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Congress set to vote on $388B spending bill
Domestic programs would see little growth under measure
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Leaders hoped to climax Congress lame-duck session by
shipping a $388 billion domestic and foreign aid bill to President
Bush, a measure that clamps down on spending from education to clean
energy projects.
House and Senate leaders planned votes Saturday on the massive
legislation " six weeks after the governments new budget year
began. In what is becoming an annual rite on Capitol Hill, lawmakers
and their staffs will have just a few hours to sort through the
complex bills soaring stacks of paper before votes are cast.
Final disputes were not swept away until shortly before midnight
Friday, when lawmakers dropped an effort to block Bushs drive to
shift some federal work to private companies. House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay, R-Texas, helped win an extra $300 million for NASA, pushing
the space agencys total over $16 billion.
CLICK HERE FOR RELATED STORY
Greenspan warns on budget deficit
Congress debated the bill hours after Bush signed an $800 billion
increase in the federal borrowing debt limit, another testament to the
feeble condition of the governments books.
The measure, which narrowly cleared Congress this week, paves the way
for the third major borrowing increase since Bush took office. It
pushed the debt ceiling to $8.18 trillion, or two-thirds the value of
all the shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Hardball politics
While the bill was loaded with thousands of projects for lawmakers
home districts, it most of all reflected the hardball realities of
deficit politics. Congress Republican majority balanced generous
increases " like a 12 percent boost for the FBI to $5.2 billion and
more aid for the refugee catastrophe in Sudan " with cuts in some
programs and token increases for others.
This is a lean and clean package that adheres to the budgetary
limits agreed to by the president and Congress, said Rep. Bill
Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a
chief author of the bill.
Among the victims were Bush priorities like education, which would
grow by less than 2 percent to nearly $57 billion. The National
Endowment for Democracy, which buttresses democratic institutions
abroad, got $60 million of the $80 million he wanted, while his
Futuregen program to promote clean-burning power plants got $18
million " one-thirteenth of what the White House proposed.
To help pay for some of the bills initiatives, a 0.83 percent cut
was imposed on the agreed-upon level of every program.
Many Democrats were expected to grudgingly support the measure,
realizing that the alternative the White House was offering " simply
continuing last years spending levels " would be even tighter and
lack hometown projects.
Nine female senators, all but one Democrats, were upset over a
House-passed provision making it easier for hospitals and other health
care providers to refuse to provide abortions, pay for them or offer
abortion counseling.
Winners and losers
There were winners and losers in the business community too.
Satellite television companies will be allowed to beam high definition
network signals to some remote customers. The high technology industry
won 20,000 additional visas for skilled foreign workers, but a
labor-led effort to block Bush administration rules on overtime pay
fell by the wayside.
The nations ailing airlines won a one-year extension of
government-sponsored terror and war-risk insurance but lost an appeal
for waiver of the federal tax they pay on aircraft fuel. Also failing
were efforts to extend some federal milk subsidies and repeal
country-of-origin labels for many foods.
There is extra money for federal efforts against mad cow disease, but
less than last year for aid to state and local law enforcement
agencies. Bush got his full request for $913 million for the
Securities and Exchange Commission, a 13 percent boost, but his
initiative to help countries adopting free-market reforms got $1.5
billion, $1 billion less than he wanted.
Congress gave itself nearly $3.6 billion for its own operations, a $48
million increase. The nations arts and humanities endowments got a
combined $38 million less than Bush proposed, despite efforts by the
president and first lady, Laura Bush, for more.
The measure finances every Cabinet department but Defense and Homeland
Security, whose budget bills have already become law, plus scores of
other agencies.
The legislation is a combination of what are supposed to be nine
separate bills, which were left until after Election Day because of
numerous disputes.
Since the governments new budget year began Oct. 1, the covered
agencies have run on temporary authority that was expiring Saturday
night. Lawmakers planned to pass another extension running through
Dec. 3 to give White House officials time to review the bill before
Bush signs it.
2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PRINT THIS ARTICLE E-MAIL THIS ARTICLE
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I think we've been moving toward 'bankruptcy' for the past 80 years.
MSNBC N
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congress set to vote on $388B spending bill
Domestic programs would see little growth under measure
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Leaders hoped to climax Congress?T lame-duck session by
shipping a $388 billion domestic and foreign aid bill to President
Bush, a measure that clamps down on spending from education to clean
energy projects.
House and Senate leaders planned votes Saturday on the massive
legislation ?" six weeks after the government?Ts new budget year
began. In what is becoming an annual rite on Capitol Hill, lawmakers
and their staffs will have just a few hours to sort through the
complex bill?Ts soaring stacks of paper before votes are cast.
Final disputes were not swept away until shortly before midnight
Friday, when lawmakers dropped an effort to block Bush?Ts drive to
shift some federal work to private companies. House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay, R-Texas, helped win an extra $300 million for NASA, pushing
the space agency?Ts total over $16 billion.
