House conservatives pleased with budget process

Despite a couple of bumps in the road to passing fiscal 1999 appropriations bills, most recently the failure last week to pass the rule on the Treasury-Postal measure, House conservatives say they are generally pleased with how the appropriations process is shaping up this year--as well as with appropriators and GOP leaders' willingness to work with them.

Rep. David McIntosh, R- Ind., chairman of the Conservative Action Team, told CongressDaily: "We're basically on track with the agreed upon strategy. ... I'd like to commend the 'cardinals' [the appropriations subcommittee chairmen]. They've really worked hard with us."

After last year's appropriations process, during which the conservatives felt appropriators were cooperating with Democrats too much, the CATs established an appropriations watch group. They warned that if the bills were not written from a conservative point of view, they were prepared to take their case to the full Republican Conference. And they did just that earlier this month when appropriators attempted to add funding for the year 2000 computer problem to bills without offsetting that funding.

But, by and large, conservatives have been pleased, said Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., chairman of the CATs appropriations watch group. "They've been very cooperative with us," Coburn said. He said he expects a few problems to surface, but added that conservatives are not terribly unhappy with the major battleground bill--the FY99 Labor-HHS funding measure.

"We're very pleased with the majority of it," Coburn said. Rules member Sue Myrick, R-N.C., a member of the CATs, agreed that conservatives have not been overlooked, saying: "I think we've gotten good cooperation. So far it's working basically OK--although there have been a few bumps along the way."

And another CAT, Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., said of the 291-125 rejection of the Treasury-Postal rule - which conservatives voted against because it would have protected a provision on contraception by Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., from a point of order--"I don't think this necessarily threatens [the process]. We can work things out in the long term. ... This was just a snag along the way."

But while the conservatives are pleased, GOP moderates have said they are unhappy with the Labor-HHS bill, which they view as too conservative.

"We really haven't hit the tough spots yet," said Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., one of the moderates. He said that while this year's overall funding levels are not as low as they will be in future years, moderates are prepared for fights over legislative riders and some specific funding levels. "Mostly, it's social issues," he said.