Progress reported in contingency defense spending talks

Sources reported progress Wednesday in alleviating at least one major budget concern of House appropriators, as discussions progressed between appropriators and the White House over releasing a $10 billion contingency fund for defense spending.

Appropriators have been clamoring for the extra money for weeks, saying it would help with the leadership's desire to see a fiscal 2003 Defense spending bill marked up before the July 4 recess.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., met with Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., Wednesday and asked him to call the White House to ask for a formal request to release the $10 billion contingency fund, which was provided for in the House-passed budget resolution.

Hastert complied and discussions were ongoing Wednesday night between House leaders and Office of Management and Budget Director Daniels about releasing those funds, sources said.

The extra $10 billion would give appropriators a larger pie from which to slice the 13 annual appropriations bills, as it would bring their overall spending allocation to $759 billion.

However, Young stressed that the $10 billion contingency money, which was written into the House-passed budget resolution, would go only toward defense.

Young said he hoped to mark up the 2003 Defense bill next week, even as appropriators plodded through a difficult House-Senate conference on the 2002 supplemental spending bill.

On that issue, the House Wednesday turned back a motion by Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., to instruct conferees to accept the higher level of funding between the House and Senate bills on all homeland security items, while stripping out all member projects added to the supplemental.

That motion failed on a vote of 181-235. But the House voted overwhelmingly, 412-1, to appoint conferees on the supplemental.