Congress readies for burst of activity on spending bills
After several slow weeks on the appropriations front, this week should see a burst of activity. The House plans to pass its final fiscal 2002 spending bill, and the Senate at least will finish its 11th, while conferees on three or more 2002 bills finalize their annual spending packages and send them through the Congress for final approval.
The two chambers also are expected to adopt the Treasury-Postal conference report and send it the President this week.
The House hopes to pass the $317.5 billion Defense bill near the end of the week, while the Senate will turn Tuesday to the $123 billion Labor-HHS bill. Also Tuesday, conferees will meet on the Energy and Water bill; on Wednesday, conference committees will convene on the VA-HUD and Legislative Branch appropriations bills.
At the same time, a battle is brewing over the fiscal 2002 supplemental spending bill, which the House Appropriations Committee is set to attach to the Defense bill this week, before sending that bill to the floor. As yet, the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee has not scheduled a markup of its version of the 2002 bill, although that could occur this week.
President Bush limited the request he sent Congress to the second $20 billion of the $40 billion emergency supplemental passed in the wake of Sept. 11. But on the House side, Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., is pushing for billions more for a variety of defense and domestic security needs.
In the Senate, Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., and Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., have their own $20 billion package of infrastructure and homeland-security spending initiatives that they say are needed on top of the $40 billion supplemental.
And several New York members are insisting that the balance of the $20 billion in emergency money Bush promised them in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks--$2.5 billion has been allocated so far--be provided in the supplemental.
But late last week, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reiterated the administration's position that it would not request supplemental funds beyond the $40 billion for the remainder of the year.
Also this week, the White House could allocate an additional portion of the first $20 billion of the supplemental. To date, $8.8 billion has been released.
The battle lines are drawn and common ground has been identified, but this week will likely see only incremental movement in Senate plans for stimulating the economy. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said he ranks the issue below action on fiscal 2002 spending bills in importance.
Daschle threw his support to a $70 billion proposal put forward by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., but acknowledged other options for legislators.
For example, Byrd and Reid are pushing $20 billion in new spending to prime the nation's economic pump. Some believe a spending measure will be added to the tax component and taken up on the Senate floor as a single bill. But aides stressed that it is much too early to predict how this process will unfold.
Senate Republicans are to hear from Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, Tuesday about the plan Republican Finance members have developed to put President Bush's four-point economic stimulus proposal into legislative language. The price tag probably will be a bit higher than the $75 billion Bush has sought.
Republicans appear to be starting with a simple statement of support for Bush's idea to boost economic performance with a limited, targeted plan. But they are continuing to endorse efforts by Grassley and Baucus to develop a bipartisan plan.
In addition, several Republican and Democratic Senate moderates are discussing another potential plan. Baucus has emphasized that the debate must revolve around policy and not politics--in an apparent effort to avoid the partisan shouting match that marked House action last week.
Hopes for passage of legislation to restore presidential trade negotiating authority dimmed last week, as House GOP leaders acknowledged they needed more time to round up votes.
GOP members from textile and agricultural states are proving very resistant to the bill without an administration commitment to addressing their concerns. Members on both sides of the aisle said on background last week that it is becoming clear that no trade vote will take place this year.
The slow march to a vote is giving House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and Senate Finance Chairman Baucus more time to discuss ideas.
Sources acknowledge contact between the two--at least on a staff level--to work out some differences before a Senate vote. But aides stressed that no effort is under way to pre-conference the bill.
The House is rescheduled to convene at 10 a.m. today for a pro forma session. On Tuesday, the House will convene at 12:30 p.m. for the morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business, with no scheduled votes before 6 p.m.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will convene at 10 a.m. and Friday at 9 a.m. The House is slated this week to take up the conference report on the Treasury-Postal spending bill, the aviation security measure and the fiscal 2002 Defense bill.
The Senate is not in session today but will reconvene at 10 a.m. Tuesday to begin debate on the fiscal 2002 Labor-HHS appropriations bill. No votes are scheduled before 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. Daschle said late last week that the fiscal 2002 District of Columbia spending bill could come up, as well.