House shelves naming conferees for homeland bill

Negotiations stalled Thursday over disaster aid, eliminating chances for completion of the fiscal 2005 Homeland Security appropriations bill this week as the House postponed naming conferees.

GOP leaders were confident the measure would pass next week before lawmakers head home to campaign. Approval of the domestic security measure could provide an electoral boost, particularly if it carries a package of disaster spending.

"I can't go back home to Florida without having resolved this issue prior to a month-long recess," said House Appropriations Chairman Young, who is pressing the White House to accept more emergency aid for his hurricane-battered state.

Congress has already approved $2 billion for Florida, while the White House has requested another $10.2 billion for remaining damage from the four recent hurricanes.

Appropriators are applying pressure on the Office of Management and Budget to increase the president's request for hurricane-related aid, although some conservatives are wary of increasing the price tag.

Young plans to bring it to the floor as a stand-alone bill next week. The Bush administration has requested no drought aid, however, providing Democrats an opening to paint the president as insensitive to the needs of farm states, although $400 million for hurricane-related agriculture aid is contained in the administration's latest request.

Senate GOP leaders are faced with a bipartisan group of farm-state senators insisting that drought assistance be included as well as hurricane aid.

"If we consider adding disaster assistance for Florida to the Homeland Security bill, we can't ignore disasters in other parts of the country," said Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss.

One Democratic aide said there could be close to 70 Senate votes in support of a $3 billion package of aid for crop, livestock and tree losses incurred during a spate of natural disasters the last two years. The measure was added on the Senate floor to the Homeland Security bill.

Senate Republican aides insist some level of drought assistance will have to be included in the final Homeland Security conference report to ensure swift passage.

"We think we've got a good handle on things over here. The question is how much the House wants to increase the package," said one top Senate aide, who characterized the talks as "very sensitive" and "dicey."

The package is likely to be offset, possibly with cuts to mandatory farm programs, in order to satisfy the White House.

In the House, GOP leaders and rank-and-file conservatives would prefer the package be dropped altogether, but offset at a minimum.

One option cited by Senate Appropriations Chairman Stevens would be to drop the drought issue for now and possibly consider it as part of the FY05 omnibus, which will carry the Agriculture spending bill, during the November lame duck session.

House Republican leaders might accept that plan. "Our impression is we will deal with drought aid on the omnibus,"House Majority Whip Blunt said.

The White House has publicly been silent on the disaster aid issue, and OMB Director Bolten declined to comment Thursday as he visited with lawmakers off the House floor.