This Week on the Hill

After being roiled last week by the surprise retirement announcement from Rep. Bill Paxon, R-N.Y., and the accompanying speculation on the level of harmony within the House GOP, Capitol Hill this week attempts to shift its attention to some of the year's more important legislative business.

The first major floor action of the year kicks off today, as the Senate moves into its first full week of debate over reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. Following a period of intense backstage negotiations last week, Senate leaders will continue discussions about budget resolution funding levels for ISTEA. The Senate leaders last week were considering an $18 billion to $19 billion increase over five years for transportation spending.

There is an agreement in the Senate that no amendments on funding or formulas for allocating transportation funds to the states will be offered to ISTEA until the overall funding level is settled upon. In the meantime, senators are expected to bring up policy amendments on a range of topics, including set asides for minority- and women-owned businesses, environmental programs, and safety regulations.

As Senate budget plans moved into the fast lane last week, with negotiators closing in on the transportation funding level, the House remained stuck on the shoulder, as highway funding talks stalled work on the overall budget plan. Senate budget writers made it clear they would consider a spending blueprint before the Easter recess, once funding levels are set for the ISTEA reauthorization. However, they had not set highway levels by late last week. On the House side, Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said he did not expect the House to consider a budget plan until after the Easter recess.

Republican sources said a GOP task force trying to settle transportation funding questions had made little progress and Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Shuster said he would have the votes to increase highway spending if a floor fight became necessary.

While House and Senate budget writers said they hope to work together to set overall funding levels, differences continue to emerge.

A key Senate Republican aide said that despite the complaints of some conservatives, the Senate version of the budget plan probably will call for a $30 billion tax cut.

But some House Republicans have called that level inadequate.

Late Friday, Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., announced that the latest CBO estimates project a budget surplus of $5 billion to $10 billion for FY98, a projection that is likely to increase pressure from the House for a larger tax cut.

The CBO figures will be released officially on Wednesday.

On the appropriations front, plans for supplemental funding bills also remained unclear.

Congress, at some point, is likely to be asked to consider supplemental bills for the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, disaster relief, Bosnia and Iraq, but the timing and the mix of what will be contained in each bill are not settled.

House appropriators are expected to discuss supplemental funding issues this week.