Appropriations Bill Research Articles

The missing link in New Jersey’s Hurricane Sandy recovery: Land use management

Hurricane Sandy devastated New Jersey with record storm surge, coastal erosion and inundation, widespread flooding, and associated property damage. The federal response to this catastrophic storm event was swift, with passage of a supplemental appropriation bill in excess of $60 billion to facilitate response and recovery. In New Jersey, hurricane recovery included a range of positive mitigation actions, including structural elevation of residential and smaller commercial buildings, property acquisitions, restoration of natural resources, enhanced construction standards, and large-scale beach nourishment. However, New Jersey’s recovery plan promoted quick rebuilding without consideration of long-term storm vulnerability concerns, and without fully understanding the cause of damages and appropriate land use management actions that could mitigate future storm and flood damages. There was a conspicuous absence of land use planning and management strategies in the context of future conditions of increasing sea level rise, chronic coastal erosion and increasing risk to people and property. This deficiency represents a significant gap in New Jersey’s Hurricane Sandy recovery and a missed opportunity to address a long-standing vulnerability.

Legislative Gridlock and Policymaking Through the Appropriations Process

Divergent preferences within and across American lawmaking institutions make it difficult to enact legislation. Yet, individual legislators and parties have incentives to effect policy change, even during periods of gridlock. We claim appropriations offer an alternative means of policymaking when legislation is likely to be unsuccessful using authorizations because appropriations bills have an extreme reversion point. Using an original dataset of appropriations laws, we measure the quantity of policy enacted given distributions of House, Senate, and executive preferences. The findings show that a larger gridlock interval and greater distance between the House and Senate medians promote the use of appropriations bills as substantive policymaking vehicles. This effect is especially pronounced when new chamber majorities come to power. We conclude that divergent preferences among lawmaking institutions affect legislative productivity, but winning coalitions can still make substantive policy changes using unorthodox lawmaking processes.

Health Care Provisions in the 2022 Omnibus Appropriations Bill.

The US Constitution requires that federal money may not be spent unless appropriated by Congress. Under regular order, this is achieved by Congress passing twelve individual bills that, together, fund all the activities of the federal government. These bills must be approved by the President. The last time Congress passed all the individual bills was in 1996. Since then, the practice has been to fund the government through a series of continuing resolutions, which serve as temporary spending authorization, normally at levels from the previous fiscal year. Congress is not required to pass twelve individual appropriations bills. It may also pass a single bill to cover all spending for the fiscal year. This is generally referred to as an "omnibus spending bill". That is what was passed in December 2022. There were health policy provisions in the bill, and this article discusses some of the more relevant areas for pharmacists.

Congress Takes a Positive Swing at an Unsung Public Health Crisis: Preventing Pressure Injuries in Veterans Affairs Facilities.

Congress Takes a Positive Swing at an Unsung Public Health Crisis: Preventing Pressure Injuries in Veterans Affairs Facilities.

A Systematic Assessment of Budgeting and Budgetary Management system of South Sudan: The Case of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

The purpose of this study was to assess the budgetary management system by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to manage the budget effectively and efficiently to meet the financial objective of the government of South Sudan. The study undertook a critical review of all financial policy documents including the appropriation bills, the Public Financial Management and Accountability Act 2011, and other assessment reports conducted by the other individuals and institutions on the financial management system of the government of South Sudan. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect first-hand information from the spending agencies of the government about how the budget is being managed on their behalf. And to find out whether the current budget management system meets the expectations of the spending agencies. Among the major trending issues found during this study were lack of transparency in the budget management, lack of inclusive participation of all stakeholders in the budget planning, weak internal and external control mechanism, lack of qualified staff in the accounts and budget departments, lack of timely and adequate budgetary information sharing, and failure of the parliament to exercise its oversight role on the planning and implementation of the budget, among others. The study concluded that significant reform in the financial management system in South Sudan is needed, as well as the deployment of qualified accountants to all spending agencies. This will ensure proper budget discipline among all spending agencies since the qualified workforce is at the driving will of the financial system. The Treasury Single Account be implemented without any objection by some spending agencies such as the security sector. And the custodian of the system be the Central Bank of South Sudan since it is the fiscal agent of the government.

Effect of Government Consumptions on Performance of Annual Capital Expenditure in Nigeria

Consumptions, in decades; had taken the highest allocation compared to capital expenditure, as confirmed from the current 2023 appropriation bill that was laid before the national assembly. This study seeks to investigate the effect of government consumptions on performance of annual capital expenditure in Nigeria. Government consumptions was proxied by Administration, Economic services, Social and Community services, and Transfers’ consumptions while performance of annual capital expenditure was proxied by aggregate annual capital expenditure. The study employed ex- post facto research design, and used descriptive statistic and ordinary least square regression techniques to analyze the data. Secondary data used were sourced from the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of Accountant-General of the Federation, over a period of forty-one years (1981-2021). The data collected were analyzed using Johansen Co- integration test and vector error correction model (VECM). The findings revealed that besides administrative consumption, other explanatory variables economic service consumption, social and community services consumption, and transfers’ consumption had positive and significant effect on the performance of annual capital expenditure. The study concluded that changes in the performance of annual capital expenditure are explained by changes in government consumptions. The study suggested, amongst others; that Government should put in place mechanisms, such as adequate internal control system; to reduce wastages in administrative consumption.

Recovery set‐aside, additional $500 million for SAPT BG in both appropriations bills

At the end of July, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released a draft copy of the fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding which, like the House version (see Recovery set‐aside in approps bill for SAPT BG, ADAW July 19; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.33137), includes a recommendation for a 10% set‐aside in the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant, and an additional $500 million for the SAPT block grant.

The effects of firm political contributions on earmarks and subsequent firm performance

With the reintroduction of hard earmarks in the United States, it is essential to understand the factors that drive the receipt of earmarks. Earmarks represent a significant source of revenue for many firms. We examine the relationship between political expenditures, federal earmarks, and subsequent firm performance. Using a sample of earmarks from appropriations bills, we demonstrate that firm-affiliated political action committee (PAC) contributions to legislators predict the size and number of earmarks directed to these companies. We also show that PAC contributions to a legislator increase the probability of the legislator writing an earmark benefiting the firm, with an average return of 1090%. Earmarks are associated with greater future profitability, but politically connected earmark recipients exhibit poorer financial performance. Our findings indicate a clear channel through which firms receive value from the US federal government.

Idaho governor highlights $50M investment in BH

Idaho Gov. Brad Little and other state officials on Tuesday highlighted one of the state's largest‐ever investments in behavioral health care, the Associated Press reported April 5. The Republican governor in a ceremonial event that included Idaho Supreme Court justices and lawmakers marked the $50 million approved by the Legislature in a series of appropriations bills this year that Little has already signed into law. “Our goal is to do intervention early enough to where these problems aren't these big problems,” Little said. “That we can recognize behavioral health issues early on and address those early, and that will lower the cost of everything. But most importantly, it will improve our quality of life here in Idaho.” The money targets areas recommended by the Idaho Behavioral Health Council, comprised of members from all three branches of state government. The council has sought to improve access to mental health resources and improve outcomes. The $50 million is spread over a handful of appropriations bills and passed with large margins, but with far right‐wing lawmakers tending to vote against them. The money includes a mix of federal coronavirus relief funds as well as general fund money. Little called it “a very successful passage of significant bills that will enhance the delivery of much‐needed behavioral health services across the state.”

SAPT block grant receives first increase in 2 decades in appropriations bill

The spending bill approved by the Senate on March 9 includes an increase of $50 million for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant, to $1.908 million, but no set‐aside for recovery. The omnibus FY 22 appropriations bill, which was expected to be voted on in the House on March 10, includes the following funding levels for some programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

There is a recovery set‐aside proposal for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant, and for now, the future of this proposal is in the hands of Sen. Patty Murray (D‐Massachusetts). The Senate appropriations bill, which she will be writing with some input from others, will tell the story. She is the “judge and jury,” as one insider told ADAW last week. There will not be a committee markup. However, if the Senate version matches the House version, there will be an extra $1 billion for the block grant. Stay tuned.

