Fiscal 2000 budget threatened by '99 spending bill

Preliminary estimates of the cost of the huge omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week make it clear that, next year, appropriators may face a difficult squeeze when allocating funding in programs for the sprawling Labor-HHS spending bill.

An initial analysis shows that about $9.1 billion in the omnibus bill was forward funded, a Senate Budget Committee aide said Wednesday. While forward funding allowed appropriators to help meet Democratic priorities, some budget writers warned the device would only cause trouble in future years.

The Budget Committee aide agreed that will be the case. Of the $9.1 billion that was forward funded, $6.1 billion went to the Title I compensatory education program. The Budget aide said as a result the fiscal year 2000 Labor-HHS bill will have to absorb the $6.1 billion, potentially resulting in a 7.5 percent drop for funding in the spending bill.

The preliminary analysis of the bill also showed that the emergency spending section of the measure totals $21.4 billion, well over initial estimates of $20.9 billion. Of that total, $13.2 billion will be spent during FY99. Because the spending is outside spending caps established in last year's balanced budget deal, this year's budget surplus will be reduced by $13.2 billion, the aide said.

Also Wednesday, President Clinton was expected to announce the fiscal year 1998 budget surplus was officially $70 billion, according to an administration official.