Senate Appropriations to mark up spending bills Friday

Incoming Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, plans to mark up the remaining 11 fiscal 2003 spending bills at their revised allocations Friday if the Senate can reorganize by then, a spokeswoman said.

The bills will total $385 billion to coincide with the president's total budget request of $750.5 billion. That number is more than $10 billion short of the total in spending bills approved last year under the Appropriations Committee chairmanship of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.

Democrats will probably try to amend the measures heavily when they reach the floor in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the House, beginning Wednesday, is set to take up two stopgap spending resolutions to keep the government operating through Jan. 31. One would take the place of the continuing resolution that expires Saturday. Stevens plans to use the other as a vehicle to carry the remaining fiscal 2003 spending bills.

Unlike the Senate, the House has no plans to move any fiscal 2003 spending bills to the floor separately. Its leaders plan to negotiate the final conference report once the Senate finishes its debate on the legislation.