Although the Labor, HHS and Education bill is the largest of the annual domestic spending bills, less than one-third of it is for discretionary programs under the annual control of appropriators. The remainder is mandatory spending for entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

The fiscal 2005 Labor, HHS bill which passed Nov. 20 as part of the omnibus spending package would provide $497.6 billion -- $143 billion of it in discretionary spending. (The total does not include a 0.8 percent across-the-board cut in discretionary accounts.)

The final bill does not include $12.8 billion for Title I education programs for low-income school districts, a $500 million increase over fiscal 2004. The measure also provides $10.7 billion for special education grants to states, a $607 million increase over 2004.

The National Institutes of Health are slated to get a 3 percent increase to $28.6 billion, $73 million above the House level and $300 million below the Senate’s. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is to receive $2.2 billion, including $300 million in emergency funding. Abstinence-only sex education programs are to get $100 million, $30 million more than in fiscal 2004 but $82 million less than the White House requested.

The Bush administration was successful in securing funding for priority projects that received little support in Congress. The final bill includes $20 million, half the amount requested, for a prisoner re-entry program that allows religious groups to receive funds to help convicts make the transition back into society. It also includes a $250 million Bush proposal to develop partnerships between community colleges and employers in high-demand industries. The bill, however, does not fund the president’s $50 million proposal for re-employment job training vouchers.

Some of the hot button issues that were attached to the FY 05 Labor, HHS appropriations bill included: overtime pay rules, student loan rates and state school funding formulas.

Both the House and Senate bills included language that would have sharply limited new overtime pay rules. The administration says the rules will make 1.3 million low-income workers eligible for overtime pay for the first time. However, critics contend that as many as 6 million other workers could lose their eligibility because their jobs will be reclassified as exempt professional positions. Conferees dropped the provision under a White House veto threat.

With respect to student loan rates, the House bill contained an amendment that would have eliminated certain types of college loans that guarantee lenders a higher return than other federally subsidized loans. Under pressure, Republicans pushed through separate legislation that eliminated the subsidy for one year.

The Senate Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill would have provided $72 million for states that stand to lose money for the 2004-05 school year because of failing child poverty rates. The Education Department changed its policy distributing Title I funds the year, using child poverty counts on an annual, rather than a biennial basis. The House measure did not contain the provision, and it was dropped in the final bill.