Gingrich and GOP leadership produce 'grown up' budget

Human Events, Oct 30, 1998 by D'Agostino, Joseph A, Hopkins, Kara, Park, Scott

On Tuesday, October 20-almost three weeks into the new fiscal year-the House of Representatives voted 333 to 95 to pass a massive $520-billion omnibus spending bill, rolling together 8 of the 13 regular federal appropriations measures that Congress had not passed separately in the nine previous months. More Democrats (170) than Republicans (162) voted for the measure that had been put together in a deal with President Clinton. The bill stood 16 inches high, and was 4, 000 pages long.

After the vote, House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R.-Ga.) derided conservatives who opposed the measure as "the perfectionist caucus." Gingrich said that lawmakers "who have grown up and matured in this process understand we have to work together on big issues."

In the Senate, Majority Leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) worked hard to pass the bill without a rollcall vote. But when he was unable to get unanimous consent for a voice vote, a rollcall was taken on Wednesday, October 21. The vote was 65 to 29, with 20 Republicans voting against the deal. Majority Whip Don Nickles (R.-Okla.) broke with the rest of the GOP leadership and opposed the bill.

No New Tax Cuts

Most tax experts weren't able to offer an appraisal of the emergency budget deal's effects on taxation because no one was completely sure what exactly was in the massive bill.

"They did the extenders," said Steve Entin of the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, referring to a $9.2-billion provision that continued some narrowly targeted tax breaks, mainly for business. "There's virtually nothing else in it that's any good for anybody," he said.

"The measure extended some small but useful expiring provisions such as the research and development tax credit and some items affecting trade and foreign financial service income," he said. "It gave a little to the self-employed on their health insurance, and reduced taxes on farmers and ranchers whose income varies a lot year to year."

These minor tax items will do little to strengthen the economy in the face of rising U.S. tax burdens, said Entin.

"This bill gives every American less than $8 a year in tax relief," said Rep. Matt Salmon (R.-Ariz.). "It is a disgrace," said Salmon after voting against the bill.

Some members worry because the bill's full contents are unknown. "[It] may very well contain other harmful provisions that we are not yet aware of," said Rep. Bob Barr (R.-Ga.).

100,000 `New Teachers' And Goals 2000

President Clinton made education the centerpiece of his agenda going into budget negotiations and left with much of his wish list met.

Clinton victories included $1.1 billion for hiring 100,000 new teachers, $260 million for the President's America Reads Challenge to supposedly ensure that all children can read by the end of the third grade, and $871 million to create summer jobs for young people. The White House also won $491 million for the President's Goals 2000 program. $200 million for the 21 st Century Community Learning Program, which provides after-school activities for students, $250 million for teaching job skills to low-income students, and $121 million for the Clinton High Hopes college tuition grant program. Teacher training programs netted another $75 million, and a bipartisan project to make the Internet available to all American schoolchildren was allotted $729 million.

In addition, funding the House had earlier trimmed from Head Start was fully restored, and the proposal to fund vouchers for District of Columbia students was dropped.

No National Testing

Republicans were able to claim victories by blocking a $5-billion school construction program and prevailing in their ban on national standardized testing.

Education advocate Phyllis Schlafly noted that the testing ban was an important gain for conservatives and praised Sen. John Ashcroft (R.-Mo.) and Rep. Bill Goodling (R.-Pa.) for "successfully keeping the ban on national testing in the omnibus bill." With respect to the remaining education provisions in the budget compromise, however, she told HUMAN EVENTS, "It is unfortunate that Bill Clinton was successful in using some of the budget surplus as a payoff to the National Education Association instead of for the tax cuts the American people deserve."

Age Checks for Internet Porn

The budget bill included Congress's second attempt at limiting children's access to pornography via the Internet. The first, the Communications Decency Act (CDA), was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Instead of the broad prohibition on the transmission of "indecent" material in the CDA, the latter provision forbids the transmission of material "harmful to minors" unless Internet websites first obtain proof of age, such as a credit card number. The measure applies only to commercial sites, not websites which offer pornography for free, and includes an exemption for material which has "redeeming social, political, artistic, or scientific value." This means that the anti-pornography statute is similar to anti-pornography laws on the books in most states, and the sponsors hope it survives court challenges.