No shutdown, but no budget yet either, Clinton says

President Clinton Wednesday downplayed talk of a potential government shutdown, but continued to press Congress to finish the appropriations process.

"We still have not seen from Congress an acceptable budget," Clinton said, adding that he wanted "to continue to put progress ahead of partisanship." Asked about a potential shutdown if Congress can't complete its work within the next few days, Clinton said, "I don't think it will come to that."

The President held up the agreement on Third World debt relief as a model for bipartisan cooperation. "This agreement is big. At the end, we can get a lot done."

Clinton again demanded that Congress adopt his education package, including class size, school modernization, after-school programs and new teachers initiatives. "This Congress has not done it and this Congress will not be done until it accomplishes these objectives," Clinton said.

House Appropriations Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, both were pushing hard Wednesday to file the last two outstanding FY2001 spending bills. But the bills remained on hold until GOP leaders and negotiators from the authorizing committees of jurisdiction conclude talks with the administration on immigration and tax-free school construction bond language the White House wants attached to the Commerce-Justice-State and Labor-HHS spending bills.

Appropriators still must hammer out the final spending levels for those two bills, and must surmount potential procedural hurdles in the Senate with the Commerce- Justice-State bill, which was never debated as a stand-alone measure.

Stevens said there are "a series of options" under consideration to move the Commerce-Justice-State proposal. Meanwhile, the House Wednesday afternoon adopted the conference report on the $14.9 billion Foreign Operations appropriations bill, on a 307-101 vote. The bill includes language to lift budget caps for FY2001.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, told reporters Wednesday that progress in negotiations with the White House on tax and spending matters could allow Congress to adjourn for the year at the end of this week. "I, for one, believe we will be done by Friday evening," he said.