Copyright 2000 The National Journal, Inc.
The National Journal
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April 8, 2000
SECTION: CONGRESS; Pg. 1130; Vol. 32, No. 15
LENGTH: 531 words
HEADLINE:
The Sausage Factory: House-Senate Committee Action, April 3-6
BYLINE: National Journal News Service
BODY:
Hot Bills
GAS PRICES
House:
Referred bills to cut federal gasoline taxes to the Ways
and Means
Committee.
Senate: Passed a budget amendment
opposing gasoline tax
cuts on April 6, 66-34; floor action is pending on S.
2285.
Outlook: Formidable bipartisan opposition will
very
likely scuttle the election-year initiative by Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., to cut fuel taxes by 4.3 cents a
gallon for
the rest of this year and to tap the budget surplus to
pay for highway
projects. The plan failed a key test vote in the
Senate's budget debate, and
its endorsement by House leaders now
seems lukewarm.
SOCIAL SECURITY EARNINGS LIMIT
House: Approved final version of H.R. 5
on March 28, 419-0.
Senate: Approved H.R. 5 on March
22, 100-0.
Outlook: President Clinton told an
audience on April 4
that he will soon sign the bill, which allows full
Social
Security benefits for people who keep working beyond the current
retirement age of 65.
PATIENTS' RIGHTS
House: Approved a bipartisan patients' rights bill (H.R. 2723) on
Oct.
7, 1999, 275-151, then merged it with an insurance access
bill (H.R. 2990).
Senate: Approved S. 1344 with narrower reforms
favored by
health insurers on July 15, 1999, 53-47.
Outlook: Staff-level talks are now yielding compromises
on access to
obstetricians and specialty care, but big obstacles
remain on such issues as
the patient appeals process and the
scope of the bill. GOP leaders remain
committed to finishing work
by late April.
FEDERAL BUDGET
House: Approved H.Con.Res. 290 on March 24, 211-207.
Senate: Began debating S.Con.Res. 101 on April 4.
Outlook: Lawmakers will be hard-pressed to get a
joint
budget resolution passed by an April 15 deadline. Democrats will
keep pushing domestic spending priorities over tax cuts, as
Republican
appropriators demand more flexibility in drafting the
spending bills.
MARRIAGE PENALTY TAX RELIEF
House: Approved H.R.
6 on Feb. 10, 268-158.
Senate: Finance Committee
filed S. 2346 with the Senate
on April 4.
Outlook: Senate Republicans intend to pass by April 14 a
bill that's
more generous than the House bill, despite the
President's threat to veto
anything as large as the House bill.
But the Senate bill must survive a
barrage of likely Democratic
amendments, including attempts to scale back
the legislation's
cost and to provide tax breaks for child care and college.
MINIMUM-WAGE INCREASE
House: Approved H.R. 3846
on March 9, 282-143, then attached it
to a small-business tax cut bill (H.R.
3081).
Senate: Approved amended version of H.R. 833
on Feb. 2,
83-14.
Outlook: House Republicans
sweetened a tax cut bill by
adding a $ 1 minimum-wage increase over two
years, while the
Senate mixed small-business tax relief and a three-year
wage hike
with bankruptcy reform legislation. Senators are trying to
untangle the issues, but seem quite unlikely to satisfy White
House
demands that they separate tax cuts from the wage increase.
LOAD-DATE: April 19, 2000 
