House and Senate Budget committee chairmen this week are expected to continue searching for common ground that would allow them to develop a conference report on the fiscal 1999 budget resolution.
A plan by Senate Budget Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to pass a scaled- down budget reconciliation plan that would ease passage of a tax cut bill received a lukewarm reception from the House GOP last week.
Meanwhile, both chambers will continue to slog through the appropriations bills.
The House will resume consideration of the FY99 VA-HUD appropriations bill on Tuesday, and several environmental amendments are pending.
Included among them is an amendment by House Government Reform ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., that would clarify that certain bill provisions and report language restricting the EPA and the Council on Environmental Quality do not apply to actions already authorized under current law.
Reps. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio, and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., also may offer an amendment that would fund the president's request of $91.3 million for brownfields redevelopment; the bill currently provides $75 million.
Also, Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., may offer an amendment to ensure that no CEQ funds are used to implement the American Heritage Rivers Initiative.
The House District of Columbia Appropriations Subcommittee will mark up its FY99 spending bill Thursday, completing the House subpanel markups of the annual appropriations bills.
The full House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Foreign Operations and Transportation bills most likely Wednesday.
On the Senate side, the full Appropriations Committee Tuesday is slated to mark up the Foreign Operations and District of Columbia spending bills.
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