Slow progress on spending bills could bring lame-duck session

Without a fiscal 2003 budget resolution and with appropriations bills only barely starting to move, Congress may have no choice but to come back after the November elections to complete its work.

The House so far has passed only two of the 13 must-pass appropriations bills-the fiscal 2003 Military Construction and Defense appropriations measures-and the Senate has passed none, increasing the likelihood of a lame duck session.

Even if the House meets Majority Leader Dick Armey's goal of passing eight bills before the August recess, that still leaves five - many with allocations that are below the president's request and far below what the Senate is proposing to spend. Those complications may make markup, floor debate and passage and then negotiation through conference by September a nearly impossible task.

On the Senate side, Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has publicly stated he wants to see all 13 spending bills moved out of his committee before the August recess. So far, only three have done so, but he has planned five more for this week.

Still, Republicans are threatening to hold up consideration of appropriations bills on the floor until Byrd moves the Defense spending bill. And even when that gets done, the other bills may not move quickly.

Byrd has proposed spending more than $11 billion above the levels favored by the House and President Bush in 2003, and Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has promised to use delaying tactics to stop bills that far exceed the president's request. But in one small sign of progress, leaders say Congress will probably complete action this week on the supplemental appropriations bill-two months before the start of the next fiscal year.