The Future Is in the Past: How Land-Grab Universities Can Shape the Future of Higher Education

The Future Is in the Past:How Land-Grab Universities Can Shape the Future of Higher Education Theresa Stewart-Ambo (bio) indigenous people and scholars have long contested the history of U.S. colleges and universities. The late educational historian Irvin Lee "Bobby" Wright was among the first to challenge the idyllic narrative of colonial colleges that profited from and aimed to assimilate Indigenous youth.1 In the last decade, the idyllic narrative has been critiqued by Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars who have laid bare the violently dispossessive origins of higher education in the U.S. settler-colonial state, particularly land-grant universities. The Land-Grab Universities (LGU) project rejects the myth of land-grant universities by tracing the distribution of approximately 10.7 million acres under the 1862 Morrill Act—land taken from nearly 250 Native nations through more than 160 violence-backed land cessions. Historian Robert Lee and journalist Tristan Ahtone also document how land-grant universities have (in the past and present) monetarily profited from the sale of land vouchers, known as "scrip," and mineral rights. The report, public database, and digital project are compelling; what I find to be even more insightful is where LGU points us.2 As a doctoral student in higher education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in 2016, I began searching for information on how Tovaangar (Tongva territory now known as the Los Angeles Basin) came to be the present-day campus. The truth, as described by Lee and Ahtone, was "hiding in plain sight."3 In California, "thirty-two land-grant universities got a share of California Indian land, raising approximately $3.6 million from over 1.7 million acres."4 As a Tongva/Luiseño woman, an alumnus of UCLA, and assistant professor of education at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), I reflect on California, the UC system, and UCLA to draw additional insights from Lee and Ahtone's research. I will close by offering my perspective on how the LGU project can inform the present and future of higher education, providing implications for institutions and asking the question: How can the past shape the future? [End Page 162] Land-Grant Universities in California LGU is framed by the dispossession of California's Indigenous population, so it feels fitting to orient readers with additional history of the state.5 Much like that of the rest of the United States, the history of California is complicated. The state has always been well known for its diverse ecology and climate, as well as being home to the most politically, socially, and culturally diverse Indigenous population in the nation. The Indigenous people of California endured settler colonialism by the Spanish, Mexican, Russian (in the north), and U.S. empires. Beginning in 1769 with the introduction of the Spanish mission system, Indigenous people of the state resisted the introduction of foreign diseases, forced labor, state and federally sanctioned genocide, and forced removal and relocation. Conspiring to eliminate the Indigenous population, settlers systematically and strategically murdered and removed hundreds of thousands of people to gain control of the state's resource-rich and ecologically desirable territory.6 After California became a state in 1850, the state government enacted discriminatory policies that had devastating consequences for California Indians. Implemented that year, the Act for the Government and Protection of Indians criminalized the very existence of Indigenous people and created a system of indentured servitude rooted in surveillance, control, and confinement. Under these circumstances the federal government dispensed Indian agents to California to negotiate treaties. Between 1851 and 1852, eighteen treaties were signed with 118 tribes, with signatories "agreeing" to cede their lands to the United States in exchange for reservation lands and other benefits. Nineteen reservations were designated, totaling 7.488 million acres, which represented only 7.5 percent of California. Understanding the value of the land, the U.S. Senate rejected all of the treaties in a secret session; meanwhile, many California Indians were moved to reservations. In 1860, following the treaty period but preceding the Morrill Act, the U.S. Congress endorsed and financed an appropriations bill for $400,000 called the Act for the Payment of Expenses...

