House GOP wants spending disputes settled early

WILLIAMSBURG, Va.-With last year's end-of-session omnibus spending package serving as a model for how not to run things, House Republican leaders are making speedy and orderly passage of spending bills a top priority for the 106th Congress, a point driven home at the Republicans' retreat here this past weekend.

"I want the bills completed early enough that we don't get into a bind at the end of the fiscal year," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska. "I don't want any more omnibus appropriations bills."

That sentiment was shared by Young's predecessor, Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La. But Livingston was often frustrated by conservative members who have viewed the appropriations process as an effective way to try to enact provisions dealing with abortion, the environment, and other divisive issues.

But, according to institutionalists on the Appropriations Committee and conservatives alike, this year there will be an emphasis on hashing out political differences early on to try and avoid the perils of last year.

"The message is loud and clear that we do not want the appropriations process bogged down in a lot of legislative riders," said Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Edward Porter, R-Ill. "The incentive is obvious, and it is that we can't govern if we can't pass the bills. The speaker is very clear that we have to get it done and we have to get it done on time. The implicit threat is that if we don't, we will stay in day and night until we do."

That message seems to have resounded even among conservatives who have used the appropriations process in the past.

Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., said conservatives will no longer try to "jam" appropriations bills with riders and hold them up until the end of session if necessary, adding, "I don't know what idiot wouldn't be on board with that strategy."

One reason conservatives are modifying their approach is they believe holding up spending bills until the end of the session gave too much leverage to President Clinton because of the threat of a government shutdown.

"If you wait until the last minute to do all this," said John Hart, a press aide to Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., "you're in a very difficult position to negotiate. What we want to do is do it up front, and get things done quickly, and negotiate from a position of strength."

"There are going to be times when we fight and lose," said Kevin Ring, an aide to Rep. David McIntosh, R-Ind., who heads the Conservative Action Team. "We're going to do it more through the normal process, and not fight it out on the floor."

However, that does not mean conservatives will forego offering controversial amendments on the floor if they fail in committee, said Ring. "What we want to do is avoid a fight where certain provisions are protected, and we have to vote against a rule," he said, adding, "It shouldn't be mistaken that because we want things to move in a more expedited fashion that we're going to give away the store."