Byron Dorgan: “I am pleased to join the subcommittee chairman, Senator Campbell, in bringing this hybrid bill to the Senate floor. The…”

“I am pleased to join the subcommittee chairman, Senator Campbell, in bringing this hybrid bill to the Senate floor. The process by which we have arrived here today is one which I hope we will not replicate on other appropriations bills for the remainder of the year. I will not belabor the point about the process. It is unfortunate that the Senate was unable to enact its will on this legislation when it initially was reported out of the full Appropriations Committee on July 20. This is not a reflection on the chairman--he produced a bill in a short period of time acting on the instructions he was given. I cannot fault him for this. In fact, I congratulate him for many of the good decisions which were made on the substance of this legislation, but the fact remains that the Senate was not well-served by this process. The conference report before us today provides $15.6 billion in discretionary budget authority for high priority law enforcement, trade enforcement and good government programs. It is approximately $1.1 billion above the level of funding approved by the Appropriations Committee in July. It is also $1.9 billion above last year's enacted level. Yet is remains $900 million below the President's request. This is one of the main problems with the underlying bill. While funds were added for a number of administration priorities, the bill remains deficient in a few areas, primarily regarding IRS staffing and counter-terrorism programs.”