Government Executive - Authors - Stephen Norton

Senators question costs of new department

Charlie Mitchell and Stephen Norton — Tue, 16 Jul 2002 00:00:00 -0400

"[C]reating a new department and equipping it to carry out its mission has the potential to add significantly to future spending," the senators wrote in a letter late last week to Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., who is piecing together the Senate version of the homeland security plan.

Lieberman has collected recommendations from panels with jurisdiction over parts of the new department in anticipation of marking up a bill next week.

In their letter, Conrad and Domenici said the administration has provided only "limited detail" of proposed spending for the new department, "making it impossible to fully analyze the request." Furthermore, the senators wrote: "The evolving definition of what is homeland security makes it difficult to track spending or compare proposals. The Congress should require that the administration work with it to develop a common definition of homeland security."

Conrad and Domenici asked Lieberman to require from the administration "a special analysis on homeland security," and stressed the importance of obtaining "a detailed numeric presentation of its total homeland security budget request."

The senators also raised concerns that flexibility to shift funds within the new department-an issue that has provoked bipartisan opposition from appropriators in both chambers-could lead to wasteful spending. Conrad and Domenici cited recent reports "that the administrator of the new Transportation Security Administration spent $410,000 to renovate his office suite."

The senators added, "We want to ensure that any additional authorities provided to the administration do not lead to similar examples of excessive or wasteful spending."

Taking aim at the administration's proposal to allow the department's secretary to sell assets and retain the revenues, Conrad and Domenici echoed concerns raised by Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, that the proposal circumvents congressional oversight.

Conrad and Domenici also expressed concern over the so-called alternate human resources management system envisioned for the new department and asked for the administration to state explicitly whether employees would have collective bargaining and other rights.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday reviewed recommendations to move the U.S. Customs Service to the proposed department.

Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., indicated that many Customs Service functions should remain in one agency because of their integration.

Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, expressed concern that Customs Service employees would lose some of the whistleblower protections they have now if they were moved into the new department. He also questioned whether the agency's inspector general would retain the independence to review its operations.

On both those matters, a Treasury witness said there would be no change from current policy.

Last week, the Ways and Means Committee approved a plan to shift most of the Customs Service to the new department, but with a modification to reflect the committee's jurisdiction over the collection of customs fees and duties. Customs employees with those responsibilities would remain at Treasury.

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Differences on key Hill issues remain after Bush address

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, Geoff Earle, Charlie Mitchell, and Stephen Norton — Wed, 30 Jan 2002 00:00:00 -0500

Delivering his first formal State of the Union address, Bush said, "When America works, America prospers, so my economic security plan can be summed up in one word: jobs."

The President was interrupted 77 times by applause during a 45-minute speech that was part national pep rally and part sober assessment of military and other challenges ahead.

Bush urged support for his tax, trade and energy policies, but also stressed health care and retirement security--traditional Democratic themes. Bush said he wanted to address the domestic agenda "in the same spirit of cooperation we have applied to our war on terrorism."

Bush put in a strong plug for an economic stimulus package that includes extended unemployment benefits, and for accelerating and making permanent the estate tax repeal and other tax cuts passed last year.

A top Senate GOP aide observed: "The President is creating a domestic policy foundation based on his popularity. After this speech it's going to be hard for the Democrats to score any points against the President on the economy."

Senate GOP Policy Committee Chairman Larry Craig of Idaho said, "The President said, `Tom Daschle, let's get these issues to the floor, give them an up-or-down vote.'" Bush did not mention Senate Majority Leader Daschle by name, but for months, Republicans have denounced the South Dakotan as the chief obstacle to stimulus, energy and other legislation.

While Bush did not specifically mention the Enron collapse, he asked Congress to pass "new safeguards" for employee retirement plans.

The GOP aide said Bush had "inoculated" Republicans by mentioning a range of domestic issues, including prescription drugs and retirement security.

However, House Minority Whip Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., demonstrated that bipartisan support for the war effort does not translate into a free ride at home: "We cheer him and applaud him for prosecuting this war. In economic [policy], I think the speech was lacking. The one thing that we know is that the Bush economic policy, which he promoted last year, has not promoted economic growth."

Delivering the televised Democratic response moments after the president finished speaking, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., commended Bush for a "strong and patriotic speech" and said there was "no daylight between" Republicans and Democrats in the war on terrorism.

Gephardt eagerly embraced the notion of a partnership on the domestic front, saying, "I refuse to accept that while we stand shoulder-to-shoulder on the war, we should stand toe-to-toe on the economy."

But the Democratic leader stressed that the nation's litany of needs had not evaporated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"For all the things that have changed in our world over the past four months, the needs of our families have not," Gephardt said.

Gephardt pushed for patients' rights, pension reform "that protects workers from the next Enron," a minimum wage hike and a $10,000 tax deduction for college tuition, and he repeated his call for a bipartisan economic summit at the White House in February.

Gephardt also urged the public to turn up the pressure on Congress for campaign finance reform.

Republicans in recent weeks have come to believe they have the upper hand politically on the economic stimulus issue and hope a strong, public push by the President will prove decisive in the Senate.

"I believe eventually the Democrats will figure out this obstructionist thing is hurting them politically and we get a decent stimulus bill," said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.

But Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Calif., a senior Ways and Means Committee member, said: "I don't think [Bush's] power translates ... to the stimulus package. I don't think the public is there on the stimulus--they don't care about it."

Sen. John Breaux, D-La., a key moderate, said that in order to pass a stimulus bill: "They've got to be involved from the get-go [at the White House]. Otherwise, we're going to flounder."

But House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said: "The President has offered a stimulus package. We've passed that in the House. It's time for the Senate to act so we can get back into conference."

Regarding Bush's overall approach to the budget, Hastert said: "We know that we're in an economic downturn... We're at war ... and we're going to have to spend some money to get us out of the recession."

Bush's call for permanent enactment of last year's tax cuts drew cheers from K Street. Dirk Van Dongen, president of the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors and a leader of the Tax Relief Coalition, said the business community was "absolutely delighted" that the President mentioned the issue in the speech and promised the business community was in "action mode" to pass such legislation.

But Ways and Means ranking member Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said the country would fall off a "fiscal cliff" 10 years from now, once the tax cuts backed by Bush and enacted this year are fully phased in.

Rangel said the idea of making tax breaks permanent was unrealistic and irresponsible--especially in light of the ambitious spending agenda Bush embraced in his speech.

Indeed, Breaux expressed astonishment at the call for new spending. "I did not see any suggestion for holding the line," he said.

Rangel dismissed Bush's support for expanded jobless benefits, noting that GOP opposition to the comprehensive approach proposed by Democrats helped doom a stimulus bill last year.

Meanwhile, GOP moderates on Capitol Hill were pleased by the president's commitment to develop a prescription drug benefit as part of broader Medicare reform.

"I am encouraged that he is working with us to provide seniors with an affordable drug plan as part of an effort to strengthen Medicare," said GOP Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

Added GOP Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, "I applaud President Bush for his concentration on other domestic priorities in the area of strengthening Medicare, lowering the cost of prescription drugs for our seniors ... speeding up a full economic recovery, and creating jobs for all Americans."

