http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/politics/campaign/09cong.html October 9, 2004 Clashes Over Two Bills Scrap Congressional Plans to Recess By CARL HULSE
WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 - Congressional plans to recess until after the Nov. 2 elections were scuttled Friday when lawmakers clashed at the last minute over tax and spending measures that held political implications for Congressional candidates and the presidential race. While the House moved toward winding up its business, the Senate slowed to a crawl as those unhappy with the final bills threatened to use procedural weapons to keep the chamber in session through the weekend to make their displeasure known. Senate leaders said they had the votes to prevail on the legislation, which includes about $12 billion in disaster aid the White House has sought for storm-battered Florida, but they may not be able to force final votes until at least Sunday. The disputes centered on two bills. One was a tax measure passed by the House that provides a $10 billion buyout for tobacco farmers without imposing new federal regulation on tobacco as the Senate had earlier approved. The other was a Department of Homeland Security spending bill, which lawmakers had hoped to use to pass the storm aid, along with almost $3 billion for farmers suffering through a drought. While the emergency hurricane money was simply added to the federal deficit, the farm aid sought by Midwestern and Western lawmakers was offset with reductions in spending on a farm conservation program, making Senator Tom Harkin, the Iowa Democrat and an originator of the conservation program, furious. "It is not right to treat farmers in one area of the country different than the other," said Mr. Harkin as he explained to his colleagues why they might not be able to leave town as scheduled. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio, were mounting a challenge to the corporate tax bill, delaying its approval because it had been stripped of a plan to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory power over tobacco. Mr. Kennedy canceled his weekend campaign plans and said he was ready to discuss his complaints. "I'm looking forward to talking about some of the children's issues and some of the health-related issues and some of the worker issues," he said. Another problem surfaced Friday over an effort to add a dairy provision endorsed by President Bush in the swing state of Wisconsin to the homeland security bill, a plan that ran into objections from Republicans caught off guard. "We're not here for a cow protection program," said Senator Pete V. Domenici, Republican of New Mexico. "We're here to protect America." Democrats promised to use the issue in Wisconsin should Congress fail to take the president's position. The complications over the homeland security bill were causing Congressional leaders to consider adding the disaster money to another measure covering military construction projects. Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, who had hoped to finish up Friday, acknowledged he was frustrated by the delays, but said the Senate would continue meeting until the legislation was finished. "We're going to stay here," he said on the floor, "we're going to complete the nation's business." Congressional negotiators were still trying to work out the final details of the aid package, but given the importance of Florida, House and Senate leaders said they would not break until the money was approved. Despite the opposition, backers of the tax measure were almost certain to prevail since it was packed with popular provisions sought by lawmakers on behalf of local interests. Among them was a plan that would allow residents of states without income taxes to deduct sales taxes from their federal returns. That would help residents of Florida, Texas and Washington, among other states, and lawmakers there were already celebrating the change. It also applies to South Dakota, where Senator Tom Daschle, the Democratic leader, is in a close race. Mr. Daschle and his re-election also figured into the fight over the drought aid. After the Senate approved the aid last month under bipartisan pressure from farm-state senators, it was resisted by some House Republicans and White House officials. They worried that it could be hailed as evidence of the influence of Mr. Daschle, who is being opposed by the former Republican Representative John Thune. Still, the Republicans did not want to hurt Mr. Thune's chances by appearing to block the aid, so they agreed to provide it as long as it was offset by spending cuts in another farm program, drawing the opposition of Mr. Harkin. The tobacco buyout that has come under criticism is at the center of the battle for the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by John Edwards, the Democratic vice-presidential candidate. Both candidates - Representative Richard Burr, the Republican, and Erskine Bowles, the Democrat - have cited their work for the buyout money that would go to growers and a failure to approve it could have repercussions in that race.
