Senate Starts Debate on Labor-HHS-Education Bill

The Senate finally began debating the fiscal year 2008 (FY08) Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill three weeks ago. Congressional leaders hope that this bill, which is the largest domestic spending bill, will be the first they send to the President. Senate Majority Leader harry Reid (D-NV) hopes to bring the bill to a vote by next Tuesday, and expects a speedy conference with the House. Appropriators are hoping to have the bill, which would provide $149.9 billion in discretionary spending for the U.S. departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, to the President by November 1.

On Wednesday, October 17, and Thursday, October 18 the Senate passed a number of amendments, including one from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) to provide an annual report card for the Department of Education. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) passed two amendments to express the sense of the Senate regarding science teaching and assessment and to provide funds for partnership grants for teacher preparation under Title II of the Higher Education Act. Meanwhile, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) is trying to gain support for an amendment that will add an additional $25 million to career and technical education funding. The money would come from the U.S. Department of Education’s administrative funds, a tactic the House used to shift money around to various programs in its own version of the bill. It remains to be seen if such movement will make it through conference.

The Labor-HHS-Education bill is being fast-tracked for political reasons, as opposed to actual policy concerns. Following the President’s veto of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program reauthorization bill, Congressional leaders want to send the nation’s largest domestic spending bill to the President, knowing full well he will veto the bill as it currently stands. As such, Congress can still pass a large, veto-proof omnibus appropriations bill, but will likely use the veto of the SCHIP and Labor-HHS-Education bills to try and paint the President, and his Republican supporters in Congress, as cold and unconcerned with domestic policy. However, the version Congress sends to the President may still closely resemble whatever is added as part of the omnibus, so the spending priorities that make it through conference will likely make it into the final package.

Resources:
Kelsey Lamb, “Reid Sets Vote on Labor-HHS for Next Week; Chamber Approves Several Amendments,” Congress Now, October 18, 2007.
Chris Dally and Greg Vadala, “The Week Ahead: Appropriations on Deck in Senate, as House Takes Up Sovereignty and Discrimination,” CQ Today, October 18, 2007.
Author: SAS