Legislators dig into fiscal 2004 omnibus bill

A five-bill omnibus package of fiscal 2004 appropriations bills could be on the floor as early as Friday, although that could slip into an increasingly likely weekend session as GOP leaders push to adjourn for the year.

A formal House-Senate conference meeting to consider the omnibus, which will be attached to the Agriculture spending bill, is on track for Tuesday, although not all lingering disputes may be resolved before then. Appropriations staff worked through the weekend on the bill-which includes the fiscal 2004 Commerce-Justice-State, VA-HUD, District of Columbia and Labor-HHS spending bills, in addition to the underlying Agriculture measure-and are expected to have a final product in hand before the week is out.

While compromises on several contentious issues are in the works, including controversial fisheries language on the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill sought by Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, haggling continues over proposed changes to Labor Department overtime compensation rules. "That's the only show-stopper," a House Appropriations Committee aide said.

While House and Senate GOP leaders, backed by a White House veto threat, are set on removing a Senate-backed provision blocking the changes, Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., remains intent on keeping the language in. Specter's continued support for the overtime provision could lead to horse-trading this week over additional funds he wants for education and the National Institutes of Health, or a face-saving compromise for both sides on the overtime front, sources said.

In a recent meeting with Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Specter offered to drop his support for the overtime amendment in exchange for blocking other Labor Department rules governing unions' disclosure of financial records, but Chao rejected it. However, 22 House Republicans led by Rep. Phil English, R-Penn., signed a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten earlier this month urging him to delay the disclosure rules.

Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, told Iowa reporters last week that he expects the conferees to keep the House provision that would prohibit funding for implementation of the mandatory country-of-origin labeling program for red meat during fiscal 2004, Successful Farming reported. Harkin told reporters he expects the conferees to include the House provision in the omnibus appropriations bill. Also, congressional leaders must decide this week whether to include on the must-pass omnibus any of several unrelated measures not yet completed-including the comprehensive energy bill, although appropriators oppose that idea.

Congress this week is expected to clear individual conference reports on the fiscal 2004 Energy and Water, Transportation-Treasury and Foreign Operations appropriations bills, although the White House lodged an 11th-hour objection to language on outsourcing of government jobs in the Transportation-Treasury measure. Appropriators still plan to file the bill late Monday or Tuesday. Later in the week a one- or two-day continuing resolution may be considered to fund the government through the likely weekend session, replacing the current continuing resolution expiring Friday.