ADVERTSING UPDATE
CONGRESSIONAL UPDATE

FY 2000 APPROPRIATIONS (3/31/99)

Congress is making budget plans for Fiscal Year 2000.

BACKGROUND
Last week the Senate and House of Representatives each passed FY 2000 Budget Resolutions, the non-binding document that generally describes the next fiscal year's budget. Both the House and Senate proposals maintain the FY 2000 budget caps established by the 1997 Balanced Budget Agreement. These caps limit the amount of funding that appropriations committees are permitted to allocate each year.

Members of the appropriations committees have expressed concern that the budget caps for FY 2000 are so low that major funding cuts would be required in order to stay within spending limits. Representative John Porter (R-IL), Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, has indicated that staying within current FY 2000 budget caps would force him to cut spending $5 billion below current FY 99 funding levels. Such reductions would put alcohol and drug prevention and treatment funding at great risk for major cuts.

Members of Congress are on recess and in their districts this week. Now is a good time for them to hear how important alcohol and drug prevention, treatment and research services are to saving lives and money by reducing crime, health, welfare and other social costs. When members of Congress return they will resolve any differences between the House and Senate FY 2000 Budget Resolutions and make serious decisions about funding levels in the appropriations bills.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
URGE YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR ALCOHOL AND DRUG PREVENTION, TREATMENT AND EDUCATION. Call or visit your Representative and Senators or their staff. Request funding increases for alcohol and drug treatment, prevention, education and research. These services save lives and money by reducing crime, welfare, health and social costs.

Ask your Representative and Senators to support the field's requested levels:

Program Field Request for FY 2000
Substance Abuse Block Grant $1.885 billion
($300 million increase)
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) $255 million
($83 million increase)
Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) $245 million
($88 million increase)
CSAP's High Risk Youth Program $10 million
($3 million increase)
Safe and Drug Free Schools $656 million
($90 million increase)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) $338 million
($78 million increase)
National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA) $765 million
($162 million increase)


If you have any questions, please contact the Public Policy Office via e-mail at publicpolicy@ncadd.org.