Dear Mayor,

Yesterday, in our Nation’s Capital, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced an ambitious agenda for the next five weeks, leading up to the week-long Columbus Day recess. At the same time, the Senator acknowledged that Congress will not meet the September 30 Fiscal Year deadline for enacting its 12 regular fiscal 2008 appropriations bills.

The House passed all 12 spending bills before members left town last month. The Senate, on the other hand, has passed only one — the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. No bills have been forwarded to the President for signature.

Senator Reid hopes to see his House complete action this week on two spending bills — Military Construction-Veterans’ Administration (HR 2642) and State-Foreign Operations (HR 2764). He also expects the Senate to adopt a conference report this week on a student loan overhaul bill (HR 2669) that would cut $18 billion from lender subsidies and direct the savings to increased aid for college students. That measure will advance under special budget reconciliation protections that bar filibusters and limit debate.

Reid hopes the Senate can pass the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill (HR 3074) prior to the recess for the Jewish holidays on September 12. He expects action on the Defense spending bill (HR 3222) before the Columbus Day break.

Despite the busy schedule, and as we’ve come to accept, a fiscal 2008 continuing appropriations resolution will be needed to keep the government operating during the early weeks or months of the 2008 fiscal year.

Last week, a White House official announced that President Bush plans to ask Congress for up to $50 billion in additional funding for the war in Iraq. This request would be on top of the $460 billion in the fiscal year 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In addition to responding to requests for additional funds for the war, during the week of September 10, Congressional hearings are scheduled that will feature the top two United States officials in Iraq.  In those hearings, Army General David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker will offer their assessment of the state of the war and the effect of the surge strategy that has been pursued this year. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued its report to Congress. That report concludes that Iraq has failed to meet a majority of the congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress.  

Also, yesterday, the White House again warned Congress to reduce its proposed fiscal 2008 spending, but stopped short of threatening to veto the military construction and veterans’ affairs appropriations measure that exceeds President Bush’s request.

The White House Office of Management and Budget said if Congress exceeds Bush’s request for funding the Veterans Affairs Department without offsetting the increases with reductions in other spending bills, “the president will veto any of the other bills that exceed his request until Congress demonstrates a path to reach the President’s top line of $933 billion.”

The White House is fighting Congressional proposals to spend $23 billion, or 2.5 percent, more than the $933 billion in discretionary spending the administration requested for all 12 regular spending bills.

For more on this, contact Jon Moran at 609-695-3481, ext. 121.

                                                                        Very truly yours,

                                                                        William G. Dressel, Jr.
                                                                        Executive Director