Senate Hearings Before the Committee on Appropriations
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S. HRG. 107–442 Senate Hearings Before the Committee on Appropriations Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations Fiscal Year 2002 107th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION H.R. 2620/S. 1216 CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION NEIGHBORHOOD REINVESTMENT CORPORATION NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies Appropriations, 2002 (H.R. 2620/S. 1216) S. HRG. 107–442 DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002 HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H.R. 2620/S. 1216 AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENTS OF VET- ERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR SUNDRY INDEPENDENT AGENCIES, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, CORPORA- TIONS, AND OFFICES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2002, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Corporation for National and Community Service Department of Housing and Urban Development Department of Veterans Affairs Environmental Protection Agency Federal Emergency Management Agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Science Foundation Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation Nondepartmental witnesses Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 70–873 PDF WASHINGTON : 2002 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 1 TED STEVENS, Alaska, Chairman THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky TOM HARKIN, Iowa CONRAD BURNS, Montana BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama HARRY REID, Nevada JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire HERB KOHL, Wisconsin ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah PATTY MURRAY, Washington BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota LARRY CRAIG, Idaho DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois MIKE DEWINE, Ohio TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana STEVEN J. CORTESE, Staff Director LISA SUTHERLAND, Deputy Staff Director TERRENCE E. SAUVAIN, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON VA, HUD, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri, Chairman CONRAD BURNS, Montana BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont LARRY CRAIG, Idaho TOM HARKIN, Iowa PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia MIKE DEWINE, Ohio HERB KOHL, Wisconsin TED STEVENS, Alaska (ex officio) TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota Professional Staff JON KAMARCK CAROLYN E. APOSTOLOU CHEH KIM PAUL CARLINER (Minority) GABRIELLE A. BATKIN (Minority) Administrative Support ISAAC GREEN NANCY OLKEWICZ (Minority) 1 Committee and subcommittee memberships—January 25, 2001 to June 6, 2001. NOTE.—From January 3 to January 20, 2001 the Democrats held the majority, thanks to the deciding vote of outgoing Democratic Vice President Al Gore. Senator Thomas A. Daschle be- came majority leader at that time. Starting January 20, 2001, the incoming Republican Vice President Richard Cheney held the deciding vote, giving the majority to the Republicans. Sen- ator Trent Lott resumed his position as majority leader. On May 24, 2001, Senator James Jef- fords of Vermont announced his switch from Republican to Independent status, effective June 6, 2001. Jeffords announced that he would caucus with the Democrats, changing control of the evenly divided Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats. Senator Thomas A. Daschle be- came majority leader once again on June 6, 2001. (II) COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 2 ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia, Chairman DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii TED STEVENS, Alaska ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania TOM HARKIN, Iowa PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri HARRY REID, Nevada MITCH MCCONNELL, Kentucky HERB KOHL, Wisconsin CONRAD BURNS, Montana PATTY MURRAY, Washington RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado LARRY CRAIG, Idaho KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JON KYL, Arizona TERRENCE E. SAUVAIN, Staff Director CHARLES KIEFFER, Deputy Staff Director STEVEN J. CORTESE, Minority Staff Director LISA SUTHERLAND, Minority Deputy Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON VA, HUD, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland, Chairman PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont CHRISTOPHER S. BOND, Missouri TOM HARKIN, Iowa CONRAD BURNS, Montana ROBERT C. BYRD, West Virginia RICHARD C. SHELBY, Alabama LARRY CRAIG, Idaho KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas JON KYL, Arizona TED STEVENS, Alaska (ex officio) Professional Staff PAUL CARLINER GABRIELLE A. BATKIN JON KAMARCK (Minority) CHEH KIM (Minority) Professional Staff NANCY OLKEWICZ ISAAC GREEN (Minority) 2 Committee and subcommittee memberships—June 6, 2001 to July 10, 2001. NOTE.—From January 3 to January 20, 2001 the Democrats held the majority, thanks to the deciding vote of outgoing Democratic Vice President Al Gore. Senator Thomas A. Daschle be- came majority leader at that time. Starting January 20, 2001, the incoming Republican Vice President Richard Cheney held the deciding vote, giving the majority to the Republicans. Sen- ator Trent Lott resumed his position as majority leader. On May 24, 2001, Senator James Jef- fords of Vermont announced his switch from Republican to Independent status, effective June 6, 2001. Jeffords announced that he would caucus with the Democrats, changing control of the evenly divided Senate from the Republicans to the Democrats. Senator Thomas A. Daschle be- came majority leader once again on June 6, 2001. (III) CONTENTS Page WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2001 Corporation for National and Community Service ............................................... 1 Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation .............................................................. 43 WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2001 Department of Veterans Affairs ............................................................................. 65 WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 2001 National Aeronautics and Space Administration .................................................. 179 WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2001 Federal Emergency Management Agency .............................................................. 237 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2001 National Science Foundation .................................................................................. 275 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2001 Environmental Protection Agency .......................................................................... 357 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 2001 Department of Housing and Urban Development ................................................. 449 NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES Department of Housing and Urban Development ................................................. 553 Environmental Protection Agency .......................................................................... 493 National Science Foundation .................................................................................. 581 National Aeronautics and Space Administration .................................................. 627 Department of Veterans Affairs ............................................................................. 637 (V) DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2001 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 10:15 a.m., in room SD–138, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Christopher S. Bond (chairman) pre- siding. Present: Senators Bond, Mikulski, and Johnson. CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE STATEMENT OF WENDY ZENKER, ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER ACCOMPANIED BY: WILLIAM ANDERSON, DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER GARY KOWALCZYK, COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SERVICE PRO- GRAMS OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CHRISTOPHER S. BOND Senator BOND. Good morning. The Subcommittee of VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies will come to order. This morning, our subcommittee will begin its first hearing of the fiscal year 2002 budget. We begin with two independent agencies, the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. We will hear, first, from the Corporation’s Acting Executive Officer and Chief Operating Of- ficer, Ms. Wendy Zenker. The subcommittee will then hear from the NRC. We are beginning a new era under a new Administration. And with a new Administration, there are new and different spending and policy priorities. However, despite a balanced budget and the availability of surplus funds, there are many demands on the amount of funds that are available for discretionary spending under the Federal budget.