Matsui, however, said the President was "a little too clever" in his prescription drug proposal because "he knows it can't be done fiscally ... The problem is he'll score political points with the speech. He'll come out of this better than he went in."

Bush spoke fondly of the successful and bipartisan effort to pass education reform last year, prompting Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., to remark: "The education effort was a prime example of how we could find common ground and work together. That is the model that ought to be followed, particularly in the area of prescription drugs and patients' rights."

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Senate leader offers compromise on homeland security spending

Keith Koffler, Geoff Earle, and Stephen Norton — Wed, 28 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Minority Whip Don Nickles, R-Okla., responded to Daschle's offer by saying, "I'm glad it's off the stimulus," but said, "I don't think we should go the additional $7.5 [billion]." Nickles said appropriators should honor the agreement they reached with President Bush on an overall spending figure.

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., called the development "an important breakthrough," but Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., was less excited. "I think it's outrageous," Gregg said of Daschle's offer. "It violates the agreement reached in October with the president."

President Bush today sharpened his rhetoric on the stimulus package, but did not address Daschle's proposed compromise. In an appearance in Washington before a Farm Journal forum, Bush implored the Senate to act, warning that the delay is causing job losses.

"Let's move, let's get the job done," Bush said.

The President said 415,000 jobs had been lost "in the time that we have been waiting" for a bill. "Further delay could put more Americans and families at risk," Bush said.

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White House shows no sign of budging over spending

Keith Koffler, Mark Wegner, and Stephen Norton — Tue, 27 Nov 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Referring to an earlier deal between congressional appropriators and the White House to hold fiscal 2002 spending to $686 billion and keep the supplemental at $40 billion, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer today declared, "A deal is a deal is a deal."

Fleischer reiterated President Bush's threat to veto legislation that breaches the agreed-upon totals. And the White House will continue its campaign to pressure the Senate to pass a stimulus package. Bush will make the point during his weekly breakfast meeting Wednesday with House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., Fleischer said. And the President will urge movement on stimulus legislation in a speech to be delivered later Wednesday.

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, continued to press the Senate to act on stimulus legislation. "There is in fact a recession and that obviously gives us some sense of urgency," Armey said, chiding Daschle for scheduling Senate votes on railroad retirement legislation and the farm bill instead of continuing to work on a stimulus package.

Armey said public opinion over the Thanksgiving break could, in part, determine whether the Senate acts on a stimulus plan.

"Have they communicated to the Senate in the past 10 days that this is an important thing in their lives?" Armey asked.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., also continued to blast Daschle for failing to move a stimulus bill through the Senate, dismissing as "hogwash" the suggestion that no tax bill could garner 60 votes to overcome a budget point of order.

Thomas also charged that Daschle deliberately helped create a partisan measure in the Senate Finance Committee. Thomas continued to refuse to negotiate any bicameral agreement so long as the $15 billion package of domestic security spending items remains on the table. Without those items, Thomas said the leaders of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees could put together a compromise "over a weekend."

Thomas declined to offer specific views on the package put together by Senate moderates. However, he acknowledged that a final bill could contain items not approved by either House. Also, while he continued to vigorously defend full repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax, he said he would look at other options "assuming there is a middle ground."

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Hill offices closed, but legislators plan active week

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Tue, 23 Oct 2001 00:00:00 -0400

Work begins in earnest on an economic stimulus measure, as the House prepares to take up Wednesday a $100 billion package composed mostly of tax relief, which the Ways and Means Committee passed 10 days ago. Contentious debate over substance and process is likely.

House and Senate lawmakers also plan to consider remaining appropriations bills, anti-terrorism legislation and a bioterrorism measure this week, along with other legislative initiatives--even though uncertainty remains over the availability of the House and Senate office buildings.

As the House braces for its debate on economic stimulus, the Senate clearly plans to take a different approach. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have continued talks with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on a bipartisan plan that probably will be smaller than the House bill.

This week, it should become clear if they can agree on a single bill or go their separate ways. Senate moderates already have begun to talk about their areas of agreement and stand ready to play a brokering role.

The Senate is likely to remain stalled this week on the appropriations front, beginning with this morning's cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the fiscal 2002 Foreign Operations bill.

Republicans have been filibustering the FY02 appropriations bills that the Senate has yet to consider--Foreign Operations, Agriculture, Labor-HHS and District of Columbia--out of frustration over the delay in confirming President Bush's judicial nominees. Republican and Democratic sources both predict a replay of last week's cloture vote, which failed on a party- line vote of 50-46.

But Republicans have allowed the Senate to vote on appropriations conference reports, so the chamber could move ahead with the 11 FY02 bills that have yet to be completed. Conference reports on the FY02 Interior and Military Construction bills were adopted by both chambers last week and are awaiting the president's signature.

Although formal conference committee meetings have not yet convened on any of the six remaining appropriations bills that have passed both chambers--Commerce-Justice-State, Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, Treasury-Postal, Transportation and VA-HUD--conference reports could be filed and ready for floor votes later this week on the Energy and Water, VA-HUD and Legislative Branch bills.

The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled Wednesday to hold its long-delayed markup of the 13th and final FY02 appropriations bill, the Defense bill, with floor action possible before the end of the week.

Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, has said he is waiting for his House counterparts to act before holding his markup.

The Defense bill also is expected to carry the second $20 billion of the $40 billion emergency terrorism supplemental Congress passed in response to the Sept. 11 attacks. But, as of Monday, House GOP sources indicated that no decision had been made about when to attach the supplemental to the Defense bill-- at the full committee markup, on the floor or in conference with the Senate.

A Senate source said the Senate Appropriations Committee would amend the supplemental to the Defense bill at the full committee markup.

In addition, the Senate and House are expected this week to formally appoint conferees on an anti-terrorism bill, a "pre- conference" that the chambers completed late last week. That pre- conference agreement already has been translated into legislative language, and both chambers should approve the resulting bill this week.

Bush has indicated he would sign the bill, which would expand law enforcement powers of surveillance and information sharing.

The Senate may take up a bioterrorism bill being drafted by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., this week. It would boost funding to strengthen public health agencies' ability to detect, treat and contain bioterrorism outbreaks.

Kennedy said at a news conference Monday that he expects the initial figure to be about $2 billion, similar to the administration's request, to come out of the $40 billion emergency supplemental passed last month. Then Kennedy said an additional $4 billion to $6 billion might have to be included in a second phase of the bill.

"We need to make sure the resources will be there to do whatever we need to do," Kennedy said.

The HELP committee is holding a hearing today on medical preparedness to combat bioterrorism, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee was planning to hold a similar hearing Thursday.

On a related note, Kennedy and Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee ranking member Sam Brownback, R-Kan., may unveil a border protection measure. The two said their aim is to protect against terrorism while providing citizenship opportunities to law-abiding individuals.

Also, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has said it will propose a plan this week for restructuring the agency.

The House could take up an aviation security bill this week, although it still appears unlikely that House GOP leaders have the votes for a bill that would not mandate that baggage screeners be federal employees.