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Congress Passes Parity, Increases Some MH Funding

Keeping America: Wealth Concentration and the Need for Repaired Revenues and Basic Income

This paper comes from a place of deep concern about wealth concentration in the United States of America, but also from a place of hopeful expectation. When I started my research in mid-2019, I did not imagine preparing the final draft during a global pandemic which has already killed nearly half a million people. Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 exposed the fragility of the U.S. economy. While necessary, shelter in place orders suspended the livelihoods of millions without savings for unexpected expenses, and caused weekly unemployment claims to jump 1,068%. In a strong demonstration of its legal and moral duty to ensure the wellbeing of the American people during times of crisis, the U.S. federal government quickly passed the $2.2 trillion “CARES” Act, the largest appropriations bill in its history. Despite longstanding policy disagreements over using public funds for public welfare, a crisis compelled Congress and the White House towards unprecedented compromise on multiple stimulus bills in only a few weeks.The same resolve will be necessary to combat wealth concentration. Deconcentrating wealth will not be easy. Effective solutions will require engaging unpopular topics like tax policy, estate planning and trust provisions, property law, and tedious readings of 18th century political theory. While few are qualified to propose solutions at this intersection, and even fewer are willing to undertake this Sisyphean task, it is as necessary as it is difficult. The federal government must find the political courage to reverse half a century of policies creating unsustainable levels of wealth concentration by repairing revenues and guaranteeing Americans a basic income. The estate planning and private client bar should help.

Deaths in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention: FY2018-2020.

BackgroundMany civil liberties organizations have raised concerns that substandard medical care in United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities have led to preventable deaths. The 2018 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill required ICE to make public all reports regarding in-custody deaths within 90 days beginning in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Accordingly, ICE has released death reports following each in-custody death since April of 2018. This study describes characteristics of deaths among individuals in ICE detention following the FY2018 mandate.MethodsData was extracted from death reports published by ICE following the FY2018 mandate. Causes of death were categorized as suicide or medical, and medical deaths as COVID-19-related or not. Characteristics were compared between medical and suicide deaths, and among medical deaths between COVID-19-related and non-COVID-19-related deaths. Additionally, death rates per person-year and per 100,000 admissions were calculated for FY2018, 2019, and 2020 using methods from prior work evaluating deaths among detained immigrants in the United States.ResultsSince April 2018, 35 individuals have died in ICE detention. The death rate per 100,000 admissions in ICE detention was 2.303 in FY2018, 1.499 in FY2019, and 10.833 in FY2020. Suicide by hanging was identified as the cause of death in 9 (25.7%), and medical causes in the remaining 26 (74.3%). Among 26 deaths attributable to medical causes, 8 (30.8%) were attributed to COVID-19, representing 72.7% of 11 deaths occurring since April 2020.ConclusionsThe death rate among individuals in ICE detention is increasing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Potentially preventable causes of death including COVID-19 and suicide contribute to at least half of recent deaths. Findings suggest that individuals detained by ICE may benefit from improved psychiatric care and prevention measures to combat suicide, as well as increased infection control efforts to reduce mortality associated with COVID-19.

Experts say that funding for cancer research is at risk during the pandemic.

