WASHINGTON DIGEST: House, Senate panel seeks compromise on appropriations bill

WASHINGTON -- The House and Senate, for the first time in nearly two years, reached the final stage of negotiations for an annual appropriations bill.

The Senate last week agreed to provide about $128 billion to fund the departments of agriculture, justice, commerce, transportation and housing and urban development over the 2012 fiscal year. The amount is about $5 billion more than what the House has supported.

The Senate voted 69-30 to approve the multi-agency spending bill.

Opponents said the bill would increase spending by about $10 billion, adding to the national deficit.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., voted for the bill. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., voted against it.

After the Senate vote, the House unanimously agreed to a conference committee where a panel of 18 senators and 20 representatives will hash out a compromise.

The conferees plan to have a compromise ready before Nov. 18 to avoid a potential government shutdown.

After agreeing to go to conference, the House voted 265-160 to have their negotiators support Senate-proposed spending levels for community policing and disaster relief.

Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., who made the motion, said the Senate version would provide an additional $1.76 billion to put nearly 60,000 construction workers on the job in 37 states repairing roads and bridges damaged by floods, tornados and other natural disasters.

And the Senate version would provide $200 million to support local communities hiring or rehiring about 1,500 police officers, he said.

None of the opponents spoke against the motion, but the Community Oriented Policing Services program has been criticized in the past because municipalities may not be able to keep the police on the payroll when the federal funds dry up.

Reps. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and Joe Heck, R-Nev., supported the motion. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., voted against it.

JOBS BILLS BLOCK IN SENATE

Senate Republicans blocked another piece of President Barack Obama's jobs package, rejecting $60 billion in funding for roads and other infra­structure projects that would be paid for by raising taxes on high-income earners.

The Senate, by a vote of 51-49, fell nine votes shy of the 60 needed to move forward with the bill. Republicans objected to the 0.7 percent surtax on income over $1 million that Democrats proposed to pay for the program.

Reid voted for the bill. Heller voted against it.

Senate Republicans offered an alternative that would have maintained spending on roads and bridges for the next two years but tied passage to rolling back a number of federal regulations.

The Senate again failed to move forward with the bill by a vote of 47-53.

Heller voted for the GOP bill. Reid voted against it.

SMALL BUSINESS AID PASSES HOUSE

The House approved legislation last week aimed at helping entrepreneurs get startup money.

Passing 407-17, the bill would allow private companies to raise as much as $2 million in capital by soliciting investors on the Internet. Individuals could invest no more than $10,000.

Amodei, Heck and Berkley voted for the bill.

During debate, the House voted 234-190 against an amendment that would have required private companies to disclose to potential investors any contracts with executives providing "golden parachutes."

Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., who offered the amendment, said investors should know about these compensation packages to ensure that potential profits extend to investors and not just to executives.

Opponents said the amendment was at cross purposes to the bill, imposing stiffer regulations on private companies regarding compensation packages that is required of public companies.

Berkley voted for the amendment. Amodei and Heck voted against it.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Peter Urban at purban @stephensmedia.com or at 202-783-1760.