House, Senate, hope to make progress on spending bills

The House and Senate are hoping to make progress on fiscal 2001 appropriations bills next week, after failing to meet Republican leaders' expectations on the appropriations front before breaking for the Memorial Day recess.

In the House, leaders hope to bring up any of four possible spending bills: Agriculture and Legislative Branch, which hit snags last week, Labor-HHS and Defense. The House also will take up legislation to eliminate the estate tax Thursday or Friday.

In the Senate, Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has put a stop to the plan of Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., for speedy action on spending bills by refusing to grant unanimous consent for the Senate to take up any spending bills not first passed by the House.

Daschle has not indicated he plans to change his posture. That leaves the House-passed Transportation appropriations bill as the only one Daschle would allow to come up, but the Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet acted on it.