Panel approves defense spending bill, then puts it on hold

The House Appropriations Committee today reported out a $317.5 billion fiscal 2002 Defense appropriations bill today, but will not file the bill or put it on the House floor until the panel reconvenes to decide how to handle the President's request for the second $20 billion of the $40 billion terrorism supplemental.

The committee also must decide when to attach that supplemental request to the Defense spending bill--and make a decision about the effort by Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., to provide even more supplemental FY02 funds for security and homeland defense needs.

In fact, the markup was delayed more than a half hour as House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., met with Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., to press him to send the Defense spending bill to the floor Thursday--but Young said he could not keep to that timetable, in part because the committee only got the President's request for the second $20 billion the day the House office buildings were evacuated to test for anthrax, and has been unable to study the request.

But Young is also trying to work with Obey, who has the backing of Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., and ranking member John Murtha, D-Pa., in his effort to pump billions more into the Pentagon, FBI, National Security Agency, Customs Service and other domestic security needs.

Young said he would like to get the Defense spending bill on the floor next week. Obey and Young also want to preserve House appropriators' prerogatives in writing the supplemental title rather than leave it to the Senate.

Senate appropriators have already indicated they will add the supplemental title to their version of the Defense spending bill in full committee markup, while Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has proposed a $20 billion homeland security and infrastructure spending package beyond the $40 billion supplemental.

New York members of House Appropriations Committee also voiced their concerns that New York get the full $20 billion that President Bush promised, with Democratic Reps. Jose Serrano and Maurice Hinchey worrying that the administration could fall short.

But Rep. James Walsh, R-N.Y., expressed his confidence that the White House is "rock solid," although some of the total might not come until next year.