GOP prepares for battle as Dems propose spending measure

Republicans began sharpening their knives Tuesday for what could be a testy debate over a $463.5 billion fiscal 2007 spending bill funding every aspect of government other than defense and homeland security.

The 136-page measure will come to the House floor Wednesday, with Senate action possible next week. Typically, omnibus funding bills can run over 1,000 pages; this "revised continuing appropriations resolution" is billed as a CR at last year's funding levels, but with adjustments and increases in sensitive areas like education and veterans' health.

Unveiled late Monday by Democratic leaders, Republicans are already arguing the majority relied on budgetary "gimmicks" to fund increases for their favored programs, such as a $3.47 billion rescission of highway contract authority that technically counts as savings but produces no real cuts.

Senate Budget ranking member Judd Gregg, R-N.H., criticized Democrats for playing a "shell game" by cutting base closure and realignment funds to increase domestic accounts -- then most likely adding back the defense money in the upcoming war supplemental.

Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee's budget task force, was preparing to introduce a two-page CR at last year's funding levels, but without any programmatic increases, thereby devoting billions to deficit reduction. But the Rules Committee is not expected to allow amendments.

"What are they afraid of?" asked House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters that opening the floor to amendments on a bill covering nine separate appropriations measures would be an "unmitigated disaster."

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said Democrats took the approach they did to quickly wrap up work on the year's unfinished budget and turn their attention to the fiscal 2008 budget and the war supplemental. House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., said they would have preferred Republicans had finished the fiscal 2007 spending bills on time, but now their hands are forced.

"I don't expect people to love this proposal, I don't love this proposal, and we probably have made some wrong choices," Obey said. Of particular concern to many members is that the bill contains no new earmarks, and bars agencies from funding earmarks contained in the previous year's bills.

GOP aides were claiming loopholes in the Democrats' no-earmark pledge, arguing "ongoing" earmarks contained in bills prior to fiscal 2006 could continue, such as Energy Department grants dating back to fiscal 2004. Those include weapons and nonproliferation research conducted at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, in the home state of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The bill would also continue funding for a $50 million "indoor rainforest" in Iowa that the House proposed to rescind, as well as continue funding for the Denali Commission, essentially a pot of money for Alaska.

House Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., was circulating a letter claiming that changes in housing voucher formula funds would shortchange various states, including Obey's home state of Wisconsin.

Greta Wodele and Fawn Johnson contributed to this report.