Senate to focus on passing appropriations bills

Having passed his first major scheduling test by steering "Patients' Bill of Rights" legislation through the Senate, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., will try to keep the chamber on a tight regimen of appropriations bills through July.

On Monday, the Senate will take up a Defense supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal 2001 under a unanimous consent agreement reached before the recess. Daschle told reporters last week that he would put a "heavy emphasis" on getting the spending bills done, and said Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va, has instructed his subcommittee chairmen to move forward aggressively with markups. Next week, the full committee is scheduled to mark up the Energy and Water, Transportation and Legislative Branch spending bills. The next appropriations measure to come to the Senate floor is expected to be the Interior bill.

Daschle met with Democratic committee chairmen last week to query them on their scheduling priorities for July and the rest of the congressional session. Next week, Daschle is expected to release a letter outlining the schedule for July. Daschle has presented Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., with a draft letter broadly outlining his priorities, and Lott is expected to respond with his own recommendations.

Beyond appropriations, Daschle has mentioned a bill raising the minimum wage as a priority--although last week he said there was only a "possibility" it would come up in July. He called a new prescription drug benefit a "very high priority," and said election reform was also on the list.

Lott has criticized Daschle for failing to schedule prompt consideration of energy policy legislation, and Daschle said that energy was on his list of priorities as well. But he showed little inclination to meet an accelerated timetable to act in July along with the House.

"I think it's better to do it right and to do it comprehensively, and that's what we're going to be doing," Daschle said of energy legislation.

He also has questioned whether there would be time in the immediate future to take up a bill providing the Pesident with trade negotiating authority.

Daschle warned Republicans not to try to force the Senate to deal with energy sooner, saying it would only hurt the administration, which he said needs the spending bills passed just as much as Democrats do.

"So by holding up appropriations, they're undermining their own administration," he said.