Congress buys time, still needs to resolve budget disputes

With the clock ticking down to the Thanksgiving recess, Congress bought itself a month to try and resolve the fiscal 2008 appropriations deadlock.

Last week, lawmakers sent President Bush the $471 billion Pentagon spending bill with a continuing resolution extending other agency budgets at current levels until Dec. 14.

That takes some of the urgency out of completing work on the remaining 11 spending bills, which are already delayed by more than a month.

Democrats will again try to sell a handful of moderate House Republicans on the $151 billion Labor-HHS spending bill, which was sent to President Bush late last week for his promised veto. An override vote is expected this week.

The measure is $10 billion above Bush's request, restoring cuts proposed to medical research, Head Start, community services and heating aid for the poor.

"The Labor-HHS appropriations bill addresses the essential priorities and aspirations of the American people: Their economic security, the health and well-being of their families, and the education of their children," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., in a statement Friday.

The bill came up several votes short of a veto-proof majority last week, but Democrats calculate that by adding up the total number of House Republicans who have voted for the bill on at least one of the three occasions it has come to the floor, they could easily obtain a veto override.

That is easier said than done, as the GOP whip operation and Bush's team will likely go into overdrive to prevent that outcome.

Another heavily whipped bill on both sides will be a measure to provide $50 billion to continue funding the Iraq war for four more months, which combined with money borrowed from the base Pentagon budget should be enough to last into March. But Democrats are insisting on attaching strings to the money, such as a plan to begin removing troops from combat zones within two months of enactment and bringing all of the troops out of combat by Dec. 15, 2008.

Most Republicans are expected to oppose the language, but it was causing heartburn among some liberal Democrats, who did not find it binding enough, and some moderates who thought it was too stringent. But leaders were confident the bill would pass. "It's definite. We have the votes," Pelosi said.

The measure could come up as early as Wednesday in the House, although it was not scheduled at the close of last week's business, followed by Senate action later in the week.

Also this week, the House and Senate are expected to take up the $51 billion fiscal 2008 Transportation-HUD spending bill, which is also expected to be vetoed, as it is $3 billion above Bush's request.

Conferees are expected to meet on a roughly $54 billion Commerce-Justice Science bill, about $3 billion above Bush's request, but it was unclear whether there would be time for the bill to come to the floor.

Democrats are touting those bills because of their commitment to infrastructure, including shoring up bridges around the country, as well as increases for the FBI and local law-enforcement.

One bill that might slip into December is the $64.7 billion Military Construction-VA spending bill, despite it being ready for the floor.

Senate Republicans struck it from the Labor-HHS measure last week on a point of order, and with Veterans Day having come and gone, the bill has become a handy political football for both sides.

Republicans argue Democrats were trying to blackmail them into supporting higher Labor-HHS spending that was subject to a veto, while Democrats argue Republicans are insensitive to veterans by not allowing it to hitch a ride on the Labor-HHS bill. Democrats blocked Republicans from bringing the bill up as a free-standing measure last week, and have not said what their plans are, fueling speculation it will become part of a year-end omnibus package.

Democrats wrote a provision into the CR allowing a higher rate of spending on veterans' programs than other government agencies, but $3.7 billion shy of the FY08 Military Construction-VA bill -- just enough to prove they are not shortchanging the veterans, but not enough to take away the impetus for moving the regular bill.