Senate ready to ramp up activity on spending bills

The Senate is preparing to ratchet up fiscal 2006 appropriations activity this month, with three more spending bills on tap for the floor upon completion of a $30.8 billion Homeland Security appropriations bill later this week.

If Senate leaders can hold to that schedule, it would mean seven of 12 appropriations bills would be completed by the August recess, which is important in light of a jam-packed fall floor lineup.

The House has passed all of its spending bills, which total 11 since the House Appropriations Committee merged District of Columbia funds with another subcommittee.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., told reporters Wednesday he plans to bring up a $31.8 billion State-Foreign Operations measure, possibly after the Homeland Security measure clears.

The foreign aid bill is a top priority for Frist and the White House as well as Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who chairs that appropriations subcommittee.

Other candidates include the Agriculture and Commerce-Justice-Science measures, which have been reported out of the full committee, or possibly the Defense bill, although that might depend on when the defense authorization measure comes up.

In the meantime, appropriators are awaiting transmittal later this week of an estimated $2 billion fiscal 2006 budget amendment for veterans' health care, of which $300 million would be earmarked to backfill fiscal 2005 funds that have already been spent.

The House has already passed a $975 million 2005 supplemental, which the Senate might call up and amend to include the additional 2005 funds, while the estimated $1.7 billion request for 2006 might be included in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations measure, as some lawmakers are advocating.

But given that Senate Democrats have pounced on several opportunities to add VA health care funds on the floor already, GOP leaders might be inclined to resolve the matter in conference on the Interior spending bill, for example, rather than take up additional floor time on the issue with a free-standing bill that might attract all manner of amendments.

The VA health care issue was expected to come up at a hearing Thursday morning before the House Budget Committee as Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten testified on the administration's latest deficit estimates.

The White House Wednesday projected a $333 billion deficit for this fiscal year -- down $94 billion from February estimates -- which they chalked up to increased tax-cut-driven revenues. But Democrats argue the Bush tax cuts have choked off necessary funds for programs like VA healthcare.

Even with the new budget amendment, said House Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee ranking member Chet Edwards, D-Texas, VA healthcare will be "woefully underfunded" in 2006 because it assumes enactment of new user fees Congress has continually rejected.