House approps chief fights tide of 'lockbox government'

The House Appropriations Committee wants other committees to stop taking federal programs off-budget, a practice that lets agencies bypass appropriators, appropriations chief Bill Young, R-Fla., said Wednesday.

In a Wednesday letter to House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier, R-Calif., Young wrote that a bill, introduced by Judiciary Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble, R-N.C., "would allow [the Patent and Trademark Office] to collect and spend fees without further action by the Congress. This effectively takes PTO off budget and allows the office to bypass the appropriations process." Young contended Coble's bill violates House rules by appropriating funds for the agency when the Judiciary Committee does not have the jurisdiction to report appropriations.

Young asked Dreier not to grant a waiver from the rules for the bill. He contended: "This proposal would allow PTO to spend almost $1 billion per year without having to come to the Congress to justify the use of those funds. The regular appropriations process ensures annual oversight and functions more effectively if programs are not placed outside of the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Committee."

Young has raised similar objections to the Conservation and Reinvestment Act-being debated on the House floor today-as well as against Transportation and Infrastructure Committee legislation-since enacted into law-to ensure guaranteed dedicated funding for highway and airport construction projects.