Senate, House try to reach budget deal

Senate and House conferees began yesterday what they expect as “marathon meetings” to hammer out a budget pact acceptable to both chambers by early next year.

They emerged “positive” and “optimistic” at the end of the first day of talks held at the Senate conference room in Capitol Hill hoping to reach later on a compromise on the FY 2001 spending package.

House Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Antonio M. Camacho and Senate Fiscal Affairs Committee chair Edward U. Maratita are leading six lawmakers tasked to come up with a deal in the negotiating table.

They are joined by House Floor Leader Oscar M. Babauta and Rep. Malua T. Peter from the lower house, and Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes and Sen. Joaquin G. Adriano.

The bicameral conference is eyeing piecemeal budget for key departments and agencies, as well as for the Legislature and the judiciary, since both houses already agreed on the appropriation level.

According to Mr. Reyes, they hope to approve the budget set aside for the Public School System, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Public Health, the Washington Representatives Office and several individual programs.

But they are still deadlocked on several administrative provisions of the fiscal budget, other members of the bicameral conference committee said.

Mr. Babauta said they are still laying down on the table their major differences so they can come up with an agreement at the end of the talks.

But he said the House is optimistic of coming to terms with the Senate on several issues, without giving specifics on which provisions or items they would eventually agree.

Likewise, Mr. Adriano said the Senate is hopeful of getting the House’s approval on programs senators want included in the budget bill.

Both Rota and Tinian are pressing at least $1 million for two separate offices of the Marianas Visitors Authority in each of the island municipalities.

Mr. Maratita is also firm in his proposal to earmark $2 million to settle portion of the so-called retroactive salary owed by the government to its 2,000 employees since 1991.

On the other hand, House members have said they would lobby reinstatement of $700,000 taken away by their counterpart to finance lobbying campaign in Washington D.C.

They are also considering an increase in the share of other vital programs, such as public health and public safety, as well as appropriation to increase pay of those employees considered under “frozen steps.”

The bicameral conference followed House’s rejection of the amendments made by the Senate to the budget that showed substantial changes to the proposal it crafted last August.

Estimated spending level for the current fiscal year has reached to $221.66 million, but the upper house cut $10 million from the Executive Branch to fund programs and projects endorsed by the senators.

Differences on how to distribute cash resources of the government have come to mark the budget process in the Legislature in the past few years, mainly due to the decline in revenues and jostling for bigger share that have made it difficult to reach a compromise.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio previously has said he would not step into the fray between the Senate and the House on the budget, but he is likely to reject some appropriation items once the spending measure clears both chambers.