Senate OKs spending bill

Washington —- The Senate gave final approval to a $410 billion spending bill to fund most of the federal government for the remainder of the year despite strong Republican opposition and several Democratic defections.

The bill, which included thousands of controversial earmarks inserted by members of both parties, was approved on a voice vote after eight Republicans joined 54 Democrats in backing a procedural measure to bring the long and rancorous debate to a close. President Barack Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill despite misgivings about the earmarks included in it.

The legislation —- opposed by both of Georgia’s senators, Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson —- was six months overdue, a victim not only of partisan gridlock at the end of the Bush presidency but also sticker shock. Congress already has approved a $700 billion financial bailout and a $787 billion economic stimulus package. And on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said even more may be needed.

“This has taken far too long,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said before the final vote. The multiple hurdles that had blocked the bill “had been surprising to me,” said Reid. “It’s been difficult. But we’re going to get it done.”

Thousands of earmarks

The bill provides fiscal 2009 funding for nine federal departments, covering all government activities other than defense and homeland security-related agencies, whose funding was approved last fall. Many agencies will see big boosts under the legislation, in some cases 10 percent or more above fiscal 2008 levels.

Dissent over the measure was widespread. Some Republicans waged a vigorous and high-profile battle against 8,500-plus individual spending provisions, known as earmarks, although their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. Other GOP lawmakers objected to generous funding increases in the midst of an economic crisis.

Three Democrats opposed the bill: Sens. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Claire McCaskill of Missouri, both earmark opponents, and Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, who complained about its hefty price tag.

In an important policy shift, the bill includes a loosening of Cuba travel and import restrictions imposed by the Bush administration. The issue proved explosive among supporters of the Cuban trade embargo. The leader of the group, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), voiced strong objections last week on the Senate floor and withdrew his support for the underlying legislation, forcing Reid to delay a final vote from Thursday until Tuesday night.

But Menendez, along with Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), said they were reassured by a letter from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledging that the Cuba provision would be interpreted narrowly.

The bill represents a bonanza for federal agencies that felt a budget squeeze for much of President George W. Bush’s two terms. Mass transit, public housing, the National Institutes of Health, Head Start, and the Pell Grant program are all among the Democratic priorities that will see new federal money flow into their coffers. The Food and Drug Administration will receive nearly $335 million more than it did in fiscal 2008. The supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, will grow by $1.2 billion, a 21 percent jump from the $5.7 billion appropriated last year.

The debate also gave renewed prominence to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chief critic of the bill’s multitude of earmarks. “This evil has grown, and it has grown, and it has grown,” said McCain, who called the earmarking process a “gateway drug” to more egregious, and possibly illegal, forms of influence peddling.

Even more needed?

But as debate unfolded over the past week, Republican members of the Senate Appropriations Committee teamed up with most Democrats to repeatedly reject efforts to remove any earmark from the bill, including items connected to a lobbying firm under federal investigation.

One reason for their solidarity was Pelosi’s announcement that any changes to the bill would render it dead, capping current funding at 2008 levels.

Pelosi’s announcement Tuesday that even more stimulus money may be needed, on top of the more than $1.6 trillion so far approved by Congress, came after she and other top Democrats met with four prominent economists.

“I think another stimulus package is a reasonable probability, given the way things are going,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com.

 Associated Press 
BILLIONS MORE FOR THE BUDGET 
The Senate cleared a $410 billion bill awarding domestic agencies increases averaging about 8 percent for 2009 —- on top of $289 billion doled out by the just-passed economic stimulus bill. 

......................................Budget, .....Percent change, 
Department............................in billions..from fiscal 2008 
Transportation/Housing and Urban Dev....$54.9............13% 
State/Foreign Operations ................36.6............12
Commerce/Justice ........................57.7............11
Agriculture..............................20.5............11
Legislative Branch........................4.4............11
Financial Services ......................22.7 ............9 
Energy and Water ........................33.3 ............8 
Labor/Health/Education..................152.3 ............5 
Interior/Environment ....................27.6 ............4

Note: The spending bill includes nine appropriations bills for Cabinet departments and other agencies that were not passed last year. These agencies are currently funded through today. 
Sources: Congressional Budget Office; U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee