Senate Ends Impasse on Committee Funding

Associated Press

[RCW2001]

Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, January 15, 2003; 9:16 PM

WASHINGTON –– Senate leaders reached agreement Wednesday on how the two parties will divide up committee funding, ending an impasse that had deflected the Senate from its legislative business and clouded the debut of new Majority Leader Bill Frist.

With the deal on committee organization, coming eight days after the 108th Congress opened, committee chairmanships will finally be turned over to the new Republican majority and 11 Senate freshmen will get their promised seats on the 20 Senate committees.

Frist, R-Tenn., said the deal was fair to both sides, and, with it done, the Senate can begin to "accomplish what we are all about, which is to proceed with the nation's business."

The completion of that normally routine housekeeping chore removes a distraction that had postponed hearings still nominally under Democratic chairmen and delayed action on a $385 billion catchall spending bill for the fiscal year starting last Oct. 1. The last Congress failed to act on the legislation to fund non-defense federal agencies.

The dispute made for a contentious start to the new session and its new leader, Frist, with Democrats claiming they were being treated unfairly and Republicans accusing Democrats of ignoring the results of last November's election that put the GOP back in the majority.

There was never a problem with numbers: In the last Congress, Democrats held a one-seat advantage on committees and in this session, Republicans will gain a one-seat edge.

But Democrats said that traditional committee funding ratios, where the minority got as little as one-third of the money going to each committee, was no longer relevant in light of the last Congress when the funds were divided nearly equally.

The 107th Congress began in a 50-50 tie, and the parties agreed to a formula of near parity in seats, funds and space. There were only minor changes in the funding ratio when Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., left the Republicans and shifted power to the Democrats.

Under the agreement outlined in a joint leadership letter, committee budgets will reflect the current ratio of the Senate, where Republicans have 51 seats and the Democrats, with Jeffords, have 49. An additional 10 percent will be given to the Republican chairman of each committee for administrative expenses.

Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said the agreement was "the mirror image of the resolution we passed in the 107th Congress," when Democrats were up by 51-49. "We are very pleased with the outcome of the negotiations." Daschle said he hoped the precedent of committee structures being proportionate to Senate seats would continue in the future.

As in the past, individual committees will still be able to make adjustments in the formula.

© 2003 The Associated Press

[WOSG]

Correct answer: when we have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

[WOSG]

no, even the Dems had the same 10% "slush fund",
at least it sounded that way on Fox (mort kondracke).
he called the current solution "fair".

bah humbug, I want Hillary and Daschle in a cold drafty basement office with nobody to help them implement their Socialist schemes.


DEFUND THE LEFT!!!

[votelife]

your reference to Spectre being the one vote majority on the Judicial, which I DON'T like...

Consider this: Didn't Spectre take a big stand for Clarence Thomase? Spectre seemed with W for Owens and Pickering. Spectre is also up for reelection in '04. Somehow I doubt he wants the prolife activists to turn up the heat on him like they did on Leahy last year.

[BibChr]

Yes, now listen:

On the one hand, Spectre DID take a very bold stand for Thomas and against Hill;

BUT

On the OTHER hand, HE LATER APOLOGIZED for being so hard on Hill!!!

Dan
8^0

[votelife]

I stand corrected. He is not, has never been, and I doubt he will ever be conservative. Just last year he was pushing for research on live human embryos. Give him 8 years and he'll want reasearch on 10 week fetus'

Still, when push comes to shove, he'll support Bush's nominees.

Now, if Toomey can beat him in the primary, then were on to something!

[ImphClinton]

Correct figures. This was determined when the Senate was 50-50 in the last Congress. The Republicans would get the extra 10% when Jeffords switched the Democrats got it.

The Democrats got everything they asked for.

This was a complete cave in as far as I am concerned.

By the way it is actually 51.5 to 49 as Chenny can still break ties. The Democrats would need two seats to take control so we really have an effective two seat majority. No way is this funding fair.