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Budget & Revenue Committee

 (As of April 16, 2003)

1. Special Education. It would take $11 billion in immediate additional funding for the federal government to live up to current year levels of funding for its decades-old promise to fund 40% of Part B average per pupil expenditures, expenditures that state governments are currently compelled to provide. The Center for Special Education Finance, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, has estimated that it would take more than $25 billion in immediate additional funding based on revised and updated costs for educating children with special needs.
2. No Child Left Behind Act. The FY 2003 recommended appropriations for implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act are approximately $5 billion under the authorized amounts for mandated activities that states must carry out. Data from a study of the actual costs to implement No Child Left Behind in New Hampshire indicate that, for every dollar of existing federal funding, the state and local governments will need to provide seven dollars to meet the requirements of the bill. Nationwide, this would indicate that $35 billion in annual funding would be required to fully fund the Act.
3. Election Reform. The authorized amounts for states to initiate implementation of the Help America Vote Act for FY 2003 and FY 2004 total $3.2 billion ($2.2 for FY 2003 and $1.2 for FY 2004). The omnibus FY 2003 appropriations bill contains $1.5 billion for FY 2003 and the President's budget recommends $490 million for FY 2004. This leaves states no less than $1 billion dollars short for the first two years of implementation, although estimates of the full cost for states and local governments to implement the Help America Vote Act range as high as $15 billion.
4. Homeland Security. The first real NEW federal homeland security funds for state and local governments was provided for in the FY03 supplemental appropriations bill. This included an additional $2.23 billion to state and local governments for planning, training, exercises, equipment, technical assistance, critical infrastructure protection, interoperable communications and includes a set-aside for use in high-density urban areas. While state and local governments are appreciative of the increase in funding, it still falls short of the need.

The National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have estimated that cities, alone, have yet to be reimbursed for at least $3 billion in incurred expenses. The cost of deploying interoperable communications equipment is estimated to be at least $10 billion nationwide ($109 million was provided for in the FY03 supplemental). Water systems serving between 3,301 and 99,900 people are required to perform vulnerability assessments, at a cost of up to $900 million, with no federal funding. Phase II of the small pox vaccinations is estimated to cost $200,000,000, ($100 million was provided for in the FY03 supplemental) not including any liability judgments ($42 million was provided for in the FY03 supplemental). More than $350 million in funding for first responders was included in contingent emergency funds in the FY 2002 supplemental but was never requested by the President. (Included in the $350 million was $50 million for interoperable communications. $109 million was provided for in the FY03 supplemental). FY 2003 funding for homeland security activities (Department of Justice and FEMA) in the omnibus appropriations bill was a reallocation of funds previously designated for other purposes. The $3.5 billion in new funding for first responders DID NOT exist in the FY 2003 appropriations ($2.23 million was provided in the FY03 supplemental). Some of these amounts meet the strict definition of a mandate, while others are incurred by states and local governments through an expectation that state and local governments will partner with the federal government and private sector to bolster our counter-terrorism and homeland security efforts.

• $900 million for water systems vulnerability assessments/modest $500 million
• $3 billion for unreimbursed costs
• $350 $300 million from FY 02 contingent supplemental funds ($this has been reduced by $50 million to take into account the $54 million provided through the COPS program for interoperable communications in the FY03 supplemental.
• $200 $100 million (estimate) for implemental of the smallpox vaccination program ($100 million was provided for in the FY 2003 supplemental)
• $3.5 $1.3 billion first responders ($2.2 billion was provided for in the FY 2003 supplemental)
• ? for interoperability ($109,500,000 was provided for in the FY 2003 supplemental, of which $54,750,000 is for state and locals through the COPS interoperable communications technology program. This is still far short of the estimated $10 billion needed).

• $150 million for fire grants
• $50 million for interoperable equipment ($109,500,000 was provided for in the FY 2003 supplemental (at least $54.7 million is specifically for state and local governments), far short of the estimated $10 billion needed).
• $25 million for urban search and rescue
• $65 million for equipment formula grants
• $1.3 million for security clearances for state and local first responders
• $41 million for first responder training
• $14 million for exercises
• $20 million for predisposition training

Congress (as required in the bioterrorism act of 2002) requires every community water systems that serves a population of greater than 3,301 to conduct a vulnerability assessment. Systems serving more than 100,000 persons were provided $115,000 in grant funding from EPA. Systems serving between 3,301 and 99,999 are also required to conduct a vulnerability assessment but no direct grant funding has been provided. As of July 2002 there were 7,930 water systems that fell into this category with 7,473 falling in the range of 50,000 to 99,999. If each of these systems were provided $115,000, it would require a federal commitment of close to an additional $1 billion dollars. ($900 million)

$200 $100 million for administration of the small pox vaccination program (Phase II - 500,000 x $400-estimate) ($100 million was provided for in the FY 2003 supplemental)

The National Strategy for Homeland Security calls to improve public safety emergency communications. According to a report issued by the National Task Force on Interoperability, at the state level, replacing basic radio systems for a single public safety agency can cost between $100 and $300 million. Figures for developing interoperability national wide have ranged from $18 billion to three times that figure.

In addition, in order for entities to be able to participate in Project SAFECOM-one of the President's e-government initiatives to accelerate wireless communications interoperability across Federal, State, Tribal and Local public safety jurisdictions and disciplines-state and localities would need the appropriate hardware.

Between September 11 and the end of 2002, cities report having spent $2.6 billion - $3 billion additional and mostly unbudgeted homeland security costs.