Earlier this month, the Senate passed a bill 100-0 to federalize most screeners and give oversight authority to the Justice Department.

On education, House and Senate conferees on the elementary and secondary education bill have tentatively set a meeting for today, after several previously scheduled meetings were cancelled because of the closing of House and Senate office buildings.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., is planning today to swear in the two newest members of the House, Reps.-elect Jeff Miller, R-Fla., and Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., to fill the seats of former GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough and the late Democratic Rep. Joe Moakley, respectively.

At the White House, Bush will continue focusing his attention on the response to the Sept. 11 attacks. He is likely to offer remarks on homeland security and the economic stimulus package.

Other domestic initiatives will be on the radar, but aides Monday were still firming up the president's schedule for the week.

April Fulton, Pamela Barnett, Mark Wegner and Keith Koffler contributed to this report.

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Moderate Democrats concerned about budget

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Tue, 08 May 2001 00:00:00 -0400

At issue is whether the budget resolution Congress is supposed to vote on this week provides for $1.25 trillion in tax relief to fiscal 2011, with a separate $100 billion in tax relief for fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002 aimed at stimulating the economy from surplus money already on hand.

That is what a number of Democratic moderates such as Sens. John Breaux of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska said they agreed to when the Senate passed the budget last month. But the conference report unveiled last week provided for $1.35 trillion in tax relief over the next 10 years. Senate Budget Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and his staff met with Breaux and Nelson until late last Thursday evening and the Democrats seemed satisfied that the stimulus portion could be more clearly stated. However, even the revised language still seems to fall short of their understanding.

A spokeswoman for the Senate Budget Committee said the committee was only trying to give the Finance panel more flexibility in writing the tax bill when it composed the reconciliation instructions. The fiscal 2001-fiscal 2002 stimulus idea is something on which President Bush, the Senate leadership and Domenici have all signed on, she said.

"That's just standard operating procedure on our part" to give the authorizing committee flexibility, she said, adding, "Certainly it is our intention, it is [Chairman] Domenici's intention and it is the intention of the budget resolution that this be done in the first two years." But a Nelson spokesman said, "The excuses so far are inadequate." Staff level discussions were to be held today to resolve the matter.

According to the weekly whip notice, the House will consider the same-day rule--which allows the House to take up the floor rule for the conference report and conference report itself on the same day--and the rule to recommit the conference report Tuesday, and turn to final passage of the budget conference report Wednesday.

But GOP leadership sources indicated it is still possible the leadership could push to get it done Tuesday night. Due to a series of errors that occured late last Thursday, the conference report was filed missing two key pages, and therefore must be recommitted to the conference committee so the missing pages can be formally added and the report then filed correctly. At that point, any other changes that may be necessary or desirable could be made to the conference report.

Another problem may be that the conference report does not reflect the increased education spending approved by the Senate.

A spokeswoman for Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Jeffords, R-Vt., who battled his leadership to get more money for education, said he "has got deep concerns about the education numbers" and, as a result, is "leaning no" in his vote. The spokesman said Jeffords is also concerned that because the reconciliation instructions for the $1.25 trillion refer only to reducing revenues by that amount over 10 years, it may not be feasible to do things like making the per-child tax credit available to workers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is scored as an outlay.

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Senate GOP leaders reach out to Dems on budget

Lisa Caruso, Geoff Earle, and Stephen Norton — Thu, 29 Mar 2001 00:00:00 -0500

"They're just talking to everybody," said Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. "I've made it very clear what my concerns are."

Nelson said he wants the FY02 budget resolution to have some sort of "circuit breaker" mechanism tying tax cuts to the economy, saying it should allow Congress to vote on anything above the first $1 trillion in tax cuts. The budget will provide for $1.6 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years.

Nelson also said he has voiced concerns to Republicans on the spending side. "I'd want to make sure that agriculture is well taken care of," he said. "I just want to make sure that whatever is done in the area of a tax cut doesn't end up cutting agriculture... and military spending" and other priorities.

Nelson said he was also seeking assurances "that we'll pay down the debt, Social Security, and there'll be a prescription drug part of Medicare."

Republicans are targeting Democrats by necessity, amid signs that moderate Republicans continue to voice doubts about the budget plan and its $1.6 trillion tax cut.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., has told colleagues that the tax cut is too large and he does not think the budget should be passed on a party line vote. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman James Jeffords, R-Vt., has also been holding out, and said Tuesday he wants money--perhaps as much as $110 billion--for individual development accounts, subsidized savings accounts designed to help low-income individuals accumulate capital.

Republicans would need to get at least 50 votes for their plan in order to have Vice President Cheney cast a tie-breaking vote.

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Bush search for 'fiscal sanity' could lead to agency cuts

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Tue, 27 Feb 2001 00:00:00 -0500

In the outline, Bush will hold discretionary spending to a 4 percent increase next year, to around $663 billion. Speaking to reporters at the White House before meeting with his Cabinet Monday, Bush said some members of Congress "may not like the fact that we're asking for there to be fiscal sanity in the budget.

"But that's one of the reasons I became the President," Bush said, "because I said, `Give us a chance, and we will have fiscal sanity in our budget,' and I look forward to making the case."

The White House talking points circulating on Capitol Hill this week were labeled, "A blueprint for new beginnings, a responsible budget for America's priorities."

They provided few new details of Bush's budget plans. But they did say he would propose tripling funds for children's reading programs, creating more than 1,200 new community health centers, and providing $900 million for a land and water conservation program.

According to congressional and administration sources, Bush's budget also will propose the full $52.9 billion the law provides for federal highway, aviation and mass transit. And he will seek a 6.4 percent boost in federal aid for historically black colleges.

But not mentioned in the White House talking points is a decision to cut the Energy Department's budget to $19 billion, roughly $700 million below current levels, a senior administration official told the Associated Press.

The official said the military portion of the agency's budget--two-thirds of it, covering nuclear weapons--would be minimally affected by the reductions. That will leave the rest of its programs taking cuts nearly across the board.

DOE is among many agencies whose budgets will be restrained to leave room in the projected $5.6 trillion, 10-year federal surplus for Bush's proposed tax cut and other priorities.

