Cord Byrd: “we are about to take up the conference report on the so-called omnibus appropriation measure, which contains funding for…”

“we are about to take up the conference report on the so-called omnibus appropriation measure, which contains funding for Fiscal Year 1999 for the departments and agencies under the jurisdiction of eight Appropriations Subcommittees: Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/State/The Judiciary, the District of Columbia, Foreign Operations, Interior, Labor/Health and Human Services and Education, Transportation, and Treasury and General Government. In addition, this omnibus package contains some $20 billion, which has been designated as an emergency, in a supplemental package for such things as: agriculture disaster assistance--$6 billion; defense, including military readiness, $6.8 billion; hardening of embassies and other security matters--$2 billion; Y2K--$3.25 billion, of which $1.1 billion is for the Department of Defense; war on drugs--$690 million; and various disaster assistance programs, such as FEMA, Community Development Block Grants, and other programs which aid those who have suffered from natural disasters in the past months, such as Hurricane Georges--$1.4 billion. Also included are a substantial number of legislative riders that have been recommended by various members of the House and Senate and have been approved by not only the Appropriations Committees but also the joint leadership and the administration. As if that were not enough, this conference report also includes a $9.2 billion tax package. This omnibus conference report is massive.…”