Senate Appropriators to Mark Up Supplemental Spending Bill

May 1, 2008

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd may have disrupted Democratic leaders’ plans for the fiscal 2008 war supplemental and slowed their attempts to speed it through both chambers.  The West Virginia Democrat on Wednesday sided with Republican Senate appropriators who had asked for a committee markup of the bill, and announced that he would schedule it for next week. Byrd and the Republicans were trying to head off a Democratic leadership plan that could cut out appropriators in both chambers. Word leaked April 29 of a tentative leadership proposal to send a House-passed bill to the Senate, which would hold floor votes on amendments and then ship the measure back to the House to be cleared. The 13 GOP Senate appropriators had appealed to Byrd in a letter for a markup.

House Democratic leaders still have not formally decided on whether to move the supplemental directly to the floor or whether House Appropriations will get a chance to mark it up. Democratic leaders from both chambers met last night to discuss the supplemental, and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said talks would continue today.  Democratic leaders have considered eliminating committee markups to save time on the bill. The Pentagon has repeatedly said the Army will begin running out of money in June without additional funds. The White House has asked to have the bill by Memorial Day.

A Senate Appropriations markup almost certainly would end in a bill laden with funding for domestic items, and right on track for a veto by President Bush. Byrd said he intends to “addresses some of our critically needed priorities on American soil,” which could frustrate reported efforts by Democratic leaders to strictly limit the amount of domestic funding added to the measure. Byrd described himself as “frankly amazed” with Bush’s repeated threat to veto the bill if it exceeds the $108 billion he requested. Bush should spend his last few months in office asserting “his role as president of the United States instead of being chief cheerleader for the rebuilding of Iraq,” he said. Byrd may be particularly averse to White House attempts to curb appropriators’ control of federal spending. He reveres the Constitution and among his favorite passages in it is Article 1, Section 9, clause 7: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law.”