Budget talks linger on

DAILY BRIEFING

Budget talks linger on

Members of Congress and the Clinton administration have agreed to pass yet another short-term funding measure to keep the government open until mid-week while they continue to try to reach agreement on remaining fiscal 1999 appropriations bills.

With many members back in their districts campaigning, the House and Senate were to meet today to pass a third continuing resolution. President Clinton said he would sign such a measure. "We're not going to shut down the government if we're working on this," he told reporters.

The most recent continuing resolution, passed by Congress and signed by the President late Friday, is set to expire tonight.

The Office of Personnel Management told federal employees on Friday to continue to report to work as scheduled under the assumption that Congress and the administration would prevent the government from shutting down while budget negotiations continued.

On Capitol Hill, members and staff resigned themselves to lengthy negotiations.

"I don't think we're going to be going home until negotiations are complete," a House Republican leadership aide said Friday afternoon, as the House GOP Conference met. He said members "understand there's going to be a long weekend before everyone goes home."

During the GOP Conference session, members were overheard chanting, "Work, work, work." Republican members want to stay in town and show they are resolved to passing the omnibus bill, sources said.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, and White House Chief of Staff Erksine Bowles met on Capitol Hill on Sunday and were scheduled to meet again on Monday to discuss remaining budget issues.

The talks centered around an omnibus spending bill that would wrap together as many as eight remaining appropriations measures. The bill could total more than $500 billion, a third of all federal spending. But White House and congressional negotiators remain far apart on a series of items, such as funding for Clinton administration education initiatives and issues involving the International Monetary Fund.