U.S. Response:  Bush Considers Rejecting $5.1 Billion Emergency Fund

By Bill Ghent

CongressDaily

WASHINGTON — The White House had not yet decided yesterday whether to release a $5.1 billion contingency package that Congress authorized in the $28.9 billion fiscal 2002 supplemental spending bill last month, but there are indications President George W. Bush is leaning toward rejecting the money, a move that would aggravate appropriators (see GSN, Aug. 5).

“The issue is still under review,” an Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman said.  “We’ll have a decision as soon as we have a decision.”

A report in Saturday’s Washington Post, quoting unidentified administration sources, said top White House aides were urging Bush to teach Congress a lesson about overspending by rejecting the contingency funds.  The package includes money for veterans’ medical care, the Transportation Security Administration, foreign aid, election reform and a host of other homeland security items.

Appropriators sought to force the administration’s hand on the package, which is mostly made up of money that Bush did not request, by designating it an “all or nothing” item.  The designation forces the White House to either declare the entire $5.1 billion an emergency need and release all the money or to reject the entire package outright and kill projects popular with members of Congress, including leading Republicans.  The president still has nearly three weeks to decide.

During the long debate on the supplemental, the administration complained that Congress was trying to appropriate money that could not be spent by the end of fiscal 2002 and that many agencies still had money left from the $40 billion that Congress appropriated on an emergency basis after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks (see GSN Aug. 12).

In yet another signal that the administration may be prepping Congress for the eventual rejection of the contingency package, the White House budget office released a report late Friday which said that as of June 30, federal agencies had yet to obligate $14 billion of that $40 billion, and that “historic trends would indicate that current funding levels are sufficient to cover agencies for the remaining weeks of the fiscal year.”  The only agencies likely to spend most of their funds were the Defense Department and the Transportation Security Administration, according to the report.  Under the supplemental, Defense received $14.3 billion, while Transportation received $3.85 billion, although $480 million of that is tied up in the contingency account.

A spokesman for Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) said yesterday that the senator “remains hopeful that the president will agree with Congress on the emergency nature of these items.

If the administration eventually decides to reject the money, it may ask Congress to appropriate additional funds in the fiscal 2003 budget for some of the items — a move that will not sit well with congressional appropriators who have already complained about the White House budget office’s intransigence on fiscal 2003 spending parameters.

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U.S. Response I:  Homeland Debate Might Be on Slow Track in September

By Geoff Earle

CongressDaily

WASHINGTON — Even though congressional leaders held out hope last month that they could quickly push legislation to create a homeland security department through the Senate in a matter of days, there are signs that action might be slow-going when Congress returns (see GSN, Aug. 1).

Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) told reporters before the August recess that the Senate should have stayed in town if necessary to complete the bill.  Now, some Republican leadership aides warn that because the underlying legislation is complex — affecting tens of thousands of federal employees and numerous agencies — it could take considerable floor time, while at least one senior Democrat is working to slow passage.

When the Senate returns to session in early September, it will debate a motion to proceed to the homeland security bill.  Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) will control the debate time for opponents of the motion.  Byrd has warned against rushing ahead without carefully considering the ramifications of creating a new department, and helped persuade Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) not to try to tackle the bill before the break.  Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and ranking member Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) will control the debate time for proponents.

If the motion to proceed passes, as is expected, the Senate will take up the bill Wednesday, Sept. 4.  A number of amendments to modify the department’s jurisdiction could be offered, while heated fights over labor provisions that have drawn a presidential veto threat are anticipated.

“The homeland security bill should have passed the Senate before August,” said a Lott spokesman.  “We hope the Senate Democratic leadership will help us pass a bipartisan homeland security bill immediately, and not let it get bogged down in legislative quicksand.”  He continued, “Senator Lott believes the debate should not revolve around partisan turf fights, but will allow the president the flexibility to create a homeland security department that will help Americans feel safe.”

Even if the bill gets bogged down with amendments, Senate leaders hope to take up fiscal 2003 appropriations bills on a “dual track.”  The Senate is scheduled to take up the fiscal 2003 Interior Appropriations bill Sept. 4, and leaders last month had worked to ready the fiscal 2003 Energy and Water spending bill as well.

With the Senate’s Oct. 5 target adjournment approaching, there is diminishing time for other legislation.  Daschle has said he wants to take up pension reform legislation after homeland security.  His spokeswoman said that welfare reform legislation remains on the list of priorities, as does legislation to increase the minimum wage while providing tax cuts for small businesses.  Asked whether minimum wage could be combined with the pension bill, she said that is “always a possibility.”

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U.S. Response II:  One-Third of Sept. 11 Emergency Funds Still Unspent

By National Journal’s Technology Daily

Of the $40 billion in emergency appropriations provided to federal agencies by Congress shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, $14 billion remains unobligated, according to a White House Office of Management and Budget report released Friday.

As of June 30, $25.8 billion, or 66 percent, had been used, the office said.  All funds must be used by Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 2002.

The Defense Department and the Transportation Security Agency are among the few agencies likely to fully obligate their available funds, the office said.  Both agencies received additional funding in the fiscal 2002 supplemental appropriations bill signed last week (see GSN, Aug. 5).  After adjusting for overstatements, 42 percent of nondefense funding was obligated by June 30, the report said.

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U.S. Response III:  Washington Tries to Expand Ship-Stopping Powers

The Bush administration is negotiating with other countries for more authority to search vessels in non-U.S. waters, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, July 10).

The proposal, which has not yet been approved by the Pentagon, would expand a ship interdiction campaign originally designed to capture al-Qaeda members attempting to flee Afghanistan through international waters, the AP reported.

According to the plan, U.S. troops would have the right to stop and board vessels not only international waters but also in the territorial waters of other countries in certain circumstances, the AP reported.  For example, a ship could be stopped and searched when it is believed to be carrying terrorists or transporting weapons or other contraband used to finance terrorism, two of the officials said.  The U.S. State Department has been negotiating with dozens of countries to obtain approval for the plan, two other officials said (Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Aug. 9).

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