Panel passes Treasury-Postal spending bill; sidesteps pay parity debate

Pressed for time, a House panel quickly passed the fiscal year 2002 Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government appropriations bill Wednesday, saving debate over several contentious issues, including military-civilian pay parity, for the full Appropriations Committee markup.

The Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government passed the measure on a voice vote.

The bill--which covers the Internal Revenue Service, the General Services Administration and the White House--would provide $17 billion for fiscal 2002, $300 million more than the original Bush administration request, and $1.1 billion more than fiscal 2001. The extra $300 million was needed to pay for costs associated with the Salt Lake City Olympics, a new Customs Service computer system, and a group studying Secret Service issues, among other things.

The legislation is "consistent with the overall White House budget approach," according to Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla. In answering Democratic concerns, he referred to the measure as "a work in progress."

Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Fla., said he expects the full committee will consider the measure on July 17, and he hopes to bring it to the floor on July 24.

Since the Agriculture Appropriations bill was being considered on the House floor immediately following the mark-up, Democrats chose not to offer any amendments. But they did express concerns about pay parity between military and civilian federal employees, contraceptives and courthouse construction.

"As we move through the committee, onto the floor, and into conference, there are adjustments that we think need to be made," said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the subcommittee's ranking Democrat.

In the current legislation, federal civilian pay would rise 3.6 percent, while military pay would rise 4.6 percent. Hoyer said that the law requires parity between the two, and added he plans to introduce an amendment to increase civilian pay 4.6 percent during the full committee consideration. He estimates the cost to be $73 million for the affected agencies. Young indicated that he would support the change.

At the behest of Istook, a provision in the bill requiring federal health plans to offer contraceptive coverage was eliminated. "Every mandate increases the cost of a health care plan, and prices people out of getting insurance," Istook said. "With all these mandates all we'll be able to get is a Cadillac health plan, when some people need an economy car-style health plan."

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., is expected to introduce an amendment to restore the contraceptive provision in the full committee mark-up, according to Hoyer, who expected the amendment to pass.

Hoyer also said that courthouse construction needs have been seriously underfunded for the past five years, and that he would like to see an additional $250 million or $300 million this year, but he doesn't know if it is feasible because the budget is fairly tight.

The measure also includes:

• An additional $180 million for Customs Service salaries and expenses.
• Another $54 million for the Customs Air and Marine Interdiction program.
• $500,000 more for the Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
• Another $10.6 million for the Drug Free Communities Act.