House conservatives oppose pay raise

House conservatives are expressing strong concerns about measures within the conference agreement on the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, including the proposed 4.8 percent federal pay raise and a provision to allow agencies to subsidize federal employee's child care.

Among the concerns is the inclusion of language by Rep. Constance Morella, R-Md., to allow federal agencies to use money appropriated for salaries and expense accounts to provide childcare services for federal employees.

"Our social groups are really up in arms," a GOP leadership aide said. "They're afraid we're going to start federalizing day care."

Another element causing some concern is the federal pay raise of 4.8 percent, above the president's 4.4 percent funding request.

Defending his role in the conference committee, Treasury-Postal Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Kobe, R-Ariz., said, "We need a bill that will be signed by the president."

Aides said conservative members complained about the Morella language to GOP leaders after it was added in subcommittee, and that leadership later agreed the language would be taken out in conference and could come up as a separate bill under suspension of the rules.

"It was everyone's understanding that was acceptable to all the parties involved," said the aide to a conservative member.

Kolbe described the Morella language in the conference report as a common sense, compromise approach, and noted that the Senate bill also contained childcare language.

The GOP aide predicted the bill will pass, in part with Democratic votes. Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., signed the conference report and said he would vote for it. "I don't know of any more egregious outrages than usual in the bill," he said.

Appropriations Chairman Bill Young, R-Fla., told CongressDaily that GOP leaders have told him to hold off on filing the measure. To break an impasse, GOP leaders risk aggravating either conservatives or moderates within the Republican Conference.

Young says he was ready to file the report Thursday, but GOP leaders directed him to hold off. In order to move forward, GOP leaders must chose between two imperfect options: They can maintain the Morella language, and aggravate some conservatives but pass the bill with help from Democrats.

Or, they can remove the language, thereby aggravating Morella, Kolbe, and some GOP moderates, but hopefully still pass the bill with GOP conservative and some Democratic votes.

Ironically, the Morella language was offered in subcommittee by Rep. Michael Forbes, D-N.Y., when he was still a Republican.

The GOP aide said House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, would like to get rid of the Morella language, in part because leaders gave some assurances to conservatives when seeking votes for House passage that they would do what they could to remove it.

Some conservatives are also concerned that the conference agreement came in above both the House and the Senate level, restoring about $240 million in cuts that were made in committee, even though the White House has not threatened to veto the measure.

Aides to conservative members are aiming most of their fire at Kolbe but also fault leadership to a degree for exercising inadequate oversight over the conference, given that DeLay oversaw the original spending cuts, and Chief Deputy Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., served on the conference committee.

"You would think there would be some communication there," said an aide to one conservative.

GOP leaders were hoping to bring the measure to the floor this week, possibly Wednesday, but the conflict could delay consideration.