ot 12:23 DJS Congress, White House Appear To Be Closing In On Budget Deal
12:23 DJS Congress, White House Appear To Be Closing In On Budget Deal
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A budget deal was within the grasp of the
White House and Congress Tuesday. While fundamental questions remained about
approaches to education and environmental programs, negotiators managed to
find a way to put aside, at least for now, the tough issue of how U.S.
citizens will be counted in the 2000 census, the Associated Press reported.
Republican leaders expressed confidence Tuesday, after a week of
intense negotiations, that they would finish all but the details of a giant
bill needed to fund government programs in fiscal 1999.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and other GOP leaders said a
completed bill could move to the House and Senate floors as early as
Wednesday. "Maybe that's an optimistic goal, but I think it's clearly
achievable based on what we have reached agreement on," Lott (R., Miss.) said.
White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles also talked of progress after
some nine hours of meetings Monday with Lott, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R.,
Ga.) and other congressional leaders but was more cautious. "We do have a
significant number of issues still left open," Bowles said.
Bowles, who said negotiations would resume Tuesday afternoon, pointed
to education and the environment as two big obstacles to an agreement. Clinton
wants $1.1 billion more in the budget for his proposal to hire 100,000 more
elementary-school teachers. Republicans have agreed to the spending, but their
proposal would turn the money directly over to local school districts and
would ban new federal testing of students.
"I urge President Clinton to accept our proposal," said Rep. William
Goodling (R., Pa.), chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
"The president is going to have to make up his mind on whether he wants an
issue for the fall congressional campaigns or whether he wants to work with us
and accomplish something for our children."
Clinton, who has made clear that his educational priorities must be
part of any deal, again urged Republicans to accept his proposals. "I know
there's an election coming, but members of Congress can return home to
campaign knowing that they put progress ahead of partisanship on the important
issue of education," he said.
Environmental issues include GOP resistance to $100 million Clinton
wants for toxic-waste cleanups and administration objections to what it says
is antienvironmental language in some of the bills included in the package.
The bill would wrap together eight of the 13 annual spending bills that
hadn't become law when the new fiscal year began on Oct. 1. It would include
spending of about $500 billion - nearly one-third of the federal budget - for
programs in health, education, labor, foreign aid and law enforcement.
To avoid a repeat of the shutdowns of the winter of 1995-96, the House
and Senate on Monday approved their third temporary measure to keep the
government open. This time the extension, which Clinton signed while on a
campaign-funding trip to New York, lasts until midnight Wednesday.
"We are almost there, I hope," said House Appropriations Committee
Chairman Bob Livingston (R., La.). "It is our intention to keep government
open and not jeopardize the livelihoods of all the federal employees or the
services they perform."
Remaining roadblocks included such issues as a Democratic plan to
extend prescription-contraceptive health coverage to federal workers and
GOP-backed language slashing funds for international family-planning groups
that promote abortions.
Lott said a needle-exchange program for District of Columbia drug
addicts, a proposal to finance North Korean fuel needs and several immigration
measures, including one to increase visas for high-tech workers, were still on
the table.
On the divisive issue of statistical sampling in the 2000 census,
officials from both parties said they had reached a deal for the bill that
contains the census language convering Commerce, Justice and State Department
programs, to be funded for only six months. By then, the Supreme Court is
likely to rule on the constitutionality of sampling, which Republicans
strongly oppose.
Also at issue is a large package of emergency spending. Clinton has
proposed about $12 billion for modernizing federal computers, farm aid,
supporting U.S. peacekeeping troops in Bosnia and other proposals. Republicans
have sought about $7 billion for defense needs, including $1 billion for
antimissile defense and $1.5 billion for intelligence.
Lott said the negotiators were "a couple of words" away from reaching
agreement on the administration's request for $18 billion to replenish the
International Monetary Fund. Republicans have demanded that the money be
accompanied by better controls to ensure IMF loans are actually helping
economically troubled nations.
White House Spokesman Joe Lockhart on Tuesday conceded that a "lot of
progress" was made on the issue over the weekend during budget meetings
between White House officials and top Republicans but wouldn't say whether an
IMF-funding deal is inevitable.
Other than approving the stopgap spending measure, the House, in a rare
Columbus Day session, renewed several expiring tax credits, totaling $9.2
billion over 10 years. It also approved other last-minute legislative matters,
including bills to stop the practice of long-distance phone "slamming" and to
impose harsher penalties for child sex crimes.
Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
10/13 12:23p CDT
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