Senate Democrats cannot accept a Republican proposal to use the FY97 Defense appropriations conference agreement as the vehicle to pass the massive omnibus spending package because they would be precluded from amending it, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said today.
"There is no way we can accept putting something of this consequence on a Defense appropriations bill," Daschle told reporters. Asked how he could stop Republicans from doing that, Daschle said: "You stop them by explaining to them the facts of life and the schedule. If they want to be here the day before the election, then they should use the defense bill."
Daschle added, however, that "we don't want to be unduly deliberative and slow things down simply to slow things down." Because Democrats have offered a myriad of amendments to normal FY97 appropriations bills and could do the same on the omnibus funding measure, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said Thursday they would use the defense bill to pass the omnibus spending package.
In a statement, the GOP leaders said, "It is clear that Senate Democrats are using delaying tactics and political stunts designed more for the upcoming elections than for the completion of the people's business," adding, "We have approached the consideration of these bills in good faith, but we have been met at every turn by Democrat gridlock apparently coordinated by the White House." Told of Daschle's objections to using the defense bill for the omnibus spending bill, Lott told National Journal's CongressDaily today, "We're going to do whatever it takes to get the job done."
Appropriators have outlined an ambitious schedule for passing the omnibus package by the end of next week. House and Senate appropriators are expected to meet informally this weekend to try to reach agreement on spending levels for remaining appropriations bills.
The House is scheduled to consider the FY97 VA-HUD funding conference report Tuesday, with the Senate to follow shortly after that. House appropriators want to file the combined omnibus spending measure and defense bill Wednesday or Thursday and consider it Friday. The Senate would take it up Friday or possibly Saturday; a key Senate aide said that "if we don't get it done Friday, and we think we can get it done Saturday, we'll do it Saturday." However, Daschle called the plan to pass the omnibus plan by Saturday "a stretch."
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