Don Nickles: “The conference agreement on the fiscal year 2004 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security includes…”

“The conference agreement on the fiscal year 2004 appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security includes funding for the Project Bioshield proposal, a $5.6-billion initiative proposed in the President's 2004 budget to develop and purchase countermeasures to combat public health threats. The appropriation itself is very unusual, providing 10 years' worth of discretionary program funding all at once, with $890 million for 2004 and essentially a gigantic $4.7 billion ``advance'' appropriation to cover the next 9 years. Further, this funding is being provided without authorization, since that bill, S. 15, has been blocked from consideration in the Senate by a small minority of Senators. I am very concerned about appropriating this much money for any purpose without a proper authorization. I am equally concerned about protecting the integrity of the budget due to the proposal's unconventional use of advance appropriations authority. It is rare to provide 10 years' worth of appropriations to a program in one fell swoop, and it opens the door to future ``piggy-banking'' or redirection of those funds.”