Congress to seek fifth continuing resolution to keep agencies open

With a post-Thanksgiving congressional session virtually guaranteed, the House and Senate this week face a fiscal 2002 Defense appropriations bill in disarray and a standoff over economic stimulus legislation.

At the same time, House members may hold an uncertain vote this week on presidential trade negotiating authority. It all adds up to an even longer congressional session and plans for a fifth continuing resolution.

Appropriations committees have their work cut out as they attempt to wrap up action on four more FY02 conference reports. That would bring the number completed to 12 of the 13 annual spending bills. Although the House seeks action on the Defense spending bill without provoking a veto showdown with the Bush administration, Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.V., said late last week that his panel would not act on the Defense bill and supplemental title until after the Thanksgiving break.

The fifth continuing resolution will be needed to keep the doors open at federal agencies whose fiscal 2002 appropriations are not signed into law before the current continuting resolution runs out Friday. To date, Congress has adopted six FY02 conference reports: Military Construction, Interior, Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, Treasury-Postal and VA-HUD. Two others, Agriculture and Commerce- Justice-State, have been reported out of conference, and both chambers should vote on them this week.

Yet to be conferenced, but on tap for conference committee action this week, are the Foreign Operations, Transportation, Labor-HHS and District of Columbia bills.

On the Defense bill and its companion terrorism supplemental, the House faces a potentially contentious Appropriations Committee markup and House floor vote, after last week's veto threat from President Bush if they spend beyond the $40 billion in anti-terrorism funds enacted immediately after Sept. 11.

New York Republicans plan to work with Appropriations Democrats to add another $9-11 billion to the supplemental, to aid New York and ensure the city the full $20 billion Bush promised this year. The coalition might have enough votes to adopt the plan if the White House cannot find another way to satisfy them.

House Appropriations ranking member David Obey, D-Wis., has an amendment to add billions more for defense and homeland security needs, for which he still hopes to get Republican votes despite Bush's veto threat.

Although Republican leaders and the White House are urging GOP appropriators to toe the party line--saying Bush will ask for more when he needs it--Obey said last week, "These are transcendent issues, and I hope we can appeal to their conscience."

If the bill reaches the floor without more money in the supplemental title, Obey and Democratic leaders made it clear last week that they plan to slam Republicans for approving a $100 billion economic stimulus package primarily comprising tax cuts, but refusing to spend more for homeland defense.

Said Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey: "The American public is demanding that we protect them, and the Republicans seem to think that a tax cut is the way to do it. Here's my message to Republicans: Tax cuts aren't going to protect a single family."

The $66.4 billion economic stimulus measure slated for Senate floor action beginning Tuesday is nearly equally divided between tax cuts and new spending. The spending would focus on unemployment and health benefits, agricultural assistance, New York City reconstruction and other items. Republicans contend such programs would fail to provide needed economic stimulus.

Using President Bush's outline of ideas as the basis for their bill, Republicans plan to seek much more in tax cuts, including acceleration of the rate cuts passed earlier in the year. Republicans argue that the Democrats' approach to unemployment and healthcare enhancements would amount to new entitlements that probably would become permanent.

The Senate will begin debate on the Finance Committee-approved bill Tuesday. But if a vote occurs late in the week--as Majority Leader Daschle intends--it almost certainly will be on a completely new bill, with areas of common ground that could be settled behind the scenes.

A final package is likely to include expiring tax credits and tax rebates for low-income workers. Agricultural and rural development items also will probably enjoy some GOP support. However, Daschle is preparing to add a $20 billion spending package to the Finance Committee bill, provoking debates about what approaches would best stimulate the economy. While seeking to narrow the definition of stimulus, Republicans are determined to offer an energy bill as an amendment, touting new drilling as a stimulant.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and other GOP leaders acknowledged that some additional spending would be unavoidable. And Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Republicans would not simply block the measure, authored by Senate Finance Chairman Baucus, from coming to the floor.

Instead, Republicans plan to make their points by debating amendments to the bill. This would be a time-consuming process, considering that Bush has asked for a bill by the end of the month, and Daschle said he plans to get House and Senate conferees talking during the Thanksgiving recess.

House GOP leaders said they plan to hold a vote this week on presidential trade negotiating authority, but support for a trade bill apparently remains a tossup.

GOP leaders have all but scheduled the vote for Thursday. Democratic aides said President Bush might be able to secure a few more votes, but Bush might be focusing too much on the war to address the parochial needs of a large number of fence-sitters by the end of the week.

Lacking solid support, GOP leaders tried last week to reach out to Ways and Means ranking member Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., but sources in both parties said the talks failed to forge a compromise.

After two days of intense, mostly staff-level talks, Rangel indicated that Ways and Means Chairman Thomas and GOP leaders were unwilling to scrap Thomas' trade bill. At the same time, most Democrats have little interest in embracing the Thomas bill and scrapping their own measure, written by Rangel and Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee ranking member Sander Levin, D-Mich.

The Senate reconvenes Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. for legislative business and will recess at 12:30 p.m. until 2:15 p.m. for weekly party conference meetings. The first roll call votes will begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

In the House, the chamber will reconvene Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour debate and will begin legislative business at 2 p.m., with no votes scheduled before 6:30 p.m. House Majority Leader Armey has warned that a weekend session is possible.