Senators still seek spending controls for appropriations bills

Senate hopes for attaching a fiscal 2003 budget cap to the supplemental appropriations bill died when Congress passed and President Bush last week signed a debt limit increase, but there is still a desire within the Senate to pass a "deeming resolution" to extend expiring budget enforcement mechanisms before the fiscal 2003 appropriations onslaught begins.

"We'll keep trying," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., last week.

The "deeming" resolution would not be a statutory cap, but it would act like a budget resolution for the Senate, creating points of order against a 2003 spending limit and re-establishing other budget rules.

The House, realizing chances for a bicameral budget resolution were slim, was able to pass its own deeming resolution earlier this year. So far, the Senate has twice failed to pass similar legislation setting a 2003 cap and reinforcing budget disciplines--once on the supplemental and again on the defense authorization bill. The latter attempt garnered 59 votes, just one vote shy of the amount needed to adopt it.

While speculation continues that Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and his allies will try to attach a deeming resolution to the first appropriations bill that goes to the floor, "no clear path" has emerged on how to proceed, said one Democratic source. "We're most interested in packing it in a way that a majority will like," the source said.

With the legislation coming so close to passing last time, some Democrats remain hopeful that they could get the votes. While many Republicans balked at the spending total of $768 billion pushed by Conrad because it was $9 billion higher than what the White House and House Republicans want, sources said this time it should be less about the number and more about enforcement.

"The passage of time solves the pains one would have at too high a number," said one source, noting that the Appropriations Committee last week adopted its subcommittee allocations using the $768 billion figure as guidance. For proponents, the issue then is about sticking to that number--something budget disciplines help accomplish.

But Republicans may still hold up a "deemer." One senior GOP aide said the bipartisan budget deal that garnered 59 votes on the defense authorization bill would have to undergo substantial revision before it would attract the same number of Republicans, let alone more of them.

The aide said many Republicans are miffed that Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., in releasing his allocations, said he would use nearly $2.2 billion in emergency appropriations to help free room in various spending bills.

"It's extremely frustrating to have appropriations for emergencies when we don't know what they are," the source said.

Also, the source said the deal was too liberal when it came to the use of advanced appropriations. While lawmakers worry that without some sort of enforcement, the appropriations process could turn chaotic, a substantial number of Republicans still think the best enforcement mechanism is the president's veto.

"Count me with the man. Count me with the president," said Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas.