Final agreements on spending bills appear within reach

Appropriators today were inching closer to wrapping up the $20 billion fiscal 2002 anti-terrorism supplemental, and readying the final three fiscal 2002 conference reports of the year for votes later this week.

According to Appropriations Committee sources, the $20 billion will be divided as follows: $3.5 billion for defense, $8.2 billion for New York and $8.3 billion for homeland security.

Senate Appropriations ranking member Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, said "there are still some loose ends to tie down" on the supplemental, but a conference on the Defense spending bill, which is carrying the supplemental, was scheduled for 3 p.m. Stevens also confirmed that the final Defense appropriations bill will contain some version of the Senate provision he has championed to lease Boeing 767s for use as air refueling tankers.

At 5 p.m. today, conferees are set to meet on the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. Also pending is the Foreign Operations conference report, which House sources say will be filed Thursday, along with the Defense conference report.

House votes are anticipated on the Labor-HHS bill Wednesday, and Defense and Foreign Operations bills Thursday.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said today he "would certainly hope" the Senate could finish the appropriations bills by Friday.

Asked whether he would keep the Senate in session after all the fiscal 2002 spending bills are done, Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., responded: "I really don't want to answer that question right now. I think I have to wait and see what Friday looks like. I've got to keep those options open."