Appropriations

A day before the House Republican Steering Committee is set to vote on who will be the next chairman of the House Appropriations committee, House Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Monday announced he is supporting deficit hawk Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) to join the panel.

“I support Congressman Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in his effort to be appointed to serve on the Appropriations Committee, and I join with incoming Majority Leader Cantor in expressing hope that other reform-minded Members of Congress will follow Jeff’s example in seeking appointment to the committee,” Boehner said in a statement.

The move by Boehner could be taken as a sign that House leadership on Tuesday will back one of the more established candidates for chairmen — Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) or Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) — rather than the more outside candidate Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who is favored by Tea Party supporters. While all three have sought earmarks in the past, Kingston has sought the smallest amount of earmarked spending. Putting Flake on the panel could be a balancing move to having Lewis or Rogers as chairman.

The Lewis campaign for the gavel got another boost late Friday when the Justice Department revealed it was no longer investigating Lewis for allegedly using his past position as Appropriations chairman to secure funding for his friend, former congressman Bill Lowery. 

“The DOJ response confirms what I’ve known from day one — that the facts and the truth of this matter will ultimately prevail. I look forward continuing to focus all my efforts on cutting government spending and getting our nation onto a responsible and sustainable fiscal path,” Lewis said in a statement.

The news outraged the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

"Yet again, the Department of Justice has chickened out, and allowed a corrupt politician to get away with deplorable conduct. Rep. Lewis blatantly sold his office and used his powerful perch on the Appropriations Committee to steer millions in earmarks to some of his biggest campaign donors,” Executive Director Melanie Sloan said in a statement.   

The House easily passed on Wednesday a bill to keep federal programs running at current levels through Dec. 18, by a vote of 239-178. 

The bill, which is headed to the Senate, would extend the current continuing resolution (CR)that expires on Friday.

Passing the measure provides Senate and House Democratic leaders with more time to work on a possible omnibus package for fiscal 2011 spending that they hope to complete before they adjourn the 111th Congress by Dec. 18.

House Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) expressed opposition to the CR and any possible omnibus.

"As I have made clear time and time again, I am strongly, unequivocally opposed to any potential omnibus spending bill the Democrat leadership may be planning to bring to the House floor before the end of the year," he said Wednesday. "Likewise, I remain adamantly opposed to extending the CR for the balance of the fiscal year at current spending levels which are, frankly, too darn high."

Two Republicans voted for the temporary measure — Reps. Joseph Cao (La.) and Don Young (Alaska) while eight Democrats voted against it. 

The eight Democrats are Reps. John Adler (N.J.), Bobby Bright (Ala.), Gerry Connolly (Va.), Gabrielle Giffords (Ariz.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Glenn Nye (Va.), Gary Peters (Mich.) and Gene Taylor (Miss.).

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) told the House Republican Steering Committee today that he would target a long list of Democratic pet projects if he is given the gavel of the committee next year.

Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky) also touted his budget cutting plans while at the same time highlighting efforts he has made to get other Republicans elected.

Lewis and Rogers and Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) are running for the position and each made presentations Tuesday afternoon.

The Lewis list, obtained by The Hill, included cutting $20 billion from the Food Stamps program and eliminating the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. He would also eliminate Americorps, and slashing funding for the Clinton police hiring initiative.

Reps. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) took their campaigns to be the next chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to the Tea Party Patriots the day before they were to pitch the House Republican Steering Committee for the post, the group said.

The Monday night conference call with the Patriots, one of a number of Tea Party umbrella organizations, featured hundred of thousands of listeners, the groups said, and 81 percent of the listeners voted afterward for Kingston. Only 15 percent voted for Lewis, who is currently the panel's ranking member.

In a 39-56 vote, members defeated a proposal from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to ban earmarks in the upper chamber.

President Chris Chocola said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) has the best record in terms of avoiding pork-barrel spending.

In an attempt to seal his bid to be the next chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) on Tuesday will tell the Republican Steering Committee that the next Congress must “destroy the spending infrastructure” with tough spending caps, according to a draft copy of his PowerPoint presentation.

Kingston is campaigning for the spot against Appropriations ranking member Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.). The Steering Committee could vote as early as Tuesday on who gets the gavel.

The centerpiece of Kingston’s pitch to the Steering Committee is a proposal to revive the fixed-target budgetary approach taken in the 1980s under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act.

In the presentation, Kingston says he wants to eventually cap federal outlays at 18 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). That is below the draft proposal from the chairmen of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, who this month proposed capping spending at 21 percent of GDP.

As with Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, Kingston’s proposal would automatically reduce funding through a “sequestration period in which OMB would make across‐the-board spending cuts if Congress fails to achieve the spending caps.”

Kingston would go beyond the 1980s law by exempting only the interest on the debt from sequestration, whereas Gramm‐Rudman exempted for many social welfare programs.

Jennifer Hing, a communications director for Lewis, called the leak of the presentation “premature.” The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page praised Kingston’s presentation on Monday.

GOP aides say incoming Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) could wait to the last minute to weigh in with the steering committee.

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday defended the use of earmarks, arguing there are other ways to reduce the deficit. 

Baucus wrote a letter to Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), who had written the senator on Nov. 18 asking for his support of the proposed earmark ban engineered by House and Senate Republicans. 

"The Montanans I talk to want us to support real solutions like infrastructure projects and tax cuts that will bring good-paying jobs to Montana," Baucus wrote. "Not political stunts from party bosses in Washington."

Baucus went on to say that the best way to reduce the deficit is "to help businesses create jobs and let working families keep more of their hard-earned money."

Democrats have not given up on moving an omnibus spending bill in the lame-duck session despite steep odds.

To keep the possibility alive, the House and Senate are expected to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) next week to keep the government running beyond Dec. 3, when the last continuing resolution expires, several staffers said. The shorter resolution would last either one or two weeks.

The idea is to give Democrats and Republicans time to negotiate an omnibus.

“We remain hopeful that a deal can be reached on an omnibus, which is the option Chairman Inouye prefers,” one Senate appropriations aide said, referring to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).