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Budget
Process Stalls Prior to Two-Week Congressional Recess;
Likelihood of a House Budget Resolution and a House-Senate Conference Agreement Remains Uncertain Despite attempts to come up with an agreement on the 2007 fiscal year budget resolution, which serves as a blueprint for the budget process, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to approve their version of a budget resolution before adjourning for the two-week Easter recess. The resolution recently approved by the House Budget Committee, which would set discretionary spending at the level requested by the President in his FY 2007 budget, did not come up for a vote in the full House. It was reported that a number of moderate Republicans were working with the House leadership to secure additional funding for health, education and labor programs, similar to the successful bi-partisan effort to add $7 billion to the Senate budget resolution for such programs. However, an agreement was not forged in the House prior to their adjournment on April 7th. Once the House and Senate each pass their version of the FY 07 budget resolution and approve a conference agreement to reconcile any differences, the chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees receive their spending allocations, which they then divide into sub-allocations for each of their Subcommittees. However, if the House fails to approve a budget resolution, or if the House and Senate are unable to come up with a conference agreement, a cap on discretionary spending could be approved by other means. A provision with a discretionary program spending cap could be added to a piece of legislation that is expected to be approved, such as the Defense spending bill. Another possibility would be for the spending cap to be set at $866 billion, the amount approved for the 2007 fiscal year in the 2006 budget agreement. A third option would be for the House to approve a continuing resolution that would cause the spending cap to revert to the 2006 fiscal year level, $843 billion. It
has been reported that the House plans to continue negotiations on a
budget package when the body returns from the recess during the week
of April 24th. Additional information about the budget resolution approved
by the Senate can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov;
the budget resolution approved by the House Budget Committee can be
found at: www.house.gov/budget. Senate
Committee Conducts Hearing on Methamphetamine Use in On April 5th, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing, "The Problem of Methamphetamine in Indian Country." The hearing, which focused on the widespread problem of methamphetamine use and addiction in Tribal communities, was chaired by Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND); Senators Craig Thomas (R-WY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Conrad Burns (R-MT) also participated in the hearing. Senator Dorgan noted that Senator John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Committee, had called for the hearing. Witnesses providing testimony to the Committee included: William Ragsdale, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior; Robert McSwain, Deputy Director of the Indian Health Service; Matthew H. Mead, U.S. Attorney's Office District of Wyoming; Kathleen W. Kitcheyan, Chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe; Jefferson Keel, First Vice President of the National Congress of American Indians; Gary L. Edwards, Chief Executive Office of the National Native American Law Enforcement Association; and Karrie Azure, Grant Coordinator of the United Tribes Multi-Tribal Indian Drug and Alcohol Initiative. Witness testimony focused on the severe problem of methamphetamine use and addiction among young people and adults in Tribal communities, and the need for additional support for education, prevention and treatment services. Citing research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, witnesses noted a high incidence of addiction to alcohol and other drugs within the Indian community. A number of witnesses discussed the collateral consequences of methamphetamine use and addiction in their communities and the impact on children and families; in his testimony to the Committee, Mr. Jefferson Keel, First Vice President of the National Congress of American, quoted statistics from the national Indian Child Welfare Association that estimate that between 80 to 85 percent of the Indian families in the child welfare system have addiction histories with alcohol or other drugs. A number of witnesses cited a shortage of residential treatment beds available for people addicted to methamphetamine and/or other drugs in a number of Tribal communities as a major contributing factor to widespread methamphetamine use. In his comments, Senator Dorgan expressed concern with the low number of treatment beds in his and other states, and the lack of facilities for young people in North Dakota; in addition, Senator Dorgan noted the effectiveness of drug treatment for methamphetamine addiction but spoke about how methamphetamine's high level of toxicity often requires a longer stay in treatment for the individual. Senator Dorgan expressed that additional funding is required so that individuals who need to can stay in treatment longer so that they can become healthy. A number of witnesses cited successful models for treatment of methamphetamine addiction including the Matrix Model. Witnesses also discussed the need for additional support for education programs that seek to prevent young people from using methamphetamine. Senators Murkowski and Burns both spoke about a critical need for additional support for programming aimed at preventing youth methamphetamine use. In addition, in their testimony to the Committee, a number of witnesses emphasized the value of prevention programs; community-based programs that integrate drug use prevention, treatment, and recovery support services such as Oregon's White Bison and One Sky Center were cited as examples of successful programs. In offering recommendations to the Committee, a number of witnesses spoke in favor of increasing funds for drug use prevention and addiction treatment programs through the Indian Health Service and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, increasing the number of culturally competent programs for Tribal mem-bers, and improving the collaboration and coordination among the various Tribal, state and federal agencies. Full witness testimony can be found at http://indian.senate.gov. |
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