September spending spat could test House GOP discipline

House and Senate appropriators face a far rougher patch in the fall than they have experienced thus far, said lawmakers and aides, and the newest flare-up between the chambers over fiscal 2003 supplemental spending promises to make for a rocky September as they try to reconcile the 13 must-pass spending bills.

While the more orderly House has passed 11 of its bills, Senate rules allowing free-flowing debate have enabled appropriators to complete only four-leaving the more contentious spending bills for the fall.

The House now has only to complete the District of Columbia and Transportation-Treasury spending bills. While the Senate, usually more amenable to spending increases than the more fiscally conservative House, has thus far held the line on budget cap-busting amendments, several spending bills yet to see floor action could mark a real test of GOP discipline.

The Senate still faces protracted debate in September over the $138 billion Labor-HHS appropriations bill-usually the largest and most controversial of the bills funding domestic programs. While the Appropriations panel was able to report the measure early on, Appropriations ranking member Robert Byrd of West Virginia and other Democrats have already signaled their intention to try to add $6 billion in education funding that they argue has been previously authorized and backed by President Bush.

"If the dam breaks over there on just one amendment"-such as increasing spending on low-income heating assistance programs, which could cobble together enough GOP support for passage-"we'll see a huge change in the dynamic from now on," a House Appropriations aide said, arguing it could set a precedent for a breakdown in fiscal discipline on that and other spending measures.

Policy riders will also be a factor as the process moves forward. On the Labor-HHS bill, Democrats plan to fight a proposed Labor Department rule on overtime compensation that they allege could make millions of middle-income workers ineligible-a vote House GOP leaders barely won on that chamber's Labor-HHS bill.

Other fights over spending priorities and policy riders loom on the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill, which would block the recent FCC decision to lift the television ownership cap from 35 to 45 percent of nationwide audience reach; the VA-HUD measure, including veterans' health care funding, another bitterly contested House vote; and the Transportation-Treasury bill, featuring a likely battle over spending for Amtrak.

The three measures have yet to be marked up in subcommittee, a move aimed at, according to a Senate Appropriations aide, "avoiding having those bills under scrutiny throughout August."

Aside from the looming funding and policy fights, Senate and House GOP leaders will also have to contend with the bruised pride of Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who contends he was not informed of the decision to move a $983.6 million fiscal 2003 supplemental spending bill late Thursday. That measure is expected on the floor this week, with little opportunity for changes since the House has adjourned.

"They're trying to back the Senate up against the wall," said a Senate Appropriations aide, who noted such tactics have been successful in the past. Stevens and Byrd argue the measure is insufficient to fund disaster relief, Western firefighting and AmeriCorps.