House approves big spending package
Senate vote on final passage expected in late January
From Ted Barrett
CNN Washington Bureau
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House Monday narrowly approved an overdue catch-all government funding bill loaded with controversial spending and policy provisions.
The measure now goes to the Senate, where a vote on final passage is expected in late January when senators return from recess.
The vote was 242-176.
A handful of conservative Republicans, angry at what they described as massive pork barrel spending in the $820 billion bill, joined Democrats in voting against it.
Democrats opposed various Bush administration priorities in the bill -- including one that would change the number of workers who are eligible for overtime pay and another that would allow media companies to own more television stations.
"It's inexcusable, " complained conservative Republican Jeff Flake of Arizona, who said the earmarks violate Republican principles of fiscal management. "We're going to march ourselves right into the minority and we have no one to blame but ourselves."
Despite complaints about pork, the $328 billion in discretionary funding in the bill represents only a 3 percent increase over last year's levels, Republican aides said.
"It is within the budget," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young, R-Florida, in defense of the bill he negotiated. "Anyone who wants to find something to complain about can find it, because it's a big bill. But there is very much in the bill to be proud of. The increase for veterans medical care, for example, is the largest increase ever for that account."
The bill lumps together 2004 spending bills for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, State, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Treasury. It also includes money for foreign operations and the District of Columbia.
Those bills should have been completed by October 1, but the Senate got bogged down in disputes over energy, Medicare and judicial appointments and was not able to clear them. All the affected programs are currently funded by a temporary spending bill that runs through the end of January.
President Bush called congressional leaders Monday morning and urged the Senate to complete the bill before the end of the year. But an aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, said the senator was "not inclined" to call members back to Washington for a vote.
GOP leaders are expected try to pass the bill by unanimous consent Tuesday, but Democrats said they will object to approving the costly bill without a formal vote.
