Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, acknowledged Tuesday that his committee will attempt to break discretionary spending caps by about $9.9 billion in outlays, in order to provide additional funding for the fiscal 2000 Labor-HHS appropriations bill.
A Senate GOP source said the $9.9 billion in outlays could translate into as much as $11 billion in budget authority. The source said the funds are available from the non- Social Security surplus because it appears the Finance Committee will not use it in its tax cut bill.
However, the move may draw opposition from many Republicans; asked how Stevens' proposal was accepted by the Senate Republican Conference, the GOP source said, "I don't think very well."
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations panel Tuesday afrternoon had reported out a $20.2 billion Energy and Water spending bill and was in the midst of marking up a $453 million District of Columbia appropriations bill, with markup of the $12.8 billion Foreign Operations bill still pending.
Also on the committee agenda was the approval of revised 302(b) subcommittee spending allocations for fiscal 2000-under which the committee moved funds from the already strapped VA-HUD and Labor-HHS subcommittees, among others, to add $800 million to the Energy and Water panel and $2.269 billion to the Foreign Operations panel to facilitate their bills' markups.
Under the revised allocations, the Commerce-Justice-State subpanel lost $416 million, Interior was cut $170 million, Labor-HHS $1.068 billion, Treasury-Postal $239 million and VA-HUD $904 million; the committee also reallocated all $272 million from the reserve fund of previously identified savings.
Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ron Packard, R-Calif., said the $880 million reduction from the FY99 level his bill achieved "is not a smoke and mirrors cut" and warned against any member trying to further cut the bill on the floor, saying, "We've already cut ourselves to the bone."
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., later said he does not expect, nor does he intend, to offer a manager's amendment with additional cuts when the bill goes to the floor.
The bill was reported out without amendment, after the committee rejected two amendments concerning the Army Corps of Engineers' wetlands permitting authority that were offered by Energy and Water Appropriations ranking member Peter Visclosky, D-Ind.
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