Spending bills, signs of power? GOP hopes so

WASHINGTON - Republicans hope to patch up internal rifts and finally start writing Congress' 13 annual spending bills this week, aware that GOP control of the White House, Senate and House leaves them unable to blame Democrats should things go awry.

Disputes among Republicans over proposals to shift several billion dollars from defense to popular domestic programs have prevented work even from beginning on the must-pass spending bills, costing the House and Senate Appropriations committees a month's time.

Fights last year between the Democratic-controlled Senate and the GOP-run House, and between conservative and moderate Republicans, stalled completion of the 2003 bills until this past January - nearly four months late.

Now, Republicans will control the spending process for the first time since 1954. They want to finish all the bills close to the Oct. 1 start of the government's 2004 budget year as a symbol of their ability to govern.

"Once this dam breaks, we're going to start producing bills right away," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla.

Congress's two top Republicans planned to meet Monday with President Bush at the White House to discuss the bills, which will total roughly $785-billion and finance every federal agency. The rest of the $2.2-trillion budget is for automatically paid benefits such as Medicare.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee were hoping for Bush's blessing for their proposal to shift about $3-billion from the military to domestic security, education and other programs.

The defense funds would be restored with money not spent from this spring's $80-billion bill that financed the Iraq war, Republicans say.

An additional $2.2-billion would be provided for domestic programs with a second accounting maneuver. That $2.2-billion for 2004 was approved in last year's bills, but under the proposal would not count against the budget's $785-billion spending cap.

Under the budget Congress enacted in April, the Pentagon and other defense programs would get $400-billion of the $785-billion planned for the spending bills. The rest would go to domestic programs ranging from aviation safety to Internal Revenue Agency agents' salaries.

Republicans say they will use the extra money for education, veterans' health care, firefighting, environment and other areas where they say Bush fell short in the budget he proposed in February.

Young said his committee could live within the budget's limits if it is allowed to make the proposed shifts and "by being very austere" with the bills.

Congress will soon begin work on 13 spending bills for the 2004 budget year, which begins Oct. 1. Here's a look at the proposed cost of the 2004 bills compared with 2003:

2004 bills as proposed by Congress' budget: $785-billion.

2004 bills as proposed by President Bush in his budget: $788-billion.

2003 budget year bills as completed in January: $763-billion.

2003 bills, including bill approved in April to pay for Iraq war and other antiterror efforts: $842-billion.

- HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS

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