Following is a rundown of some of the legislative proposals floated in recent days as possible add-ons to the omnibus appropriations measure, along with a look at whether they made it to the finish line:
Home Healthcare Payments. Administration and congressional negotiators Monday wrapped up remaining details on a measure designed to fix the payment system affecting home healthcare providers under Medicare. The $1.7 billion, five-year measure combines elements of House and Senate bills; most of the home health policy details emerged late last week after lengthy talks on the issue, which continued even after President Clinton and congressional leaders hailed their budget accord.
Completion of the deal was blocked by the White House's rejection of one of the proposed measure's financing elements: expansion of so-called Roth IRAs. The administration argued that the move would give wealthy Americans a tax break and cost the federal government money in the years ahead. Congressional negotiators dropped that idea and ended up being able to raise more than they had first estimated with a provision that would give individuals a choice of receiving their gambling winnings either as a lump sum or as an annuity spread out over time. The gaming provision could raise $1.8 billion over five years, perhaps as much as $1 billion more than is needed for the bill.
Sources said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, considered requesting that the extra revenues be earmarked for future budget needs, including a tax cut. But a Domenici spokeswoman said no such request had yet been made.
Peanut-Free Airplanes. House members from peanut-producing states, led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., secured language in the bill that prohibits the Transportation Department from spending any money to issue regulations requiring a peanut-free zone on airplanes. The Department of Transportation advanced a proposal earlier this year to create peanut-free buffer zones on airplanes to help people who are allergic to peanuts. House members from peanut-producing states-such as Gingrich's home state of Georgia-opposed the plan, fearing airlines might stop serving peanuts altogether rather than setting up peanut-free zones. House Transportation Appropriations Committee Chairman Frank Wolf, R-Va., who reportedly suffers from an allergy to crabs, supported the DOT regulation.
SEC Transaction Fees. Despite the best efforts of retiring House Rules Chairman Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y., to get his bill capping Securities and Exchange Commission transaction fees into the omnibus bill, GOP leadership sources said that Solomon's proposal did not make it in. The language Solomon has been pushing would have set a one-year cap of $430 million on all stock transaction fees the SEC charges on securities listed on all of the exchanges, including the NASDAQ.
Superfund Recycling Exemption. House Appropriations staff said that House and Senate GOP leaders had definitely decided against including in the omnibus bill a proposal by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., to exempt scrap metal recyclers from Superfund liability. In recent days, observers kept a close eye on the protracted negotiations between Lott and Gingrich, as the two GOP leaders went back and forth on whether to include the provision. Said one congressional staffer, "It was in, then it was out [of the budget] so many times, I lost track." House chairmen prevailed upon Gingrich to stand firm against the proposal, on the grounds it would dampen enthusiasm next year for a comprehensive Superfund reform bill.
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