Rodney Frelinghuysen: “Mr. Speaker, the consolidated appropriations conference report before us this afternoon also contains the fiscal year…”

“Mr. Speaker, the consolidated appropriations conference report before us this afternoon also contains the fiscal year 2004 District of Columbia appropriations bill. This portion of the conference report totals $8 billion, including $545 million for Federal payments to various District programs and projects, $1.8 billion in Federal grants to District agencies, and $5.7 billion in local funds for operating expenses and capital outlays of the District government. There is much to be proud of in this bill. I believe it reflects Congress' commitment to helping our Nation's capital. This is where we all work and where many of us live. Of the $545 million in Federal payments to various programs and projects, 68 percent of these funds, or $368 million, is for funding of the D.C. courts, public defender services, and the court services and offender supervision agency. These are District functions which we took over as a Federal responsibility in 1997.”