House votes to keep government open until Nov. 16

The House today unanimously approved its fourth fiscal 2002 continuing resolution, 419-0, to extend federal government funding at FY01 levels through Nov. 16, when Congress is scheduled to recess for the weeklong Thanksgiving break.

Although just two FY02 spending bills--Interior and Military Construction--have been conferenced and sent to the president, a House Appropriations Committee spokesman said the panel is optimistic that the remaining 11 could be finalized before this continuing resolution runs out.

A conference committee on the Treasury- Postal spending bill is scheduled to meet this afternoon while the Energy and Water appropriations conference is for next Tuesday; the VA-HUD spending bill conference also expected sometime next week.

The House has one more FY02 appropriations bill yet to approve--the $317.5 billion Defense spending bill that was reported out of committee Wednesday. But it will not be filed until sometime next week so the committee can write a separate title that Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., hopes to attach to the Defense spending bill which would allocate the second $20 billion in emergency supplemental funds Congress appropriated last month in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

While Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., has called for adding tens of billions more to the bill to further fund defense and homeland security needs, Young remained noncommittal about whether he agrees with Obey that more money should be appropriated now.

"Whatever's needed, whenever it's needed, will be provided," Young told reporters.

He noted that, at present, the President and GOP leaders are not inclined to spend more than the $40 billion already appropriated for the remainder of this session of Congress--although most have acknowledged the president will likely have to request another fiscal 2002 supplemental early next year.

Also today, Senate Budget ranking member Pete Domenici, R- N.M., introduced legislation to amend the FY02 budget resolution and budget law to raise the statutory cap on FY02 discretionary spending to $686 billion in budget authority and $707 billion in outlays.

The legislation, which is needed to avert a 60-vote point of order against legislation that exceeds the cap, brings the fiscal 2002 spending ceiling in line with the figure negotiated last month by the White House and congressional appropriators.

Domenici's bill, which has the administration's support, would also reset the so-called pay-go scorecard back to zero, requiring any additional mandatory spending or tax cuts to either be offset or declared an emergency.