November - December 2001

Congress and the Economy in "the Aftermath"

Congress and the White House — working together in a harmony rarely achieved — have agreed to provide major allocations to help repair and offset the damage wreaked by the terrorist attacks and to help prevent such attacks in the future. Observers say this cooperation of late is helping both institutions — and the public — face the future.

On 18 September, President Bush signed into law The 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States (P.L. 107-38), a $40 billion supplemental spending bill to provide additional funding to the Emergency Response Fund. Not less than one-half of this money will go for domestic relief and recovery efforts in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania; the remainder is to be allocated for tightening security in military operations.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) described the uses to be made of the $40 billion as these:

1. Assistance to federal, state and local preparedness agencies
2. Support to "counter, investigate or prosecute domestic or international terrorism"
3. Assistance in providing increased transportation security
4. Repair of public facilities and transportation systems "damaged by the attacks"
5. Support of national security

Not listed separately, the safety of the country's nuclear stockpile was addressed in the funds for the Department of Energy. OMB noted that of the almost $118 million requested for DOE, $106 million would be used to improve the security of the nuclear stockpile and infrastructure, "including $91 million for additional on-site security measures and plant reconfiguration at defense-related national laboratories and production plants, and $15 million for additional transportation safeguards and security to protect and prevent sabotage of stockpile components and material while in transit." Observers point out, however, that this infrastructure includes many pipelines, power plants and refineries that are privately owned.

On 14 September, when the House was considering the emergency supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 2888), Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.) called the bill "a down payment on the efforts of this country to find and punish those who committed this terrible act and those who supported them; it is a down payment on providing the resources necessary to rebuild this nation." He then explained how the $40 billion would be used to help the victims repair the damage, upgrade the nation's homeland security, and begin the military preparation to find and destroy the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable acts:

• $10 billion available immediately upon the signature of the President, to be spent in areas of government that he deems appropriate under consultation with the Congress

• Another $10 billion available pending a 15-day Congressional review of the President's allocation plans

• Finally, an additional $20 billion would be available based upon the submission of a Presidential budget request and an action by the Congress in the regular appropriations bills that will be sent to the President in the weeks ahead

As of 5 November, President Bush had requested and released $9.7 billion of the $40 billion available under the Act. Per the procedural requirements of the Act, the President had also sent a $20 billion funding request to Congress on 17 October. The proposal is still under consideration.

Corporate America, Congress and Economic Recovery

Congress is also working on an economic stimulus package; on 19 October, it approved a measure that includes major tax reductions for large corporations. For example, the tax breaks amount to about $1.4 billion for IBM, over $800 million for General Motors, and $670 million for General Electric. This measure has been described by the New York Times as a stimulus in name only. The Times states that the package has little to do with economic recovery. "It's about using the shield of war and economic hard times as a cover for the perpetual task of funneling government largesse to the very rich."

And in the meantime, Congress also voted to give itself a pay raise. Annual cost-of-living increases take effect automatically unless Congress votes to block them. The latest adjustment raises Congressional salaries by $4,900 to $150,000. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) lost out in an effort to block the raise; his amendment (to a foreign aid measure) failed on procedural grounds.

Edith T. Carper is a special correspondent to IEEE-USA Policy Perspectives.