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Senate passes last spending bill under a veto threat
November 2, 1999 WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed the final fiscal 2000 spending bill Tuesday, but President Bill Clinton called the bill "flawed" and promised to veto the bill because it would allow federal funds to be used for private school vouchers. The $314 billion bill finances education, health and labor programs. Once Clinton vetoes the bill, the White House and Congress will begin serious budget negotiations intended to lead to a final budget deal. Clinton, in Norway for Mideast peace talks, said the measure was "a deeply flawed spending bill" and pledged to veto it. "This bill is a catalog of missed opportunities, misguided priorities and mindless cuts," he said. "It forces America's schoolchildren to pay the price for Congress' failure to make responsible choices. I will not let it become law." The bill barely passed the Senate on a mostly party-line 49-48 vote -- and that slim victory came only after Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska) switched his vote from "no" to "yes" minutes before the roll call ended. GOP aides said that if needed, other senators would have switched their votes to pass the bill and avoid what would have been an embarrassing setback for Republicans. GOP leaders pushed hard for Senate passage of the bill, which allowed them to claim they completed all 13 spending bills for fiscal 2000 -- though that completion comes 32 days after the beginning of the new fiscal year. They also claim to have passed the bills without dipping into Social Security surpluses, despite a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that states the bills would spend $17 billion of the pension system's reserves. "When the bell tolls ... we'll be able to say to senior citizens, 'We didn't touch Social Security,"' said Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee. The president long has threatened to veto the education spending bill, because instead of providing $1.4 billion he wants exclusively for the hiring of new teachers, it contains $1.2 billion that states could use for a variety of educational purposes. Clinton also opposes the GOP's 0.97 percent across-the-board cut included in all 13 spending bills. "This across-the-board cut has nothing to do with ridding ourselves of waste," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota). "This goes to muscle and bone of programs." Some budget talks already are under way. White House budget chief Jack Lew held talked with congressional budget negotiators Monday, and is expected to return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to resume budget bargaining. "There's got to be some compromises," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Young (R-Florida) after two hours of talks Monday. "The president has the veto pen." Five of the 13 spending bills have not yet been enacted -- three were vetoed and two face veto threats -- and GOP leaders would like to finish them by next week. The House also barely passed the education spending bill last week on a near party-line vote of 218-211. During the House debate, Rep. David Obey (D-Wisconsin), a three-decade veteran of budget battles, summed up the budget dance between the president and congressional Republicans. "You've got the votes. Let's pass this turkey, get it on to the president, let him veto it, let's clear the air and then let's really sit down and do business," Obey said. In an Education Department memo released Monday evening, officials said they believe the measure would let the money be used for private school vouchers, a concept the White House, most Democrats and some moderate Republicans oppose. But the memo was not enough to block passage. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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MORE STORIES:Tuesday, November 2, 1999
• Smith named committee chair • Chafee's son named to fill father's Senate seat • GOP front-runner Bush calls for system of 'moral education' • Senate passes last spending bill under a veto threat • Moseley-Braun confirmation hearings postponed • Des Moines Register: Bradley shifts stance on Freedom to Farm Act • Western Republicans criticize Clinton's forest proposal • Republicans question big government lawsuits against industry • House rejects measure for electronic signatures • GOP minimum wage bill draws veto threat • Administration, congressional allies seeking immigration change | |||||||||