Senate clears supplemental; fight expected in House

The Senate Tuesday cleared a $1.8 billion a bill to provide supplemental "emergency" appropriations for disaster assistance to Central America, aid to Jordan and farm relief. But when the $1.2 billion House version of the supplemental hits the floor today, its fate could be determined by an amendment by Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., to provide funding offsets for $195 million in "emergency" Defense Department spending that appropriators did not offset. The spending was used to conduct hurricane relief in the Caribbean.

The Tiahrt proposal is expected to draw significant support from fiscal conservatives, possibly including some conservative Democrats and even some GOP moderates, although it is unclear whether it has the votes to pass.

But it will likely be opposed by appropriators, who feel they have already made significant efforts to find adequate offsets for their bill, and some defense hawks reluctant to establish a precedent that emergency military spending must be offset.

"I'm not going to support that," said Appropriations Chairman Young. "I just think we have to change the direction of offsetting these military emergencies."

Tiahrt said his proposal was a "very painless" way to offset the spending, because it draws from "callable capital" accounts which provide collateral against a default by the government. Appropriators also relied on "callable capital" to offset $648 million in spending in the supplemental.

The big question is whether conservatives like Tiahrt will oppose the final supplemental bill if the amendment to provide additional offsets fails.

Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Tex., said he was leaning against the bill if the additional offsets were not included. Tiahrt said he had not decided how he would vote.

Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said he "probably will support the bill," even without the additional offsets, as did Government Reform Chairman Burton. So will Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., according to an aide to the Conservative Action Team.

Some conservatives might be reluctant to scorn their leadership on the matter because party leaders generally accommodated their initial push for offsets.

The role of the leadership on the offset issue is still unfolding.

Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said he will vote for the amendment, but Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., "wants the House to work its will," according to his spokesman.

Tiahrt said leaders had conducted a head count on the bill. "Nobody's come up to me from leadership and said don't offer your amendment," he said.

A GOP leadership aide said that leaders had asked the White House to come up with Democratic votes for the bill, even though the administration has already threatened a veto because of some other funding offsets.

"It doesn't get any better than this," said the aide, who added that if the supplemental didn't pass the House immediately, it could be dead.

But Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., said the administration is "absolutely" committed to opposing many of the bill's offsets.