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Appropriators angered by Joint Chiefs' supplemental request

Lisa Caruso, Charlie Mitchell, and Stephen Norton — Fri, 26 Jan 2001 00:00:00 -0500

National Journal News Service reported. Evidently sensing an end run at Congress, Rumsfeld, a veteran Washington operative on his second tour as the Pentagon's chief executive, issued a cease-and-desist order to the armed services Tuesday, according to sources. This forced the Navy and Army to cancel additional briefings they had scheduled this week to lay out their money problems to congressional committee staffs. But the horse is already out of the barn, in the form of detailed briefing papers the armed services presented to the Senate committee's staff Jan. 10. The papers, obtained by National Journal News Service, cite a shortfall for fiscal year 2001 consisting of $2.9 billion in the Army, $2.3 billion in the Navy, $1.8 billion in the Air Force and $899 million in the Marine Corps. In addition to that $7.9 billion total, the services have warned Congress they are $2 billion short on pay raises and military health care, for a grand total of about $10 billion. In addition, the military is likely to seek even more before Rumsfeld comes to Congress with his supplemental budget request for fiscal year 2001 and his revised budget for fiscal year 2002. Although House Appropriations Chairman Young and Senate Appropriations Chairman Stevens vigorously support Bush's campaign pledge to increase defense spending, the committee spokesman said, "That's just not a good way to start off. The last place the committee wants to read about this [spending request] is in the news. We would rather read it in a letter from the OMB director." A senior House Appropriations aide also questioned whether various components of the Defense Department's fiscal year 2001 supplemental request--such as the pay raise--actually constitute emergencies or could be dealt with in the regular fiscal year 2002 budget cycle. The aide pointed out that military pay increased 3.7 percent in fiscal year 2001 and 4.8 percent in fiscal 2000, and the most recent increase went into effect only this month. Despite the Joint Chiefs' apparently premature request, which was not made to his committee, Stevens told reporters Tuesday, "I don't expect we'll have a supplemental for awhile." Stevens was equally noncommittal about the final price tag: "It's difficult to answer how much money will be available [for fiscal year 2001]. We're going to need 60 votes no matter what we do." ]]>

DOE nominee warned about management challenges

Brody Mullins and Stephen Norton — Fri, 19 Jan 2001 00:00:00 -0500

Today's hearing was free of the vitriol that has characterized some of the other confirmation hearings this week. Abraham received praise from Democratic and Republican senators alike and won sympathy from senators who warned that Abraham has a difficult road ahead. "You are stepping into a quagmire," cautioned Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo.

Overall, Abraham revealed few specifics about the Bush administration's views on energy policy and security concerns at DOE.

"It would be premature for me to speculate on what actions the administration may or may not take," Abraham said.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Frank Murkowski, R- Alaska, warned: "You better have some answers after the 20th."

In a lighter moment, Abraham said that "new developments" have led him to drop his effort in the Senate to abolish the Energy Department. "I no longer support this legislation," he said.

Separately, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., asked Bush to do a better job of coordinating the federal agencies charged with crafting energy policy. "In the past, the three agencies with major roles affecting energy supplies... approached each issue from a perspective defined by their own specific, narrow agency interests without considering the impact on energy supply. That must change," Domenici wrote in a letter to Bush.

Domenici, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources panel and chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, urged Bush to meet with the heads of the DOE, EPA and Interior Department to coordinate policy.

During his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday, Treasury Secretary-designate O'Neill said he would be hesitant about a federal role in California's energy crisis. Quoting "an old mentor from OMB," O'Neill said, "When the president or Congress hangs out their shingles, they tend to get all the business."

O'Neill said he has not looked at all the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission options and rules for federal action, but explained if there are any ways for the federal government to assist state officials, "it should be quick."

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Cheney takes transition effort to Capitol Hill

Geoff Earle and Stephen Norton — Thu, 14 Dec 2000 00:00:00 -0500

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., speaking to reporters after meeting with Cheney this afternoon, said he is anxious to move forward on next year's agenda.

"It may not be a long agenda, but it's a very important agenda," he said.

Lott added that he was developing a list of issues to offer the Bush transition team and that the first thing Congress can do to facilitate the new agenda is to finish work on the old one and leave town.

"We need to be home with our constituents and family," he said.

Lott said key issues next year would be developing an energy policy, shoring up defense capabilities, and passing items that have broad, bipartisan agreement such as education reform, managed care reform and a patients' bill of rights.

Besides meeting with Lott and a group of Senate GOP moderates, Cheney also talked with Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is expected to be the next Senate Finance Committee chairman if Republicans organize the Senate. They discussed the broad outlines of a tax agenda if GOP nominee George W. Bush becomes President. Grassley said there is "a lot of bipartisan consensus" around at least two tax cuts Bush proposed during the campaign: repealing the so-called marriage penalty and the estate tax.

But Grassley also said, "There is an indication that we could be in the beginning of the Clinton recession," and said an economic downturn might call for a combination of tax cuts that would include "some sort of rate cut that could be a stimulant on the economy." He predicted that Democrats "may be open to some sort of a rate cut."

House Republican Policy Committee Chairman Christopher Cox of California hit the same themes after his meeting with Cheney, saying, "There are two or three items that are shelf-ready and have the support of two thirds of the members of Congress." Those are the repeal of the telephone excise tax, estate tax and so-called marriage penalty.

Grassley said he suggested the meeting because he did not want to wait until the State of the Union address to find out "where they're coming from." He also mentioned prescription drugs and entitlement reform.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Bush "needs to get his tax bill through," and mentioned the marriage penalty and estate tax reductions, as well as rate cuts, but said Republicans may need to compromise with Democrats on one of their priorities--prescription drugs.

On what he called a "special organizational challenge" of getting the budget to Capitol Hill on time, Cox said the delay in getting the transition under way has meant that Bush aides have had no access since the election to Office of Management and Budget information that would have been helpful in formulating a budget.

Just the same, the new President's budget will be due in early February and Cox said, "We in Congress have an interest in keeping that on track." Noting precedents, he said it was possible that the budget could be a bit late and suggested it might be worth looking at changing the law to anticipate delays that can happen--particularly in election years.

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Final spending decisions up to GOP leaders

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Fri, 20 Oct 2000 00:00:00 -0400

Young said appropriators have all but finished their work for the year and are waiting for Republican leaders to make the final decisions on the most politically sticky issues holding up the fiscal 2001 Foreign Operations, Commerce-Justice-State and Labor-HHS appropriations bills.

Reacting to the statement of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott-R-Miss., comment that the next CR should give Congress "enough time to complete our work while putting pressure on appropriators," Young said, "Appropriators have been trying to keep pressure on certain leaders in the Senate to get their decisions made for more than a month now."

Young said the only outstanding issue for appropriators on the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill concerns authorization the Senate is seeking--and the House opposes--for four projects outlined in the Conservation and Reinvestment Act.

House Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said GOP leaders must resolve six other issues, including immigration amnesty for Hispanics, several telecommunications riders and a provision blocking the government from paying for tobacco litigation.

House Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Sonny Callahan, R-Ala., reported that he met Wednesday night with subcommittee ranking member Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other members of their panel, but could not agree on so-called Mexico City restrictions on international family planning groups that receive U.S. aid, or on a final amount to devote to debt relief to poor countries.

Callahan said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm, R-Texas, are negotiating with the administration on the issue of IMF gold sales. Callahan said Clinton's threat to veto the Foreign Operations spending bill if it includes last year's Mexico City compromise, which Republicans support, has left his panel "kind of at a stalemate at this point."

As for the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, bipartisan congressional negotiators were scheduled to sit down with Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew and other administration officials Thursday afternoon. A major sticking point there is a school construction bond proposal the administration wants.

Republican leaders object to imposing Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements on projects undertaken with the money from the bonds for fear it will drive up construction costs and erode the value of the bond initiative. The measure is just as likely to end up on an emerging tax bill, GOP sources indicate.

Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., a cosponsor of the bill, urged her GOP colleagues in a letter Wednesday to drop their objections. "Let me be clear--payment of Davis-Bacon wages in a projects that receive federal funding is nothing new," Johnson wrote.

But many Republicans still see a precedent in having Davis-Bacon imposed as a direct result of a tax credit--the device for leverage the bonds under the proposal. The House Thursday passed, 386-24, the VA-HUD appropriations bill and sent it to the Senate.

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House pushes controversial combined spending bill

Keith Koffler, Lisa Caruso, April Fulton, Geoff Earle, and Stephen Norton — Thu, 27 Jul 2000 00:00:00 -0400

House Republican leaders, intent on getting fiscal appropriations conference reports completed before the impending August recess pushed ahead with a floor vote Thursday on a stripped-down version of the appropriations-tax cut package they tried to develop with Senate leaders Wednesday night. However, the package appeared to be doomed in the Senate.

A spokeswoman for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said Daschle will object to a unanimous consent request for the Senate to take up the package, which is the only way it could be added to the Senate's already crowded floor schedule before the recess.

Senate Democrats are incensed that Republicans want to move a conference report on the Treasury-Postal spending bill when the Senate has yet to even debate its version, just as their House counterparts are livid that they have not had the chance to review the package before voting.

House Treasury-Postal Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Steny Hoyer, D-Md., thundered from the floor, "This is not the way we ought to run this House and respect each other as members."

But House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said the point is "to get it done. We can't control the Senate, but any time you can get something done [in the House], it's preferable."

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., said of the plan, "We're just trying to keep the wheels of government in motion, " but conceded, "I prefer regular order."

Salvaged from the more ambitious package under discussion Wednesday were the conference reports on the $2.5 billion Legislative Branch and $15.6 billion Treasury-Postal spending bills, repeal of the telephone excise tax, and language to reverse the $6 billion in FY2001 shifts in benefits payments included in the FY2000 supplemental.

The final package, which was completed early this morning and negotiated without suggestion from congressional Democrats or top White House officials, contains $40 million in emergency fiscal 2000 credit subsidy finding for the Federal Housing Administration to back loans for multi-family, low-income housing.

And it drops several controversial provisions, including the prohibition on enforcing the U.S. ban on exports of food and medicine to Cuba and restrictions on travel to Cuba, the prohibition on giving preference to gun manufacturer Smith and Wesson in federal government gun purchases, and the moratorium on implementing so-called federal acquisition rules on contractors, which the GOP calls "blacklisting."

As of Thursday, the White House had not made a judgment on the appropriations package because aides to President Clinton have not had a chance to view the details, according to White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart. Lockhart charged that Democrats were excluded from "Republican only" negotiations over the bill. "Democratic members in the House have been forced to try to get details off the Internet," Lockhart said.

But Democrats were not the GOP leadership's only problem. Asked if he would back the conference report, Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., said, "Absolutely not." Sanford said he was upset that conferees included members of Congress in a rollback in retirement benefits contributions for federal employees.

Other Republicans may oppose the rule or the bill because a moratorium on "blacklisting" of government contractors who fail to meet certain guidelines was dropped. Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham, R-Calif., said he told leaders he was undecided because of it. Rep. James Moran, D-Va., vowed to continue his efforts to enact the amendment, which passed the House with broad bipartisan support.

GOP leadership sources said the provision was removed to circumvent a strong lobbying campaign that the AFL- CIO, which supports the rule, has launched in the Senate. Moran said he will work with the administration to modify the rule and will look for another spending bill to which he can attach it.

A number of conservatives were expected to support the bill, according to an aide to a conservative member, because of the bill's elimination of budget accounting "gimmicks" from the FY2000 supplemental appropriations bill. The aide declared, "It's one of the cleanest conference reports I've seen in a long time."

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Clinton makes fiscal 2001 budget decisions

Keith Koffler and Stephen Norton — Tue, 04 Jan 2000 00:00:00 -0500

Most of the major decisions for the fiscal 2001 budget have been made, and President Clinton is now focused mainly on planning his State of the Union speech, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said Monday.

Most of the major decisions were made during a series of about a half-dozen budget meetings Clinton convened with top staffers during December. Lockhart added that "some" major policy choices remain, but that these would be finalized this week. He vowed a "very aggressive domestic agenda" during the final 12 months of the Clinton presidency, flatly denying a report in Monday's New York Times that foreign policy would be Clinton's primary focus.

Many policy details are likely to emerge in carefully staged media leaks and at official announcements by the president during the few weeks remaining before Clinton's annual address to Congress.

Lockhart suggested the fact that this is an election year would actually increase the odds of getting things done, indicating cooperation may increase with the GOP. "If you look at the broad areas that you know the president's going to pursue-sensible gun control, Patients' Bill of Rights, health care-I think members of Congress who in the past sought to block these measures, as they go home and look for support from their constituents as we get closer to election day, might have a change of attitude," Lockhart said.

He denied, on the other hand, that Democrats seeking issues with which to challenge GOP control of Congress would present an obstacle.

"In 1998, congressional Democrats and the president worked very hard to get things passed. We got a lot of things done," Lockhart said. "Democrats campaigned on what we got done, and said we need to do more," he added, noting that the result was a loss for the GOP in the congessional elections.

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, issued a statement indicating that the debate on many key issues will be a replay of last year's struggle.

In addition to urging Clinton to "break his habit of including tax increases in every budget he proposes," Armey criticized the idea of reviving Clinton's so-called USA Accounts, saying, "We should give individuals more control over their own retirement security, not set up another government program."

Armey welcomed the president's call for tax breaks to make it easier for more people to acquire health care insurance and offered up his own proposal for a $3,000 per family credit to help uninsured Americans purchase health insurance.

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Budget surplus up to $115 billion this year

Keith Koffler, Lisa Caruso, and Stephen Norton — Tue, 28 Sep 1999 00:00:00 -0400

The White House's announcement Monday that the Office of Management and Budget is now estimating a $115 billion surplus for FY99-$16 billion higher than its last estimate-was met with a muted and mixed reaction on Capitol Hill, where GOP leaders are scrambling to finish fiscal 2000 spending bills before the start of the new fiscal year Friday.

At presstime, OMB had not specified how much of the new surplus estimate is Social Security revenue and whether it estimates a surplus or deficit without Social Security.

In comparison, the Congressional Budget Office's July 1 update estimated the fiscal 1999 total surplus at $120 billion-with a Social Security surplus of more than $125 billion and a non-Social Security, or on-budget, deficit of around $4 billion.

OMB was similarly more cautious than the CBO in its fiscal 2000 projections, estimating a total budget surplus of $142 billion, of which $137 billion was Social Security surplus and $5 billion an on-budget surplus. The CBO projected the fiscal 2000 unified surplus at $161 billion, of which $14 billion is the on-budget surplus Congress upon is now relying upon to balance the fiscal 2000 federal books without dipping into the Social Security surplus.

