GOVERNMENT INFORMATION . . . PRICELESS!

FY2005 Appropriations Legislation	On December 8th, 2004, House Resolution 4818, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, became Public Law 108-447, including spending appropriations for Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/State, Energy and Water, Foreign Operations, Interior, Labor/HHS/Education, the Legislative Branch, Transportation/Treasury, & VA/HUD. Review H.R. 4818, enrolled as passed by both houses of the 108th Congress. H.R. 4818 is also available in PDF format from GPO Access. The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has posted highlights of the final FY2005 spending bills. See the history of FY2005 appropriations legislation, provided by the Library of Congress's Thomas database.
Consumer Health, Medical Research, and Education	Selected appropriations for consumer health, medical research, and education:   $9,941,000 for the National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Program. Read testimony about cord blood research at a 2003 hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.    $288,283,000 for voluntary family planning projects--H.R. 4818, p. 315. See what the federal government says about family planning in the Healthy People 2010 reports.   $100,000,000 for grants to provide abstinence education to adolescents--H.R. 4818, p. 327.  Learn more about FY 2005 funding for abstinence education programs and read a 2002 interim report on abstinence education programs funded under Title V, Section 510 of the Social Security Act.
Government Information	Funding to support access to government information includes:   $88,800,000 to the Government Printing Office--H.R. 4818, p. 381.    $31,953,000 to the Office of the Superintendent of Documents for cataloging, indexing, and distributing government publications to the public, members of Congress, government agencies, and federal depository libraries--H.R. 4818, 382.   $384,671,000 to the Library of Congress--H.R. 4818, p. 378-79.   $53,611,000 to the U.S. Copyright Office--H.R. 4818, p. 379.   $96,893,000 to support the Congressional Research Service--H.R. 4818, p. 380.
Taxes	Keep in mind these 2005 appropriations as tax season approaches:   $4,089,574,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for taxpayer assistance and general administration--H.R. 4818, p. 431. $4,398,729,000 to the Internal Revenue Service for enforcing the tax laws--H.R. 4818, p. 431.
Arts and Entertainment	FY 2005 federal funding for arts, entertainment, and educational broadcasting includes: $400,000,000 to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, plus $39,705,000 for digital program development, production, and distribution--H.R. 4818, p. 384. $800,000 to the Field Museum in Chicago for a networked computer database for collections management--H.R. 4818, p. 347 $122,972,000 to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)--H.R. 4818, p. 282 Selected recent NEA grants that benefit Illinois: For the 2005 Chicago Latino Film Festival (sponsored by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago), a $20,000 Access to Artistic Excellence Grant to support the 21st Chicago Latino Film Festival, featuring two weeks of the work of Ibero or Latin American directors and films directly related to Latino culture.   To the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in Springfield, a $10,000 Challenge America: Access to the Arts Award to support the Music in the Parks series of free concerts in three rural Illinois communities over Labor Day weekend 2004, with special activities for children.   To the Sun Foundation for Advancement in the Environmental Sciences and Arts, a $10,000 Learning in the Arts/Partnerships Grant for Art and Science in the Woods, a one-week summer program in Washburn for students to participate in dance, drama, music, and visual art activities with artists in natural surroundings.
Higher Education	FY 2005 Appropriations for student financial assistance for higher education: $14,380,795,000 --H.R. 4818, p. 340. Maximum amount of Pell Grant for an individual student in 2005-2006: $4,050--H.R. 4818, p. 340