Over the past 5 years, the US Congress has approved an increase of $11.6 billion, or approximately 39%, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, which has enabled significant research funding. However, with the arrival of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, experts say that future funding and medical research progress are now at risk. “The consequences of the pandemic on the entire medical enterprise are extremely concerning for the medical research community,” says Jon Retzlaff, MBA, MPA, chief policy officer and vice president of science policy and government affairs for the American Association for Cancer Research. “It's why we've been advocating for $15.5 billion to be included in the next COVID-19 relief supplemental appropriations bill.” The financial challenges that universities and medical centers have been experiencing as well as significant disruptions in laboratory and clinical research during the pandemic have all taken a toll and led to lost research opportunities, he says. Researchers are concerned that they could lose entire germ lines and mouse colonies and that fewer patients have enrolled in clinical trials. Meanwhile, many laboratories and most supplemental government research dollars have been redirected toward COVID-19 research. According to Retzlaff, of the $15.5 billion requested for the NIH, $10 billion is needed to offset the expenses associated with research disruptions that have occurred during the pandemic. At press time—shortly before Election Day—he did not anticipate that Congress would approve a COVID-19 relief appropriations bill until after the presidential election. In addition, he and fellow medical research advocates requested a $3 billion increase in NIH's fiscal year 2021 budget to continue the institutes' robust research efforts. He praises leaders in both the Senate and the House, specifically Senators Roy Blunt of Missouri and Patty Murray of Washington and Representatives Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Tom Cole of Oklahoma, for championing NIH support over the past 5 years. Although he is optimistic that the NIH will see another significant increase in fiscal year 2021, he recognizes that many challenges remain. Currently, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has a 10% success rate, which means that only 1 in 10 reviewed grant applications are being funded. “Prior to the pandemic, the rate of applications being submitted to NCI was at a pace we've never seen—there was incredible momentum and excitement,” Retzlaff says. He adds that, like other private research funders, the American Association for Cancer Research has experienced a reduction in donations, which has left it with a lower funding capacity and has made it even more imperative for the federal government to step in and provide assistance. To that end, approximately 500 people representing nearly every state participated in the virtual Rally for Medical Research Hill Day on September 17, 2020. Participants included health care providers, researchers, clinicians, caregivers, and survivors, who held some 400 meetings with Congressional representatives. The event was the largest and most inclusive since Hill Day first launched in 2013. These groups will continue working to remind Congress that medical research into major diseases needs to remain at the forefront, Retzlaff says. “Cancer and heart disease are still the number 1 and number 2 causes of death, and we can't afford to take our eyes off the ball.”

How negotiation delays affect policy decisions: evidence from the budgetary process

ABSTRACT Intensified by today’s increasingly contentious political environment, delays often occur in the policy-making process. This paper applies the time pressure theory to study how budget deadlines and delays affect appropriation outcomes. Using a panel dataset comprising 108 appropriation bills from New York State in the USA for the period 1984–2012, the authors found that, while having deadlines is procedural and symbolic, the extent of lateness matters, and delays generally increase incrementalism in appropriation outcomes. Compared with proposed appropriations, a delayed budget shows a more concentrated allocation pattern that favours funding for capital projects and aid for localities.

The Effects of Demographic Considerations on Public Infrastructure Expenditures in Nigeria's Rivers State Local Government Areas (2003-2017)

Demographic factors though mostly neglected are noted to influence the capacity of capital investments on public infrastructure development. This study empirically assessed the effect of demographic factors on public infrastructure expenditures in Nigeria's Rivers state local government areas (LGAs) from 2003-2017. Secondary data were collected which included capital expenditure (capex) on one side and various demographic variables (population, population density, number of households, and per capita revenue) on the other, obtained from public expenditure records, yearly appropriation bill or budgets, national population commission, National Bureau of Statistics, Central Bank of Nigeria Publications, and some research articles. The population of the study is the 23 LGAs of Rivers state. Data analysis was carried out using mainly multiple regression method. At 5 % level of significance, the study reveals that there is significant relationship between aggregate capital expenditure and demographic factors in the Rivers state local government areas. However, in relation to individual demographic factors, only population density is significantly and positively related with Capex. The study concludes that Rivers state LGAs do give significant consideration to demographics in their capital allocation to infrastructural developments. Though this is true, a close investigation reveals that the adjusted R2 value is 0.429 indicating a not too strong statistical association, also only population density is positively considered by the LGAs, the other demographic variables though significant are negative to capital expenditure. The Study recommended among others that the LGAs should give a much more holistic attention to demographic demands in the dissemination of capital allocation to public infrastructure developments through policy formulations and strict adherence to it; adequate planning, and systematic funding.

Advocates for the homeless seeking funding for COVID‐19

Now that the federal $8.3 billion appropriations bill has passed and been signed into law this month to stem the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID‐19), advocates are hoping some of that funding reaches one of this country's most vulnerable populations: the homeless.

FY 2020 Appropriations: Stimulants added to SOR's $1.5 billion

Appropriations bills for FY 2020 released last week detail some good news for the field. In the State Opioid Response (SOR) grants, there would be more flexibility: specifically, these could be used for stimulants.