An earmark Christmas

Congressional negotiators have added scores of new earmarks to a massive 3,565-page spending bill that lawmakers had only a few hours to review before an expected vote Monday evening. Democratic leaders did not make the bill available for public viewing until late on Sunday night.     

In the Homeland Security section alone, lawmakers have added 115 new earmarks worth $117 million total for the benefit of vulnerable Democrats such as Reps. Jim Marshall (Ga.), John Barrow (Ga.), and Nancy Boyda (Kan.). Leaders added $200,000 or more worth of projects for each of those lawmakers.

{mosads}Critics refer to such bills as “Christmas trees” because they are laden with a variety of legislative ornaments and bear plenty of gifts for members. And it seems this December, many in Congress are eager to play the role of Santa to their constituents.

Democratic leaders have also slipped in projects that would have surely drawn opposition if introduced earlier in the appropriations process. One example is $1 million for an energy project requested by Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), who is scheduled to face trial on bribery charges early next year.

Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), an outspoken opponent of earmarks, said dozens of projects in the Homeland Security title have never received any scrutiny. Because they have been added so late, they cannot be challenged individually on the House floor.

“I could have challenged that earmark and debated it,” Flake said of the Jefferson project. “Now I can’t do it.”

Democratic leaders have also deleted controversial policy riders that President Bush and his advisers have promised to veto, making significant concessions to ensure the so-called omnibus becomes law. Otherwise, much of the federal government would have to operate for another year at frozen funding levels, and the thousands of earmarks that lawmakers labored for would remain inert.

The bill fits under the total spending limit of $933 billion set by Bush. Democrats have also added $11.1 billion in emergency spending to the omnibus, pushing the envelope in their contest with Bush by adding $3.7 billion for veterans’ healthcare outside normal budget limits.

Lawmakers have included a Republican amendment adding $3 billion in emergency funds for border security, as well as hundreds of millions in funding for other politically popular causes that Bush could not easily oppose. Lawmakers have slated $200 million in emergency spending to repair the Minneapolis bridge that collapsed in August.

But with Christmas a week away, a spending deal between Congress and Bush remains elusive. White House advisers say Bush will veto the package because it does not include funds for the war in Iraq. It does, however, contain $31 billion for military operations in Afghanistan.

As a result, the fate of the bill lies in the Senate, where Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is planning to offer an amendment that would add $70 billion for Iraq without restrictions such as a timeline for troop withdrawal. It is expected to reach the Senate floor as soon as Tuesday.

Senate Democrats say they are drafting an amendment that would set conditions for the funding, but it is uncertain how many Democrats will support the move, knowing that it could lead to a veto.

Aside from war funds, White House officials have said the spending plan negotiated by Democratic and Republicans leaders in the House and Senate, the four corners of Congress, is acceptable. While the administration still has concerns over some policy provisions, such as a measure that would terminate a review of the Department of Education’s Upward Bound college preparation program, they are not grave enough to prompt veto threats.

Although a deal appears close at hand, Bush could not resist goosing congressional leaders Monday by suggesting a year-long continuing resolution. Such a stop-gap measure would keep many federal agencies at spending levels set in the 2005 appropriations bills.

“If they can’t get the job done, then I’ve got a suggestion for them: Just pass a one-year continuing resolution,” said Bush at a speech in Fredericksburg, Va. “That’s all they’ve got to do.”

Bush also reiterated his demand that Congress approve additional troop funds.

“But they need to fund these troops,” he said. “And they don’t need to be putting [an] artificial timetable for withdrawal on the money that we’re asking [for] to make sure the men and women who courageously serve the United States of America have what it takes to do the job they’ve been asked to do.”

Conservatives have criticized the omnibus for exploiting budgetary rules to add money to the package without it counting against the ceiling set by the president.

The Heritage Foundation estimated that such budget “gimmicks” added $13.2 billion, including $2 billion in advance appropriations in the Labor-Health and Human Services section. Advance appropriations count against next year’s budget limits.

The rest of the sum, including $100 million for the GOP and Democratic presidential nominating conventions, comes in the form in emergency spending.

One Senate Republican aide said it was preposterous to use an emergency designation for the conventions because they were scheduled years in advance.

In total, there are at least 8,983 earmarks worth $7.4 billion in the sprawling bill, according to the Taxpayers for Common Sense. But one Senate GOP aide estimated there are more than 9,200 earmarks.

Senate and House negotiators added 38 new earmarks worth $29 million in the Energy and Water section of the bill funding the Army Corps of Engineers, according to an analysis by The Hill. They added five earmarks worth $1 million to the portion funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.

One House Democratic source said that there is 40 percent less funding for earmarks this year compared to 2005, when Republicans controlled Congress. Spending watchdog groups also say there are fewer earmarks than in the past.  

Special interests also scored some victories in the omnibus bill. Companies contracted by the IRS to collect overdue taxes won their yearlong battle with the Treasury employees’ union when language that would have effectively killed the private debt-collection program was stripped from the legislation.

In its place, appropriators earmarked $7 million for the IRS to hire more collectors. Lobbyists had already thwarted two attempts in the House to kill the program.

Arie Dekker, Jessica Holzer, and Manu Raju contributed to this report.