Labor-HHS spending bill likely to wait until at least September

House Republican leaders are likely to postpone action on the $141.9 billion fiscal 2007 Labor-Health and Human Services spending bill until September at the earliest, aides said Monday, even if House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, brings up a separate minimum wage bill next week.

Discussions are intensifying on the wage front, with party moderates seeking a vote before the break. While no decisions have been made on the minimum wage, there is little time and less interest in a divisive Labor-HHS debate before the recess, said GOP aides.

The underlying bill's primary obstacle has been Democrats' attachment of a $2.10-per-hour minimum wage increase. The measure also faces criticism from both wings of the GOP -- conservatives don't like the numerous earmarks; moderates argue it underfunds education and health programs.

Despite having more money to spread around, Senate Republicans are facing the same problems with their own Labor-HHS bill. The matter is likely to be discussed in a lame-duck session, if not kicked into next year as part of a continuing resolution.

The Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee will consider a $142.8 billion version Tuesday, which at $870 million above the House is not enough to satisfy Senate moderates, including Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.

Representing a $5 billion increase over the White House request, the bill is nearly $2.2 billion shy of what Specter and others argue is necessary to keep pace with inflation. The inclusion of roughly $650 million in student aid costs for the first time -- a quirk of the deficit reduction law enacted earlier this year -- cuts into funds that would have otherwise been available for traditional Labor-HHS priorities.

Specter was able to fund the National Institutes of Health at $28.5 billion, about $250 million above the House bill and administration request and $150 million above fiscal 2006. That is barely above a freeze, and only slightly above funding levels two years ago.

Easing the pain is about $1 billion for home-state projects, which are listed in the initial Senate version instead of waiting for a conference to determine earmarks. Senate appropriators followed the House lead in that regard, responding to criticism there has not been enough disclosure of earmark sponsors.

A bright spot for Republicans to be unveiled Tuesday is a $52.9 billion Military Construction-Veterans Affairs bill with a 9 percent increase in veterans' healthcare spending over fiscal 2006, or $3 billion, to $28.7 billion.

Upon the subcommittee's approval Tuesday it would go to the full committee Thursday, as would the Labor-HHS measure, Defense and Transportation-Treasury bills.

Republicans say they have increased the VA healthcare budget by 69 percent since President Bush took office. But Congress has rejected fees to cover costs, and a Congressional Budget Office report issued Friday said the program might put long-term strains on discretionary spending.

At the behest of Senate Veterans Affairs Chairman Larry Craig, R-Idaho, CBO calculated that if Congress continues to appropriate VA funds at the rate of the past seven fiscal years, total VA healthcare spending might reach $54 billion by fiscal 2016, or 5.5 percent of total discretionary spending should the overall budget keep pace with inflation.