Senate appropriators approve spending allocations

The Senate Appropriations Committee Thursday afternoon approved its fiscal 2007 subcommittee spending allocations under an $872.8 billion overall cap.

"I realize that the task before the subcommittee chairmen will be difficult as they work to meet many competing interests with a scarce amount of resources," Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said. "But I am confident that the committee will present conscientious and fiscally sensible spending bills to the Senate."

As expected, the allocations shift $11.4 billion in defense and foreign aid spending to boost other programs, including education, health care, and law enforcement.

Appropriations ranking member Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said the overall spending cap falls $14 billion short of what is necessary just to keep pace with inflation. He said the $11.4 billion shift away from defense and foreign aid to domestic programs would not survive House-Senate negotiations, with the Bush administration also at the table.

He noted that the House's $4 billion Defense cut from President Bush's request has already prompted the White House to issue a veto threat if the cut widens later in the process. "When we go to conference, we know what will happen," Byrd said.

Cochran would shift $9 billion away from proposed defense increases. The Pentagon would still receive $414.5 billion, a 3.8 percent increase over this year. State Department and foreign aid accounts would lose $2.4 billion of a proposed $3.6 billion increase, but would still see a 4.1 percent boost from fiscal 2006.

The shifts enabled Cochran to bolster Labor-Health and Human Services spending by $5 billion above Bush's request to $142.8 billion -- still only a 1.1 percent increase and $2 billion short of fiscal 2005 levels when adjusted for inflation. Commerce-Justice-Science programs are funded at $51 billion, a $1.4 billion increase over the White House request and 3.2 percent over fiscal 2006.

The Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee received $69 billion -- $2 billion over the White House request and $1.2 billion over their House counterparts. The Interior panel gets $26 billion, basically matching the House at a freeze from last year and about $500 million above the White House request.

The shifts would benefit Homeland Security programs, which are boosted $700 million above the White House request to $31.7 billion. The Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee was initially to receive roughly the president's request, but last-minute negotiations resulted in a boost for the panel at the expense of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

Energy and Water programs are still boosted $1.25 billion over the Bush request, however, and 1.9 percent above the current year. The Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee would see the largest percentage increase -- 20.3 percent -- to $52.9 billion, just above the Bush request.