House Anti-Terrorism Plan Hikes Funding

A leading House Republican on Monday proposed spending nearly $30 billion in an anti-terrorism bill, significantly more than President Bush has sought.

The plan by Rep. C.W. “Bill” Young (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is a sign of the mounting pressure on Congress to expand funding for military operations overseas, security programs at home and election-year political priorities.

The proposal also will provide a critical test of how far Bush will go to hold down spending--and how tough he will get with his own party--as the federal budget returns to a deficit.

With committee approval expected as early as Wednesday, the Young plan appears likely to win backing from a large majority in the GOP-led House. What’s more, the amount of spending it proposes could be raised by the Democrat-controlled Senate.

In March, Bush asked for $27.1 billion to fund his war on terrorism in an emergency spending bill for the 2002 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Young’s $29.8-billion counterproposal, 10% more than the Bush request, includes $1.8 billion more for the Pentagon, $500 million more for homeland security and $650 million for an unrelated priority: voting reform. It also includes some spending cuts.

“The committee has developed a good, clean, responsible bill that will enjoy broad bipartisan support,” Young said. “The bill largely reflects the president’s request, with some improvements.”

The willingness by a leading Republican to raise the ante on spending indicates the challenge Bush faces if he intends to contain such efforts. So far, despite protests from fiscal conservatives in his own party, the president has not issued an explicit veto threat aimed at preventing an increase in his anti-terrorism proposal.

A spokeswoman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, Amy Call, said Young’s proposal was under review and would not comment further.

In recent weeks, House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) has said he would prefer to simply approve what Bush asked for--and no more. Armey spokesman Terry Holt said Monday that that is still his position. But Holt said the GOP leadership would seek to gauge the reaction of rank-and-file lawmakers to Young’s plan.

A springtime ritual on Capitol Hill, emergency spending bills have become important legislative vehicles for congressional priorities, and this year’s version is sure to be no exception. House Republican leaders have spoken, for instance, of attaching a controversial provision that would raise the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow. That debt ceiling has been tested in recent months as the Bush administration has scrambled to meet government obligations.

The Young proposal includes money for voting reform, in anticipation of final congressional approval of a landmark bill to overhaul election procedures nationwide. The $650 million would help states get a jump-start on fixing antiquated voting systems before the 2004 elections.

It also includes $1 billion to fix a shortfall in a federal program for college tuition grants to low-income students. In so doing, Young omitted a controversial administration proposal to fill the funding shortage by changing a federal student loan program in a way that could raise interest rates for many students.

Other major provisions in the bill would:

* Grant the Pentagon $15.8 billion for its operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The money would help pay for call-ups of military reservists, training expenses, spare parts, maintenance and other costs. Three MH-47 special operations helicopters destroyed in recent operations would be replaced for $93 million.

* Spend about $5.8 billion on homeland security measures. More money would be spent on the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, federal nuclear facilities and law enforcement. The Immigration and Naturalization Service would receive an additional $25 million to help track immigration violators.

* Give Bush $5.5 billion in aid that he sought to help New York recover from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The appropriations chairman sought to pay for the various increases by cutting $1.5 billion in funds already approved and scaling back some proposed spending. His spokesman declined Monday to elaborate on the cuts.

Young trimmed a Bush request for funding for airport security, a potential area of controversy. The Transportation Security Administration would receive $4 billion under Young’s plan, $400 million less than the administration sought.