Senate GOP leadership appears to have settled on a strategy for moving the 12 remaining spending bills for fiscal 2005 before the November election. If the plan is successful, it may well eliminate the need for a post-election "lame duck" session. Democrats have already indicated their desire to slow down this rush to complete the appropriations measures.

The leadership strategy revolves around using the Homeland Security Appropriation bill as a vehicle for an omnibus spending measure that would include all the other appropriations bills, except Defense, which has already been signed into law. The disciplinary tool most valuable to the leadership will be the little-noticed provision in the Defense Appropriation bill that sets in statute spending caps for fiscal 2005. This provision has the same effect as passage of a Budget Resolution, i.e. it allows the leadership to push aside amendments that would cause the total spending in the bill to exceed the caps. In essence, this means that 50 votes are all that will be required to stop amendments. In the absence of this provision, 60 votes would have been needed.

Carrying out this strategy will require the Senate Appropriations Committee to complete mark-up on nine appropriations bills in September. The plan would then be to attach the committee reports to the House-passed Homeland Security bill and bring that to the floor of the Senate. If the Senate passes that omnibus bill, a conference with the House would be in order.

If leaders stick with this plan, the Appropriations Committee will hit the ground running on September 7 when Congress returns. Peyser Associates will be running right alongside.