House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, released a statement that said: "More surplus money for Washington means less money for families and workers across our country, and tax relief is the only way to balance the scales. But since President Clinton killed tax relief, Republicans will guard these funds to protect Social Security and Medicare, and pay down the debt-and stop Washington from spending them on a smorgasbord of government programs." House Budget Committee Democratic Staff Director Thomas Kahn called the updated OMB numbers "very, very good news and the result of the 1993 Clinton budget and the strong economy it helped produce. But it is also a reminder that we are witnessing a meltdown of the fiscal 2000 budget process, and that that according to... [the CBO], they [Republicans] have already spent the on-budget surplus, and are on track to spend even more."

According to the White House, the surplus is the largest ever and, along with the fiscal 1998 surplus of $69 billion, creates the first back-to-back surpluses in more than 40 years. Speaking at the White House before departing for New Orleans, the president once again importuned the GOP, using the phrase "work with me" or its equivalent no less than eight times. Clinton, who proclaimed himself "not pessimistic," indicated such cooperation was needed to go beyond a narrow budget deal. "We can do pretty well by conflict, I suppose, and eventually drag this out to where we've at least got a decent education budget and we're still paying down the debt," he said. "But they have to work with me if we're going to extend the life of Medicare and Social Security and do some of these other very important things."

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GOP leaders intent on avoiding budget crisis

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Tue, 10 Aug 1999 00:00:00 -0400

Republican leaders clearly expect a veto standoff with President Clinton over fiscal 2000 spending this fall-but in a nod to the failed shutdown strategy of 1995-96, they also are emphasizing they will not allow another budgetary "train wreck" to occur.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., laid out the Republican game plan Sunday on ABC's "This Week," saying, "I don't know of anybody that's looking for the so-called train wreck."

Lott suggested when Congress reaches the end of the fiscal year, those appropriations bills not yet passed could be rolled into "a continuing resolution for two weeks or a month or for a year. And you keep funding programs at the current year's level while you work through the process."

In an interview Friday with CongressDaily, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said, "There won't be a shutdown," but added Republican leaders will not pursue an appropriations "summit strategy" with the president, either.

If Clinton vetoes GOP-sponsored appropriations bills, DeLay said the Republicans' stance will be: "We spent the revenues according to our priorities, now you tell us what your priorities are and we'll try to work that out inside those revenues. Or Mr. President, if you want another $20 billion, $30 billion, $100 billion, then you're going to have to spend the Social Security surplus."

DeLay said Republicans will pay for FY2000 appropriations with either spending cuts, budget savings or the $14 billion on-budget surplus the CBO projects, but will not dip into the Social Security trust fund. DeLay said even the emergency spending approved by either chamber-$4.5 billion in the House for the census and $7.4 billion in the Senate for farmers-should be paid for without Social Security revenue.

DeLay also said the CBO's final numbers for 2000 may show an even larger on-budget surplus than expected. "We have another re-evaluation from CBO come January, and I'm willing to bet you there's going to be more revenues available" because of continued economic growth, he said.

Meanwhile, Republicans said they are sure they can enlist the support of the American people when they take the tax cut bill on the road this month. While Republican leaders have staged rallies and kicked off road shows more than once this year to rally enthusiasm for tax cuts, they said they are especially confident this time.

"We believe that public opinion is going to come out strong for this package as it is better understood and we believe the president will respond to that," House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said on "Fox News Sunday."

One top GOP House aide said the fact that both the House and Senate have passed a $792 billion tax cut will make it much easier to present the idea to the American people.

Rather than "vague" promises of a tax cut, members of Congress can spend the next month letting their constituents know exactly what it contains for families, small businesses and farms, he said. In fact, pro-tax relief think tanks have already begun to break the bill down by state and congressional district, making it that much easier for members to connect the legislation to their constituents' lives.

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House passes fiscal 2000 budget plan

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Thu, 15 Apr 1999 00:00:00 -0400

One day ahead of schedule, the House Wednesday adopted by a largely party-line vote of 220-208 the conference report on the fiscal 2000 budget resolution-a budget plan that Democrats roundly criticized as "totally inadequate" and "a political document," according to House Budget ranking member John Spratt, D-S.C.

The $7.6 trillion budget plan for the next 10 years retains the $536 billion statutory cap on FY2000 discretionary spending and provides for up to $15 billion in fully offset tax cuts next year, $142 billion in tax cuts over five years and $778 billion over 10 years.

The plan also establishes a point of order to reserve the 10-year projected Social Security surplus of $1.8 trillion to ensure the long-term solvency of both the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, as well as the creation of a $101 billion, 10-year reserve fund that could be tapped to expand Medicare prescription drug benefits.

The budget resolution creates a reserve fund for an FY2000 surplus and calls on the CBO to submit its updated FY2000 economic forecast by July 1 so that if an on-budget surplus is projected it can be tapped for tax cuts, and the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees' reconciliation instructions can be adjusted.

The conference report requires the Ways and Means panel to report out its tax bill by July 16 and Senate Finance to report its bill by July 23.

The Senate-passed amendment to increase mandatory childcare spending by $6 billion paid for out of the money set aside for tax cuts was accommodated in the conference report by providing for childcare-related tax relief of $3 billion over 10 years, and $3 billion in additional spending beginning in 2004.

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GOP leaders agree on broad budget outlines

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Fri, 26 Feb 1999 00:00:00 -0500

House and Senate GOP leaders and Budget panel chairmen held the first in a series of bicameral meetings Thursday evening meant to put them on the glide path to finishing a budget resolution by mid-April, and emerged without any decisions, but with agreement on the broad outlines of the fiscal 2000 budget blueprint.

All participants and leadership aides left the meeting saying the five principals, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.,House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., were "a lot closer" than they expected on the big picture issues of saving Social Security, cutting taxes and trying to stay within the statutory discretionary spending caps.

But they have reached no conclusions on the thorny particulars that will make or break a deal, such as the timing and structure of tax cuts, and whether fiscal reality can accommodate the spending caps.

Kasich told reporters there is general agreement between House and Senate Republicans that they can provide tax relief of up to $800 billion to $900 billion over 10 years, and that they will set aside roughly $1.5 trillion for the Social Security trust fund over the same period.

As for whether the budget resolution will break the fiscal 2000 spending cap of $537.2 billion, a steep drop-off from the $565 billion 1999 limit, Kasich said only, "I'm very hopeful that we're going to restrain spending." While Kasich, like Domenici, wants to abide by the caps set in the 1997 balanced budget law, he conceded, "I can't get everything I want."

Domenici said: "I'm for [preserving the caps]. Everybody's for it. Whether we can live with it is the question."

Besides having to reduce spending from current levels to stay under the fiscal 2000 cap, Republicans also must find a way to fulfill their pledges of increasing funds for defense and education, as well as cutting taxes by as much as possible, as quickly as possible.

Earlier Thursday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, remarked on how little maneuvering room the budget resolution will allow for tax cuts.

Said Archer, "If you want to do a 10 percent across-the-board tax cut over five years, you would need at least $300 billion", which is nearly twice Domenici's five-year aggregate tax cut number of $155 billion, and would not leave room for other types of cuts.

Archer added, "I don't believe we can do a tax bill and simply isolate one approach."

