House approves 1% budget cut, continuing resolution

A 1 percent across-the-board cut in all fiscal 2000 discretionary spending passed the House Thursday on a 218-211 vote, with seven Republicans and four Democrats crossing party lines.

But adoption of the District of Columbia/Labor-HHS spending package, which the Senate is expected to accept by unanimous consent, merely marks the end of round one of the budget endgame.

Prior to Thursday's vote, House Budget ranking member John Spratt, D-S.C., said: "There has to be some kind of negotiation. Without that, we'll be passing another [continuing resolution] next week no closer to a final deal than we are now."

Round two, which should get under way next week, will require both sides to start cutting deals on thorny spending and policy disputes.

Clinton and Democratic leaders last week committed to providing offsets for any additional spending they want. More difficult will be tackling the policy disputes over payment of back dues to the United Nations and environmental policy riders in the Interior bill.

While Republicans have stressed that they are not very far apart from the White House on funding levels, both Spratt and House Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., said the more fundamental question is the veracity of the numbers they are negotiating, and whether fiscal 2000 spending can be covered without drawing on excess Social Security revenues.

Obey, Spratt and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., released a new letter from the Congressional Budget Office projecting that total fiscal 2000 appropriations, without using the more favorable Office of Management and Budget estimates Republicans have opted to use in crafting their budget strategy, would create an on-budget deficit of $17.1 billion.

But Speaker Denny Hastert, R-Ill., released a letter of his own showing that with the OMB numbers, next year's spending would leave an on- budget surplus of $1 billion.

Also Thursday, the House passed another continuing resolution funding government operations until Nov. 5.