Dems, GOP Near Deal To End Spending Fight

House leaders neared a deal Wednesday night to break the partisan deadlock over lawmakers' pet spending projects, ending a standoff that has prevented them from considering their annual spending bills.
 
Democratic leaders gave in to Republican demands that lawmakers be allowed to challenge individual member-requested projects from the final version of each appropriations bill, while Republicans agreed to limit debate in order to allow the House to complete its work, leadership aides on either side of the aisle said Wednesday night.
 
The deal would end a bitter impasse between the two parties over the process by which these so-called earmarks are added to bills. The conflict presented Republicans with a political opening to regain some of the credibility they lost on fiscal responsibility during their time in the majority.
 
Republicans had not signed off the compromise, but it appeared likely they would agree to the concession by their Democratic counterparts after slowing the House floor to a standstill, one GOP leadership aide said.
 
Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) brokered the compromise with Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) after huddling with Democratic leaders to discuss the changes Wednesday afternoon.
 
"The Democrats have made significant concessions, but there is no deal," Boehner spokesman Brian Kennedy said. "Our leadership will not sign-off on a deal until they’re certain it provides transparency and accountability consistent with the reforms we enacted last year."

For the second day, the House floor was held hostage Wednesday as GOP members protested a plan by House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) that critics said would limit the ability of legislators to expose and kill pork spending projects. The clash highlighted how the age-old practice of earmarks has arguably -- and somewhat unexpectedly -- become Capitol Hill's most divisive issue after the Iraq war.

Republican outrage over congressional earmarks is newfound: Spending on projects ordered by individual members ballooned over the GOP's 12 years in power and was the subject of intense criticism -- including some from the party's conservative allies -- in last fall's campaign.

But Republicans believe Obey has given them an opening to turn the tables. The acerbic chairman announced recently that he wants to delay action on some 32,000 member-requested projects until the fall. This would mean there would be no debate about the merits of individual projects until after both the House and Senate pass their own versions of annual appropriations bills and begin work on reconciling them for final passage.

Republicans claim that is too late to crack down on abusive spending by challenging specific projects on the House floor. They also said it contradicts pledges by Democrats to increase openness in Congress generally, on earmarks specifically. Critics say the earmarks have become an invitation for improper influence-buying and contributed to a culture of corruption that tarred Republican rule.

The GOP considers the battle a political gift. It allows them to claim a greater commitment to congressional reforms and fiscal responsibility. Just as important, it helps unify a Republican Party deeply divided over the war and immigration.

But Democrats were nearly uniform in recent days in standing behind Obey.

"I am sorry (the Republican minority) had problems with earmarks, but that wasn't my problem," said Democratic freshman Rep. Phil Hare of Illinois. While the issue was a major part of last year's campaign by Democrats to reclaim the House, Hare said his voters care more about funding local needs such as railroad overpasses.

Obey has defended his policy as a practical necessity. He said his staff cannot address each of the more than 30,000 earmark requests members have already filed in time to finish work by the Fourth of July reces.

Republicans are not buying the explanation. "Even if this means us working in the moonlight, we want to bring some sunlight to this process," Republican Conference Chairman Adam Putnam of Florida said about Republicans' drive to reverse the change. "The Obey policy is indefensible."

With neither side showing signs of backing down, the resulting impasse could drastically change the way Congress spends money. Obey has said if an agreement is not reached, he may push simply to eliminate all earmarks in this year's spending bill. That would be a drastic departure from tradition -- one most lawmakers privately dismiss as a practical impossibility for an institution run by politicians devoted to lavishing spending on their home districts and favored causes.

Hoyer huddled with Boehner on the floor to discuss a fix, GOP aides said, but there was no sign of a compromise on Wednesday afternoon as members continued to debate the earmark question against a backdrop of the Homeland Security bill.

Boehner has repeatedly promised to fight until Democrats revert to rules Republicans approved last fall. Those rules required committees to disclose the earmarks individual members request and publish a list of these projects with each bill. But the House approved those changes in September, shortly before punting the remaining spending bills until Democrats took power.

Democrats approved a similar rule at the beginning of this year, but this is the first real test of those changes.

Facing a chorus of criticism from congressional Republicans and relative silence from his own members, Obey promised to publish a list of each earmark in the Congressional Record by the August recess. But GOP lawmakers argue that still won't allow them to challenge individual projects because the rules governing conference reports between the House and Senate are more stringent than those brought to the floor from committees.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) complicated Obey's efforts by including earmarks in his own bills, undermining the House Appropriations chairman's threat to prevent any member from receiving earmarks this year.

Democrats in the House remain supportive of Obey and argued he is only offering a practical solution to something that has vexed committee aides for years.

"Obey persuaded me," said Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) about the necessity for the earmark approach. "He has a limited staff, limited resources. It's a finite amount of time."

"It's frustrating to everyone concerned," said Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.), a co-founder of the centrist Blue Dogs who would still like to see the committee release an entire list of project requests. "You've got a situation where you have 30,000 earmarks filed. You've got a practical problem here."

Even the freshmen who ran on reform last fall backed Obey in this fight.

"A lot of the members of the freshman class were saying, 'Hey, let's keep going. Let's keep going all night,'" Hare said about the debate that stretched past 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. "We're not giving up."

Republicans, meanwhile, are bracing for a lengthy fight.

On Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) told members of the conservative Republican Study Committee that he chairs to bring reading material, newspaper clippings and even video game players to the House floor to entertain themselves during what could be a days-long debate.

"The Republicans are standing in the way of passing legislation that would protect our country and the American people. These delay tactics by some in the Republican party to score political points do not serve the American people," said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

After 10 hours of debate on Tuesday, the House had completed consideration of a single page of the 76-page annual spending ill to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Tensions ran high on both sides of the aisle as Republicans forced seven votes to suspend action on the floor as Tuesday eased into Wednesday.