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House GOP leaders say they may bust budget caps

Geoff Earle and Stephen Norton — Thu, 25 Feb 1999 00:00:00 -0500

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, Wednesday separately indicated Congress may bust the budget caps when writing the fiscal 2000 budget resolution.

"When you look at the reality of the budget, there's some probability that we have to look at" the caps, said Hastert, adding: "We have to look at the whole issue of caps. I'm not saying we're going to bust them or not going to bust them."

But DeLay was a bit more direct. When asked whether the spending caps would have to be raised, DeLay said: "It's reality, probably, that we have to bust the caps. But we're going to try to keep it to a minimum, minimum, minimum level."

DeLay said going beyond the caps may be required to fund increases in military spending that he and other Republicans consider crucial.

The talk of breaking the caps did not play well with House GOP conservatives. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a freshman member of the Conservative Action Team and a Budget Committee member, said, "I will push as hard as I can in committee to stay within the caps." But, he added: "We simply cannot have a higher discretionary spending number than the President. I think a lot of conservatives would have a problem voting for that."

At a separate news conference, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., warned that lifting the budget caps would be a "setback" and a "disappointment." Daschle said: "I think it's critical to start showing some discipline, and I'm not sure we're setting a good example this morning. I'd certainly be very concerned about losing the discipline that got us to this point."

But then Daschle opened the door on the issue by saying, "Obviously, we can revisit the caps, given the state of the economy and our circumstances." He also added Republicans and Democrats would have to "grapple" with it.

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OMB projects $76 billion budget surplus

Keith Koffler and Stephen Norton — Thu, 07 Jan 1999 00:00:00 -0500

Declaring "the era of big deficits is over," President Clinton Wednesday announced the Office of Management and Budget is forecasting a $76 billion surplus for fiscal 1999, which would put the federal government in the black for the second year in a row.

A previous OMB estimate, issued in May, predicted the fiscal 1999 surplus at just $53 billion. The fiscal 1998 surplus was officially pegged last fall at $70 billion.

Clinton, who spoke today at a White House ceremony where he congratulated OMB staffers, nevertheless once again warned against using the surplus in the short term for any purpose other than Social Security. "Before we even consider new spending or tax cuts, first we must set this surplus aside until we save Social Security for the 21st century," Clinton said.

But even as the prospect for an extended Senate impeachment trial appeared to grow, Clinton optimistically predicted Congress and the administration "will surprise the skeptics by dealing with the Social Security challenge over the next several months."

Clinton also expressed determination to tackle other White House priorities, singling out passage of health maintenance organization reform, funding "our education commitments" and dealing with "the Medicare challenge," which he described as "the same thing as the Social Security challenge, except that it will hit us sooner."

At a White House ceremony Thursday, Clinton will announce a proposal to substantially increase in funding for after-school programs, tripling the current $200 million to $600 million.

Meanwhile, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, today wrote Clinton to urge him to avoid putting tax hikes in the administration budget proposal due out early next month. Archer warned the president against repeating last year's budget proposal, which Archer said contained 43 tax increases that raised $38.9 billion.

Of those proposals, "A mere $2 billion were loophole closures. The remainder were old-fashioned tax hikes," Archer wrote.

In another statement, Archer welcomed Clinton's announcement that this year's estimated surplus is $76 billion but he lamented the fact that it would be $16.4 billion larger had it not been spent on more government. Archer said last year's spending dipped into the surplus, which he said should have been saved for Social Security.

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Congress awaits President's move on Social Security

Keith Koffler and Stephen Norton — Thu, 10 Dec 1998 00:00:00 -0500

With a two-day conference on Social Security wrapped up, Congress will be looking for a prompt followup from the Clinton administration.

White House National Economic Council Chairman Gene Sperling said Tuesday that President Clinton has not ruled out offering his own reform plan, as many members of Congress, including Ways and Means Chairman Archer, would prefer. Sperling said Clinton would move in the way that seems most constructive. But Clinton will not act alone, and Sperling said progress depends on the availability of members of Congress who will not be in Washington on a regular basis until late January.

Sperling said his "gut feeling" is that "the more that [is] done in the first half of the year the better." Several members Wednesday afternoon said they may meet again, and Archer said there was "a strong commitment to bipartisanship" in yesterday's meeting.

Social Security Administrator Kenneth Apfel agreed, but added it would be "presumptuous" for him to predict Clinton would lay out a plan in the Jan. 19 State of the Union address and then clarify it in his budget plan. But he acknowledged "it is budget season" and Social Security could be part of the discussion.

White House officials said Clinton has not determined that stock market investment must be part of a strategy to bolster Social Security. "We haven't settled on anything," White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart told CongressDaily Wednesday.

Based on a conversation he had with Clinton Tuesday, Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fla., slated to chair the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee next year, said he expects Clinton to submit a plan before too long.

Archer pledged Tuesday to "get the president's plan before the Ways and Means Committee very quickly" and to refrain from attacking it so long as it does not violate some of the principles Archer has laid out. In particular, Archer said he will reject any plan that involves tax increases. Archer observed that Senate Majority Lott and other congressional leaders have similarly pledged to give the president "cover"-so long as Clinton acts first. In the absence of a plan from the White House, Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., conceded it will be difficult to persuade Archer to move forward with a congressional plan.

But John Rother, director of legislative and public policy for the American Association of Retired Persons, said Tuesday an impeachment trial in the Senate would have grave consequences for any effort to craft a Social Security rescue package.

Rother said: "It would be very hard to strengthen Social Security on a bipartisan basis if at the same time the Senate is conducting an impeachment trial. I guess it might be possible, but it would be very, very hard."

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Conservatives challenge GOP leaders over budget deal

Stephen Norton and Matthew Morrissey — Tue, 20 Oct 1998 00:00:00 -0400

The Conservative Caucus and other conservative groups today called for the ouster of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., for a "comprehensive betrayal of constitutional obligations and a rejection of conservative policies [in the omnibus bill] for which many Americans thought they were voting in supporting Republican control of Congress in 1994 and 1996."

Conservative Caucus Chairman Howard Phillips said today that conservative groups will begin a "grassroots campaign" after the election to pressure rank-and-file GOP House members and senators to oust Gingrich and Lott, and replace them with a more conservative leadership.

Speakers at the news conference criticized Gingrich and Lott for "caving" in to Democrats and President Clinton on International Monetary Fund spending, abortion, federal education policies, the "unconstitutional" military mission in Bosnia, United Nations dues, agricultural subsidies, adoptions by gays and lesbians in the District of Columbia, assisted suicide, and expanding immigration of highly skilled foreign workers.

"The consequence of this budget deal will be to increase the liberal turnout in November," Phillips said.

Meanwhile, in a letter to his GOP colleagues Monday, Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., asked similarly tough questions about the congressional Republicans' principles and governing mission in wake of the compromises made to reach a budget agreement with Clinton last week.

Recalling how Republicans took control of Congress four years ago with an expectation by voters to address the "arrogance and corruption that often overtakes large institutions," Hagel observed, "Congress is no different." Making note of the GOP pledge to "cut government spending, taxes and regulations," Hagel asked, "Can we honestly say the product of last week's negotiations in any way reflects these priorities?"

