Old Bill Might Carry War Funds Measure

Wed. Apr. 30, 2008


House and Senate Democratic leaders are considering using the never-enacted FY08 Military Construction Appropriations bill as a vehicle for the war supplemental and other provisions, sources on both sides of the Capitol said Tuesday.

The bill would function as a "shell" that would allow Democrats to avoid the usual committee process in both chambers and a formal House-Senate conference. House Democrats could also avoid giving Republicans a shot at procedural motions on the bill during floor votes.

The specifics of the military construction measure were eventually wrapped into an omnibus appropriations bill at the end of last year.

The supplemental spending measure is expected to be offered as three separate amendments in the House, striking and replacing the contents of the underlying military construction bill. One amendment would contain war funding, another would contain Iraq policy language and the third would include funding for domestic spending.

The three-pronged approach would provide cover votes for some Democratic lawmakers who are opposed to war funding and provide fodder to use against some Republicans in the upcoming elections.

It would also set off a firestorm of Republican criticism.

"By doing all three -- skipping committee markup, having a limited or closed debate on the floor, and skipping conference committee -- the Democrats will effectively shut down any semblance of democratic process in this Congress," said Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis. "This means that except for constituents of Speaker Pelosi or [Senate Majority] Leader Reid, all American voters, regardless of party affiliation, will have virtually no representation in Congress on a massive war funding bill which will likely be stuffed with numerous extraneous spending and policy provisions. It's an outrage and an offense to the core principles of what it means to be an American."

On Tuesday, Senate Appropriations ranking member Thad Cochran and the panel's other Republicans also made their concerns known.

In a letter to Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd, they wrote to express "grave concerns" about the emerging plan by Democratic leaders to circumvent the committee process. "We were not consulted prior to the initiation of this plan late last week, and we believe that such a closed-door approach ... scuttles the ability of the Senate fully and fairly to debate vital national security matters. Unfortunately this ill-conceived plan will also serve to further undermine the American people's confidence in the appropriations process," wrote Cochran and the other GOP panel members. "The posturing by the House on this important legislation has ensured that precious little time remains for Congress to act responsibly," they added.

Aides cautioned that the plan remained tentative going into a Tuesday night meeting of Democratic leaders, but leadership and committee sources confirmed the concept was among the mix of options still on the table. Leaders are expected to make their final decisions about how and what to include in the package this week before bringing it up for House consideration. Senate action is expected to follow a week later.

While it remains unclear if Democratic leaders will use the FY08 bill as their vehicle, the package is already being negotiated behind closed doors and is expected to bypass the committee process. House Republican leaders jumped on the military-construction idea, saying it demonstrates how Democrats are "flailing around" in search of ways to meet the needs of troops while pacifying anti-war liberals.

"If it is true, it is stunning in its arrogance," said House Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida. "The idea that you would strip the minority of any opportunity to have impact even with the minimal motion-to-recommit, the idea that you would pull a bill from last year on Mil-Con so that you could avoid the conference process and the idea that you have to get so cute with something as simply as supporting our troops -- this has defined every supplemental fight we have had since they took over."

Democratic and Republican Senate sources confirmed that such a plan would also allow the measure to ping-pong back to the House with any changes adopted in the Senate.

Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin appeared Tuesday to accept the possibility that the supplemental would not receive a formal conference.

"Provided that there is a healthy consideration somewhere I am not wedded to [a conference] in all circumstances," Levin said.

In addition to an anticipated $180 billion in war funding to carry U.S. military operations through the first several months of 2009, House leaders are expected to add about $12 billion for 13 extra weeks of unemployment benefits and funding to expand college tuition assistance to veterans.

"We are going to thank our veterans by sending them to college," Pelosi said a news conference Tuesday.

Democratic leaders are also considering adding one-time payments to Filipino veterans of World War II and money for global food aid. In addition, House Democrats are considering adding $3 billion to $4 billion in domestic spending in various areas, including money to cover shortfalls in the Women, Infants and Children nutritional program and for Census programs.

Such additional funding would be included in the face of the Bush administration's insistence that Congress stick to the White House's $108 billion war funding request.

House Minority Whip Blunt expressed confidence that Republicans would sustain Bush's veto of any overreaching legislation. "At the end of the day if they bring a bill to the floor that just allows two or three or four amendments, the only thing that really matters is that Republicans have a veto-sustaining number on some elements of that package," Blunt said.

by Christian Bourge and Peter Cohn, with Megan Scully and Humberto Sanchez contributing

Wed. Apr. 30, 2008

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