Clinton Hails Budget Pact

The compromise grants the president $6.5 billion more than he wanted for domestic spending with $4 billion of that going to education. Speaking at a political rally in Providence, Clinton hailed the accord and praised Republicans for working in a bipartisan fashion. It is good for America because it continues to move us toward a balanced budget while protecting, not violating, our values, he said.

Republican congressional leaders, who last year pushed the government to shut down twice, stressed that the bipartisan accord ensured the government would stay open next week.

But Senate Democrats said they remained sceptical about what they said was the Republicans' midnight conversion and wanted to comb the as-yet-unprinted bill carefully.

 

Senate Minority Leader Tom Dachle (D-South Dakota) said they would not hold it up unnecessarily.

Amendments they might offer include one to guarantee physicians the right to inform patients and to remove abortion restrictions on aid to international family planning agencies.

The massive $450 billion spending bill also includes banking regulatory reform, bolsters savings and loan reserves, sells broadcast airwaves, clamps down on illegal immigration and expands anti-terrorism efforts.

The House of Representatives scheduled a vote on the compromise in a rare Saturday session while the Senate will debate through the weekend and send it to the White House before Monday's midnight deadline. The new fiscal year starts Tuesday, October 1 and without passage of this bill, federal agencies would be forced to close.

The administration had wanted the defence department's budget of $245 billion cut by $3 billion and had asked for $10 billion in extra domestic spending.

Republicans were in a rush to adjourn so they could begin campaigning.

Asked if that meant they gave in to Clinton, House Speaker Newt Gingrich said that wasn't the case but that compromises were made.

One of the lessons we learned is that you have got to find a way to work together to get things through the Senate. You have got to find a way to get the signature of the president if you want to get it done, Gingrich (R-Georgia) said of the compromises they made this year.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, added, If we had the White House, it (the budget) would be different.

A middle-of-night compromise on legislation to impose strict controls on immigration and crack down on illegal aliens cleared the way for agreement on the massive spending bill which funds the largest agencies in the government.

The extra $6.5 billion granted Clinton's request for $4 billion more money for Head Start and other education programmes and raises college student Pell grants to the largest amount in history.

It allows $1.1 billion to fight terrorism, $650 million for fighting fires in Western states, $400 million to aid in recovery from Hurricane Fran, $123 million for troop redeployment in Saudi Arabia and $8.8 billion for the war on illegal drugs.

The extra spending will be paid for with $2.9 billion raised from the sale of cellular communications airwaves, $3.1 billion in higher bank reserves needed to clean-up the last of the savings and loan crisis, and $1 billion from defence.

The more than 2,000 page spending bill - which likely will not be printed before the House votes - pays for the Pentagon, the national parks, education, jobs programmes, environmental protection, law enforcement including Clinton's plan to put 100,000 police on the street by 2000, the White House, foreign aid, health research and a host of other activities.

Congress had approved separately seven of the 13 regular spending bills worth about $150 billion covering housing, energy, water projects, Congress, agriculture, and some other agencies.

Sen. Mark Hatfield, the retiring Republican chairman of the Appropriations Committee, stressed the bipartisan nature of the negotiations. It has been truly the most bipartisan in my memory, the Oregon senator told reporters.