U.S. House of Representatives Seeks To Pass Omnibus 2/2 This Wednesday

The bill will include money for ready-to-go highway construction projects and aid to cash-strapped states so they will not have to lay off teachers, police and other public-sector employee, Hoyer said at his weekly news conference.

The $75 billion cost will be covered by money left over from the government's $700 billion bank bailout, Hoyer said.

The House also plans to extend several federal safety-net programs, such as unemployment insurance and food stamps, to help those struggling with the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, Hoyer said.

The House could pass both measures as early as Wednesday, a Democratic aide said.

The jobs measures that Democrats hope to pass in the crush of year-end legislation are significantly scaled back from what they had discussed earlier, tempered by concerns over spending and how measures will play in the Senate.

Though the economy has begun to recover, voter anxiety remains high and the unemployment rate is expected to stay stubbornly high into next year.

President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats hope to bring down the 10 percent unemployment rate before the November 2010 congressional elections, but do not want to give further ammunition to Republicans who say spending is out of control.

They also must contend with the Senate, which is occupied with an overhaul of the country's health-care system.

SAFETY-NET EXTENSIONS

Democrats aim to extend unemployment benefits by two months, Hoyer said, rather than the six months that were discussed last week. Health-care subsidies for the jobless will get a two-month extension, and food-stamp programs will get an infusion of cash, he said.

Those extensions will be combined with a $630 billion military-spending bill. Considered must-pass legislation, the defense bill could be signed into law by Obama next week.

The money for "shovel ready" infrastructure projects and for cash-strapped states will come up for a vote separately, and the Senate is not expected to take it up until January.

Though bailed-out banks will return $185 billion to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Congress will only be able to use roughly $75 billion of that money due to complex budgeting rules, Hoyer said.

"It's in the neighborhood of $75 billion, less than $75 billion. That, as you know, is the TARP money that is available," Hoyer explained.

That's a much smaller figure than the $200 billion that House Democrats mentioned last week.

Hoyer did not mention two job-creating approaches backed by Obama: boosting lending to small businesses, and creating incentives to make buildings more energy efficient.

Lawmakers also removed roughly $5 billion for conservation programs from the jobs package, a Democratic aide said.

Both the state aid and the infrastructure spending would continue programs started in the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February. Many states warn that their budgets will "fall off a cliff" when the money from that package runs out.

Omnibus Bill 1/2 Clears House - Next Week House & Senate Expected To Move Forward On Remaining Domestic Issues, Including Unemployment Insurance Extensions.

The Senate will consider the package over the weekend, because Republicans are blocking a consent agreement to complete the measure early next week.

"If cloture needs to be invoked, then the Senate will need to be in session this weekend for a Saturday vote and a Sunday vote," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said. While Reid did not bring up the matter and allow the GOP to object, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made clear that would be the end result.

"We expect to be here this weekend, and look forward to it," McConnell said.

Reid argued the package would pass regardless, with the Senate either staying in to let the cloture clock run over the weekend or agreeing to skip those steps and vote Monday. Senate aides said he would likely file cloture Thursday on the omnibus, setting up a Saturday cloture vote and a Sunday vote on passage.

The package includes six fiscal 2010 spending bills, including the $67.9 billion Transportation-HUD bill, the $64.4 Commerce-Justice-Science bill, the $24.2 billion Financial Services bill, the $163.6 billion Labor-HHS bill, the $78 billion Military Construction-VA bill, and the $48.7 billion State-Foreign Operations bill.

The House and Senate are pushing to clear a second spending package before the end of next week, when the current funding extension expires. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House will act early next week on the fiscal 2010 Defense spending bill, with an increase to the statutory debt ceiling and a jobs package attached.

Pelosi indicated that bill will likely be the vehicle to extend unemployment insurance, and COBRA health and food stamp benefits, tax breaks for small businesses -- as well as more federal money to states and localities to try to avoid public employee layoffs. She said there could be an infrastructure component attached as well.

