- Sat. Sep 6, 2008
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Dems Unveil War-Funding Plans
House and Senate Democrats this week proposed competing supplemental spending bills to fund the Iraq war through the middle of 2009, along with various domestic programs. House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., on May 6 proposed $162.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus billions extra for the Defense Department, foreign aid, unemployment insurance, and veterans' college tuition. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., on May 7 proposed similar amounts for the war, but added billions more than the House for federal highways, science research, law enforcement, and other domestic proposals. House leaders postponed a May 8 floor vote on the supplemental after Blue Dogs protested that nondefense spending was not offset under the "pay-go" rules, and Republicans complained that they had no opportunity to propose changes. Byrd, for his part, had scheduled a May 8 committee markup to allow members of both parties to have input, but postponed it until May 15 under pressure from other Democrats. "My patience is growing thin," he said in a statement. House Democrats plan a floor vote to restrict the war funding, including a timeline for troop withdrawals from Iraq that President Bush opposes. Bush also opposes spending more than the approximately $178 billion he proposed for the war through June 2009. Obey acknowledged that because of Bush's stance, the war money will ultimately be approved without provisions calling for an end to the conflict. "If we had our way, the war would be over a long time ago," Obey said of House Democrats. "There's also no question that in the Congress itself, we don't have the majority to implement what it is we want to do."--Brian Friel/National Journal
Negotiators Complete Farm Bill
House-Senate negotiators finished the new farm bill on May 7 and plan to take it to the floors next week amid growing signals that President Bush's lack of support might not stop it from becoming law. House Agriculture Committee ranking member Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Bush told him he does not support the bill but recognizes that members need to vote their districts' interests. "The president did not say anything about vetoing the bill," Goodlatte said. It's possible that two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate will approve the legislation--enough to override a veto--or that Bush will allow the bill to become law without his signature. "That's certainly an option that he has," Goodlatte noted. Bush and his aides have said the new farm bill costs too much and does not include sufficient reforms to curb farm subsidy payments to wealthy farmers and landowners. Goodlatte said he intends to support the bill unless he finds something objectionable in the conference report. He did not know whether the legislation would garner two-thirds majorities but noted that it enjoys "very, very strong support on both sides of the aisle." Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said they still hoped Bush would sign the bill. "This is the most dramatic reform of any farm bill for a very, very long time," Conrad said. --Jerry Hagstrom/CongressDaily
Housing Measure Faces Veto
Despite a presidential veto threat, the House was expected on May 8 to approve a housing stimulus package that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to help refinance up to $300 billion of troubled subprime loans. Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., contends that his measure would provide needed liquidity to a cash-strapped mortgage market abandoned by investors because of rising foreclosures and falling home prices. But on May 7 President Bush threatened a veto, saying the legislation would reward "lenders and speculators" and jeopardize the program's financial solvency if those loans were to default. Frank had tried to woo the White House by adding to the package two administration priorities that the House passed previously: a measure revamping the FHA's mortgage insurance program and legislation tightening oversight at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The package also includes $11 billion in housing tax cuts, such as a $7,500 refundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers and other tax credits for developers of low-income-housing projects. The House on May 8 was expected to pass another measure, providing $15 billion for states and cities to buy and rehabilitate foreclosed homes. Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., is trying to forge bipartisan agreement as he heads toward a May 13 markup of his FHA refinancing measure. Dodd said of Bush's veto threat, "He's not listening to the American people." --Bill Swindell/CongressDaily
FAA Legislation Is Grounded
A Senate bill aimed at modernizing the nation's air traffic control system and easing consumer concerns about airline safety and congestion might be dead for the year because of a procedural dispute and the inclusion of non-aviation policy. On May 6, Senate Republicans blocked the bill from advancing, to protest a move by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to limit amendments. Republicans also object to the inclusion of $5 billion in highway funding and other non-aviation language added by the Senate Finance Committee. Debate was stalled most of last week as well because of disagreement over a Finance-backed provision regarding airline pensions. The question now is how long Congress will temporarily extend Federal Aviation Administration funding and taxes, which will signal whether lawmakers believe a compromise can still be reached this year. Congress has already extended FAA funding and taxes four times since they first expired at the end of September, and the current extension runs through June. --Darren Goode/CongressDaily
Flood Insurance Plan Buoyed
The Senate on May 8 neared passage of legislation that would revamp the federal government's debt-ridden flood insurance program. The bill would make the program more actuarially sound by phasing out below-market insurance rates for second homes and vacation residences, increasing annual deductibles, and wiping out more than $17 billion in debt that the program accrued in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But Louisiana and Mississippi senators complained that their constituents will be forced to pay higher premiums as a result of the legislation and that it does not do enough to help provide affordable coverage after many insurers pulled out following Katrina. The Senate voted down several amendments from Gulf State senators, including one offered by Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., to add wind coverage to the program. Wicker and others argue that in the aftermath of Katrina, private carriers stuck the federal government with flood claims instead of paying for wind damage from their own more-generous policies. A House-passed flood-insurance bill contains such language. But the insurance industry opposed Wicker's measure, arguing it would crowd out the private marketplace, and environmentalists also objected, saying the plan would encourage foolish coastal development. --Bill Swindell/CongressDaily
FISA Agreement Is Floated
Lawmakers and aides described significant developments this week in negotiations on revisions to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but some sources cautioned that a final deal could remain elusive. Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., floated a proposal on May 6 that his spokeswoman described as "the best area of compromise" after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks with Democrats and Republicans from both chambers, the White House, the Justice Department, and Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell. "He took the input from all of the stakeholders and put forward a compromise that reflected all of their input," said the spokeswoman, who would not discuss any details. House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he believed that a final deal could be reached by the Memorial Day recess. "I think we've got 90 percent of it done," he said. "I think there's a compromise position." He said key language would require a court to determine whether telecommunications companies should be granted immunity from lawsuits arising from their cooperation with the Bush administration's warrantless electronic surveillance activities since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
--Chris Strohm and Christian Bourge/CongressDaily
GOP Reels Over Fossella, La. Seat
Responding to questions that arose after his recent drunk-driving arrest in Alexandria, Va., Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., released a statement on May 8 acknowledging that he fathered a child from an extramarital affair. "I have had a relationship with Laura Fay, with whom I have a 3-year-old daughter," Fossella said; Fay got him out of jail after his arrest. Fossella, 43, was first elected to Congress in 1997 and has three children with his wife, who lives on Staten Island. The developments came during a week of bad news for House Republicans, after Democrat Don Cazayoux won a May 3 special election to fill the seat of former Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., who resigned to head the Managed Funds Association. Cazayoux defeated veteran Republican Woody Jenkins 49 percent to 46 percent. Republicans had attempted to nationalize the contest by linking Cazayoux to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. But the former state representative emphasized his conservative views on social issues and "common-sense" approach to problem-solving. It was the second longtime Republican district that Democrats have taken in two months: In March, Democrat Bill Foster won a special election to succeed former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. The results left Democrats with a 235-199 House majority. Going forward, Republicans are struggling in a May 13 runoff to retain the House seat of appointed Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.--Richard E. Cohen/National Journal