Senate OKs Spending Bill With Controversial Funding Mechanism

WASHINGTON — Defying a presidential veto threat, the Senate approved a spending bill Thursday that contains $8.5 billion in emergency funds for disaster-ravaged states, foreign peacekeeping operations and other projects, but also includes a provision aimed at weakening the administration’s bargaining position in future budget negotiations.

It is that latter aspect that sparked the veto threat from the White House.

By a 78-22 vote, senators agreed to spend $5.5 billion to help more than two dozen states recover from recent record floods and other natural disasters, as well as $1.8 billion for military activity aimed at keeping the peace in Bosnia and the Middle East.

Included in the Senate legislation is $3.3 billion in flood relief for California and another $779 million for various projects and services in the state.

The legislation is expected to be considered in the House next week.

The controversial part of the bill, sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), seeks to avoid the type of federal government shutdowns that occurred in 1995 and ’96 by providing automatic funding for government services and operations even if there is no budget on Oct. 1, the start of the government’s fiscal year.

Still stinging from their embarrassing role in a budget impasse that led to government shutdowns, Republicans pressed for an automatic funding provision that would retain government operations at 100% of the existing level. An earlier version had called for providing only 98% of current funds but--in an effort to seek White House cooperation--GOP leaders agreed to the full spending level.

Speaking on behalf of his party, McCain said that a government shutdown is too high a price to pay for a budget deal. “I want to make sure that what happened never happens again,” McCain said.

But even with the change in the funding level, the White House refused to budge on the issue. Franklin D. Raines, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, earlier this week reiterated President Clinton’s threat to veto the disaster relief bill.

Democrats said that the “no-shutdown” provision would allow for budget negotiations to drag on without an imperative for lawmakers to reach compromise, thereby reducing White House clout in such talks. “Essentially, this is a move to take the president out of any future budget talks,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).

Despite days of behind-the-scenes negotiations aimed at finding compromise to the “no-shutdown” provision, Democrats conceded that they could not stop the GOP majority from voting to retain it. The vote on keeping it in the bill strictly followed the party breakdown in the Senate, 55 to 45.

Although the overall bill then passed overwhelmingly, Feinstein said that Democratic leaders are confident they can hold on to at least 37 votes opposing the bill, which would sustain a presidential veto. “But I hope it doesn’t get down to a game of chicken because the [relief] money is greatly needed,” she added. “There’s still an opportunity for [the provision] to come out of the bill.” Republicans stressed that the controversy would have no impact on the current flow of aid to disaster victims. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) said that the government is already providing assistance and that the legislation is needed to replace money spent to help disaster victims.