House Appropriations Committee ranking member Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said Republicans would not support the Defense package if it included extraneous provisions. He also blasted the $446.8 billion bill for including a 14 percent increase for domestic programs, while military construction and veterans funding are held to a 5 percent boost.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wisc., countered that most of the increases are for veterans, war costs, infrastructure and health care. During Republican control, he added, omnibus packages were common and domestic programs were ignored.

CONFIRMED: House Vote For Omnibus Bill To Extend Benefits Scheduled This Thursday

The House is expected to take up the first half of a two-part omnibus package this week, which could hitch a ride on the final version of the fiscal 2010 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill, senior House Democratic and Republican aides said Monday.

The package is expected to include five other appropriations bills which have not yet been enacted, excluding the fiscal 2010 Defense spending bill, which will be the focus of the second part of the omnibus.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Monday that extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits could go in either package.

Conferees are expected to meet Tuesday on Transportation-HUD, the aides said, and the package could be voted on by the House Thursday.

There are three bills, not including Defense, that have passed both the House and Senate and are waiting to be reconciled by conferees: the fiscal 2010 Military Construction-VA bill, the fiscal 2010 Transportation-HUD bill, and the fiscal 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science bill.

To date, only five of the 12 annual appropriations bills have been signed into law by President Obama.

A Republican aide suggested the Transportation-HUD bill will likely be the vehicle because it would allow House Appropriations Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., to chair the conference committee, which would give the House a little leverage over the Senate. A Democratic aide would not confirm what the vehicle would be.

If approved by the House, the omnibus would be taken up by the Senate, which could interrupt its healthcare debate because it does not need unanimous consent to consider a conference report.

However, Senate Democratic leaders may need 60 votes to cut off debate on the package and possibly 60 votes to waive a Senate rule that prohibits including items in conference reports that were not in either the Senate or House versions of the bill.

Thirty-five Republican senators, led by Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., sent a letter to Reid warning that if any provisions making changes that support abortion rights are included in the omnibus, the package will face stiff resistance.

"We want to assure you that we are prepared to take full advantage of our rights under Senate rules" to prevent enactment of the abortion-related provisions, the letter states.

One example is a provision in the Financial Services Appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate, which includes the District of Columbia budget, which would eliminate a prohibition on use of local tax funds for abortion, a move opposed by Republicans.

The House is expected to take up the second part of the omnibus next week, which would consist of the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, as well as possibly an increase in the debt limit, jobs creation legislation and other items.

A Republican aide said the second package will not likely be conferenced but instead be ping-ponged between the House and Senate, where one house sends a take-it-or-leave-it package to the other. If the package is changed, it would need to go back to the other house for its approval.

The current continuing resolution funding federal programs not covered by enacted appropriations bill expires Dec. 18. The House could be out of session after that week, which would force the Senate to make the first volley.

It remains unclear whether the House will be in session or not after Dec. 18, as it waits to see if the Senate passes healthcare legislation and whether quick action can be taken to reconcile the different versions and pass the final product.

The ping-pong strategy eliminates motions to recommit the bill, which would otherwise offer the minority a chance to change the package.

Hoyer Monday downplayed Republican criticism that using Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to pay for a jobs bill was trading possible debt for definite debt.
"TARP was designed to try to stabilize and build the economy. We're still trying to accomplish that purpose," said Hoyer.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana said Monday that, "A year later, now [TARP's] going to morph into some sort of a slush fund [for] the next wish list of liberal spending priorities disguised as some sort of stimulus bill."

Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said he is circulating a letter to be delivered to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., -- already signed by Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., Pence, and other Republicans -- "demanding that we not raid TARP funds -- that the statute that was passed 13 months ago, roughly, is adhered to."

Hensarling, the lone congressional Republican on the oversight panel for the TARP program, also said he has introduced legislation to ensure the TARP program does not go beyond Dec. 31. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner must decide before the end of the year if he intends to extend the TARP program through October.