Clinton, Hill leaders close to budget deal

Congressional leaders and President Clinton reached a tentative budget deal Monday at a White House meeting that appears to put the 106th Congress on track to adjourn by week's end.

The emerging deal would set the final fiscal 2001 Labor-HHS appropriations total at $108.9 billion, and cut another $1 billion across the board from all other FY2001 spending bills-- including Defense--except Labor-HHS. They also agreed on a package of "givebacks" to Medicare providers who lost funding under the 1997 Balanced Budget Act.

Also Monday, both chambers passed another continuing resolution to fund through Friday government agencies covered by the last four outstanding FY2001 appropriations bills--Labor-HHS, Commerce-Justice-State, Treasury-Postal, and Legislative Branch. Hopeful Republican leadership aides did not think another CR will be required.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., who attended the White House session along with Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., told reporters as he left the Capitol Monday night, "I'm hoping we'll be able to finish Thursday night or Friday."

Responding to administration criticism that separate Medicare giveback legislation was too rich in benefits for managed care companies, Republicans have agreed to add about $2.7 billion for other healthcare providers and for beneficiaries.

Of the total, about $1.7 billion would be given to Medicare providers, while the other $1 billion would be allotted to expand the pie of Medicaid recipients.

In addition to the Medicare and Medicaid givebacks, at least one major component of the House's 10-year, $240 billion tax cut package appears to still have legs. A top House GOP aide advised "keeping an eye" on community renewal provisions of the tax measure, which has all but died on the Senate floor.

Those provisions, meant to spur economic growth in distressed urban areas, had the strong backing of both Clinton and Hastert. Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., acknowledged, "The President pushed very hard for that," although Reid was not sure it would make it into the final budget deal.

Administration officials appear to have given up hope that a package of tax cuts combined with a minimum wage increase will be acted on this year.

Last week, Republican hardliners led by House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, were insisting that the remaining four FY2001 bills be funded though a long-term CR set at FY2000 levels, as a way to save as much as $19 billion.

Conservatives also have pushed GOP leaders in both chambers to keep the final Labor-HHS figure as close as possible to the $106.7 billion agreed to in the initial conference report on the bill, which was completed back in July but never filed. A later tentative deal among bipartisan appropriators and the administration pushed the total to nearly $113 billion.

Although DeLay did not comment directly on the emerging deal, his spokesman said, "The good news is that the number being discussed today is significantly lower than the number being discussed only a few days ago."

An administration official acknowledged that Clinton would get somewhat less for education--his top remaining budget priority-- than he would have under the pre-Election Day arrangement. But the official insisted the legislation would include enough spending to "guarantee a robust education package."

And Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, emerging from a briefing with Lott, told reporters, "I can say I don't like it, but I may have to do it."

Not included in the package is language Republicans were seeking to allow the next President to block implementation of the Clinton administration's controversial workplace ergonomics rules, which were finalized last month but have not yet gone into effect.

Keith Koffler, Geoff Earle and Stephen Norton contributed to this report.