CLICK HERE FOR RELATED STORY
Greenspan warns on budget deficit
Congress debated the bill hours after Bush signed an $800 billion
increase in the federal borrowing debt limit, another testament to the
feeble condition of the government?Ts books.
The measure, which narrowly cleared Congress this week, paves the way
for the third major borrowing increase since Bush took office. It
pushed the debt ceiling to $8.18 trillion, or two-thirds the value of
all the shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
Hardball politics
While the bill was loaded with thousands of projects for lawmakers?T
home districts, it most of all reflected the hardball realities of
deficit politics. Congress?T Republican majority balanced generous
increases ?" like a 12 percent boost for the FBI to $5.2 billion and
more aid for the refugee catastrophe in Sudan ?" with cuts in some
programs and token increases for others.
?oThis is a lean and clean package that adheres to the budgetary
limits agreed to by the president and Congress,? said Rep. Bill
Young, R-Fla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and a
chief author of the bill.
Among the victims were Bush priorities like education, which would
grow by less than 2 percent to nearly $57 billion. The National
Endowment for Democracy, which buttresses democratic institutions
abroad, got $60 million of the $80 million he wanted, while his
Futuregen program to promote clean-burning power plants got $18
million ?" one-thirteenth of what the White House proposed.
To help pay for some of the bill?Ts initiatives, a 0.83 percent cut
was imposed on the agreed-upon level of every program.
Many Democrats were expected to grudgingly support the measure,
realizing that the alternative the White House was offering ?" simply
continuing last year?Ts spending levels ?" would be even tighter and
lack hometown projects.
Nine female senators, all but one Democrats, were upset over a
House-passed provision making it easier for hospitals and other health
care providers to refuse to provide abortions, pay for them or offer
abortion counseling.
Winners and losers
There were winners and losers in the business community too.
Satellite television companies will be allowed to beam high definition
network signals to some remote customers. The high technology industry
won 20,000 additional visas for skilled foreign workers, but a
labor-led effort to block Bush administration rules on overtime pay
fell by the wayside.
The nation?Ts ailing airlines won a one-year extension of
government-sponsored terror and war-risk insurance but lost an appeal
for waiver of the federal tax they pay on aircraft fuel. Also failing
were efforts to extend some federal milk subsidies and repeal
country-of-origin labels for many foods.
There is extra money for federal efforts against mad cow disease, but
less than last year for aid to state and local law enforcement
agencies. Bush got his full request for $913 million for the
Securities and Exchange Commission, a 13 percent boost, but his
initiative to help countries adopting free-market reforms got $1.5
billion, $1 billion less than he wanted.
Congress gave itself nearly $3.6 billion for its own operations, a $48
million increase. The nation?Ts arts and humanities endowments got a
combined $38 million less than Bush proposed, despite efforts by the
president and first lady, Laura Bush, for more.
The measure finances every Cabinet department but Defense and Homeland
Security, whose budget bills have already become law, plus scores of
other agencies.
The legislation is a combination of what are supposed to be nine
separate bills, which were left until after Election Day because of
numerous disputes.
Since the government?Ts new budget year began Oct. 1, the covered
agencies have run on temporary authority that was expiring Saturday
night. Lawmakers planned to pass another extension running through
Dec. 3 to give White House officials time to review the bill before
Bush signs it.
2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
PRINT THIS ARTICLE E-MAIL THIS ARTICLE
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In news:l0Nnd.46994$QJ3.22641@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com "Falky foo"
<falkyfoo@bonksbcglobal.net> wrote:
I think we've been moving toward 'bankruptcy' for the past 80 years.
People seem to be unaware that the national debt has increased each and
every year since the 1950s, even in those years during the Clinton
adminstration when we supposedly had a budget "surplus".
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm
--
Bert HymanSt. Paul, MNbert@visi.com
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, "Falky foo"
<falkyfoo@bonksbcglobal.net> wrote:
Technically, we were bankrupt years ago.
Technically, you don't know what you're
talking about.
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maybe yes, maybe no.. I think the US will just look at the bondholders
(which is where most of the debt is) and go, "Um, @$#* you. We ain't
paying."
I think bondholders and others that the govt owes will be the ones who get
screwed. And of course many govt services will go away. But it may not be
as cataclysmic as some think.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, "Falky foo"
<falkyfoo@bonksbcglobal.net> wrote:
Technically, we were bankrupt years ago. What would you call a $7 trillion
deficit? Due to be $8.8 trillion by 2007 it seems.
It doesn't matter now, no one is going to try to collect on those old
debts
and favors at this point, but eventually the bill will be due.
The fall of the USSR is a perfect example of the future of America. We're
the
last Empire and all eyes of the world are focused on us... and all the
guns.
America will be torn apart, not just by our enemies, but by our own greed
and
corruption.
--
--==( m K0 )====-- ----- --- - --- ----
R.ebel A.lliance G.alactic U.senet N.ews S.ervice
---- --- ---====================-------- - --------
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the
guns.
Historian Niles Ferguson developed a theory IIRC that wars are essentially
financial restructurings.
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