has been a key component of the District's revitalization efforts, and I am heartened that the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Frelinghuysen) agrees that Congress needs to continue its partnership with the District in providing access to higher education, resources, and opportunities.

Since the inception of this legislation, the number of high school seniors in the District going on to college has increased by 28 percent. That is a remarkable achievement. The impact is undeniable. The national average over the same period, while it was 28 percent in the District of Columbia, was 5 percent nationally.

Finally, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Frelinghuysen) for fully funding the D.C. School Choice initiative. The bill before us maintains the careful balance that was struck last year. Of the $40 million for education, there is $13 million for the District's public schools for teacher training, recruitment, and improving student achievement. These funds are in addition to the large increases already guaranteed to D.C. public schools through Federal programs. There is another $13 million for D.C. charter schools to support and expand their capacity, and there is $13 million for the School Choice Scholarship program, along with an additional $1 million for administrative expenses.

The fact is, the District of Columbia is one of the most troubled public school systems in the United States; and working with the local government, working with the school system, working with the Mayor, we are trying to reverse that.

Again, I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Frelinghuysen) for the time and the energy he and his staff have devoted in reviewing the D.C. budget and bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank the ranking member, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), for his work and, of course, my colleague, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), for our continued partnership.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I would like to thank the ranking member, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) and the chairman. And sometimes my colleagues may think this is a free vote to vote ``no'' on. After all, it is the D.C. bill.

A lot of times, if you ask Members of Congress to serve on the Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on the District of Columbia, you have to pull them out from under the bed. They will not do it. But I want to tell you, if you want a rewarding job, take something like D.C. that had so many problems. I mean, instead of a sterling city like San Diego that does not need much upgrade, if you take D.C., that is where you can make the most and have the most benefit, and I think we have done that, a lot of it.

A very controversial name with the Democrats is Newt Gingrich, but Newt Gingrich set a path to upgrade this city's Capital and to move it forward for the first time in decades, and I would like to remind my people that if you are thinking about voting ``no,'' think where we have come on this bill.

I have seen this bill take 3 or 4 hours on the House floor. We passed it in about four minutes. Does it mean everything we agreed on? No. But we came together as Republican and Democrat Representatives, and we have done a lot.

I remember when the schools could not open because the fire department had to control the schools. They were unsafe. They would not open. And that has been fixed by the folks mentioned.

Summer school, we did not have a summer school, and we opened it up for the first time. We had 12,000 children volunteer for summer school, not because they had to, because they wanted to learn. That is why this opportunity scholarship program, I think, is important; and also the program of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and the chairman and ranking member put forward on college scholarships and college access.

I happen to believe as a conservative that there should be no child that qualifies for college that should not have that opportunity, because it is either pay-me-now or pay-me-a-lot-later by not giving education. And those are going to be the people that are the rich that we give tax breaks to from the other side, I think, some day because they have got a college education.

But I look at the waterfront and the Anacostia River. One of the things that is a challenge to this committee and to this body, every time it rains in Washington, D.C., the Anacostia River is flooded from the sewage system at Washington, D.C. It has the highest fecal count of any river almost in the world. The pollutants are terrible. Fish die because the bacteria is so high, it eats all the oxygen. The waterfront has been fixed. They used to give 1-year leases, and who is going to invest in a waterfront.

This waterfront is going to be like San Diego or San Francisco. It is going

to be revenue-producing for the city instead of drawing money. It is already starting to do that, and that is because of this committee and Mayor Williams.

I especially want to give attention to Mayor Williams and the job he has done.