Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., Monday outlined a busy Senate schedule for the month of July that he emphasized will focus almost exclusively on moving fiscal 1999 appropriations legislation.
Lott said that, after debating a private property rights bill and a cloture vote Monday, the Senate will turn its attention first to the fiscal 1999 Agriculture appropriations bill, and then perhaps to the VA-HUD and Legislative Branch bills. He reiterated his intention to take up healthcare legislation "in some form either Friday or Monday," although he also said the Senate could turn to the credit union bill "late in the week or early next week." He added that the Senate GOP health care task force headed by Majority Whip Don Nickles, R-Okla., plans to unveil its legislation Tuesday.
With the exception of those two high-profile measures, Lott said the Senate will concentrate on appropriations in hopes of finishing six or seven more spending bills before the August recess--and that he has identified 10 or 11 days this month for the Senate "to spend completely on appropriations."
In addition to the spending bills slated for action this week, Lott said he hopes to complete work before the recess on the Defense, Interior and Commerce-Justice-State bills--and declared that no more nominations will be called up until the Senate makes significant headway on its appropriations workload.
Lott again said he is "beginning to give serious consideration to [Appropriations Chairman] Stevens' [R-Alaska] suggestion to stay" in session past July 31--when the Senate is scheduled to adjourn for the August recess--if more progress is not made on appropriations.
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