Hagel went on to charge the GOP "risks squandering the opportunity America has given us" so long as it engages in "government by calculation" and relies on polls to judge public acceptance like the Clinton administration.

"If we do what we believe is the right thing, the politics takes care of itself," he wrote.

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Fourth short-term funding measure coming

Lisa Caruso and Stephen Norton — Wed, 14 Oct 1998 00:00:00 -0400

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, confirmed Tuesday night that congressional and White House negotiators will not finish a fiscal 1999 omnibus spending bill before the current continuing resolution runs out at midnight tonight, adding that the plan is to seek another CR to take them through midnight Friday.

Leaving the Capitol Tuesday after a series of meetings with congressional Democrats and Republican leaders, White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles told reporters: "We don't have a deal." But Bowles said more progress was made Tuesday than at any other time during the talks and that, "We've got a good chance of wrapping it up [Wednesday]."

Negotiators are scheduled to meet again at 10 a.m. today. Armey sounded a few optimistic notes after the meetings ended, saying a deal on funding and contingent reforms for the International Monetary Fund is "fairly close to being done" and predicted it would be finished after "one more conversation" with the administration this morning. Armey also said agreement on funding for the 2000 census is "pretty well wrapped up."

But a senior Senate GOP leadership aide said "a couple of big issues are still open," including whether the tax bill will be folded into the omnibus and the size of the administration's supplemental funding request. A Senate GOP Budget Committee aide said Republicans have gotten it down from the original request of $22 billion to "at least $19 billion," and that of the $4.3 billion in offsets the administration proposed, "we've probably got pay-fors of about $3 billion that [the Congressional Budget Office] will bless."

Despite his prediction a deal can be cut today, Bowles said Tuesday: "As far as we're concerned, the biggest issue [education] is still open. ... We hope we can get there."

Senate Labor and Human Resources ranking member Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., insisted, "Education involves not only resources but how we use them, and that seems to be the point on which there are still differences." Hinting at the details of the attempt to bridge the philosophical gap, Kennedy said, "There is a role for local involvement but there has to be a commitment that the resources will be used for more teachers for more classrooms."

House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., earlier said the talks had gotten down to "tedious" matters involving "the law." Republicans have been insisting that special education funding be part of any attempt to provide $1.1 billion to hire new teachers. Gingrich also said, "It'll take all day tomorrow [Wednesday] to get the legislation written." The speaker also said he is pleased the administration has agreed to work with Republicans on the issue of special education.

Negotiators late Tuesday left the potential makings of an agreement to be put on paper by staff. On his way home for the night, House Education and the Workforce Chairman Goodling said, "I'm optimistic. No one was in cement in there."

David Baumann and Mark Wegner also contributed to this report.

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Administration delivers spending offsets

Lisa Caruso, David Baumann, and Stephen Norton — Tue, 13 Oct 1998 00:00:00 -0400

The White House Monday sent congressional negotiators a list of budget offsets totaling between $4 billion and $4.5 billion, House Appropriations Chairman Bob Livingston, R-La., reported.

On a day in which negotiations over the fiscal 1999 omnibus spending package accelerated, the Clinton administration sent four main offsets to negotiators, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

The first of these would accelerate certain spectrum auctions. Another would institute cuts in social services block grants previously proposed by the administration. A third would improve the collection of student loan defaults by using more accurate data. Finally, the administration would make changes in certain pensions.

The source said the spectrum sale represents a shift in funds that would have been raised in future years to the current fiscal year. The social services cut represents real cuts, the source said, while the student loan changes would raise money if they result in more repayments. Finally, the changes in pensions represent more of an asset swap, the source said.

The administration also proposed forward-funding some programs, as the Senate did in its version of the Labor-HHS funding bill.

Although some Republicans, including House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have objected to having administration officials in the room during the talks, Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., said that is a "traditional congressional position." He added, however, that by failing to finish the appropriations bills sooner, Congress has "forfeited its right to have its nose out of joint."

On the status of the remaining outstanding issues that must be resolved before the 105th Congress can be closed out, Obey said, "We still have a large number of issues that divide us." Commenting on the hard line the White House has taken on including its education priorities in the omnibus package, Obey said: "The president is serious. He's going to get these initiatives. We're going to be here until he does."

While Obey said agreement on education is "closer, but not closed," he was more pessimistic about resolving the census issue. "That is farther apart today than it was yesterday," Obey said Monday.

Agreement has been essentially worked out on U.S. contributions to the International Monetary Fund, with an Appropriations Committee source saying just a few words in the reform conditions still must be finalized. House Appropriations Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chairman Sonny Callahan, R-Ala., told reporters he doubted Congress would provide IMF funding "of any kind" in the future beyond the $17.9 billion expected to be included in the omnibus.

Alluding to the fact that the money is conditioned on the president seeking reforms of the IMF, Callahan said, "The changes give the president the power he needs, but with the congressional message that something must be changed immediately."

Mark Wegner also contributed to this story.

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Debate coming on using surplus for tax cuts

Stephen Norton — Fri, 25 Sep 1998 00:00:00 -0400

Democrats and Republicans worked Thursday at shoring up their troops in anticipation of the debate over a proposed tax cut the House will take up this weekend.

Republican leaders are continuing to assume they will lose four of their members over the principle that the $80 billion cut would violate budget rules. A half dozen others might not be on hand to cast a vote during the unusual Saturday session.

As for Rep. Mark Neumann, R-Wis., and a handful of others who say they will not agree to skirting budget rules, Deputy Majority Whip Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said, "We'll work on them."

Neumann told reporters Thursday that enough GOP members share his concern about using funds piling up in the Social Security Trust Fund for a tax cut that only the defection of large numbers of Democrats will make passage of the bill possible.

One GOP aide said there had been "dozens" of Republicans who have voiced concern over using the projected budget surplus for a tax cut but House Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Jennifer Dunn of Washington predicted that most will vote yes in the end.

Neumann's cause was dealt a setback Thursday when the Rules panel rejected an appeal by Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, to offer a substitute measure for the GOP's bill.

Stenholm proposed a trigger mechanism so that implementation of all but a few of the tax cuts in the GOP bill would be delayed until a surplus actually materialized outside the Social Security Trust Fund.

That approach may have appealed to some GOP members who want to be on record favoring a tax cut that would kick in sooner than later.

Instead, the Rules Committee agreed to let the Democrats offer a substitute that has a trigger allowing the tax cuts to become law only after a long-term Social Security reform measure is in place.

So far, Democrats have affirmed their unity, more or less. Asked how many Democrats could vote for the popular tax relief measure, Ways and Means ranking member Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said, "Not enough to override a veto." Pressed for more specifics, he said, "I don't do numbers. It's getting better all the time."

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said reports of 40 Democratic defections are inflated. He suggested that all but 10 or 20 Democrats will oppose the bill. The first step in moving the tax bill will come in a vote today on a measure Ways and Means Chairman Archer will offer that would wall off for Social Security the 90 percent of the surplus not used for tax cuts.

Democrats will offer a substitute that would shield 100 percent of the surplus dollars until Social Security reform is in place.

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