Mark Hatfield: “Basically, this is where we are. Seven months into the fiscal year we are completing 5 of the 13 appropriations bills…”

“Basically, this is where we are. Seven months into the fiscal year we are completing 5 of the 13 appropriations bills, totalling $162 billion in nondefense discretionary funds. This covers the Labor-HHS, Commerce, State, Justice, HUD and related agencies, Interior, and the District of Columbia. I want to say that we have accomplished this by a very strong bipartisan effort on the part of both the House and the Senate and the White House. Leon Panetta, representing the White House, and David Obey and Chairman Livingston from the House, Senator Byrd and myself from the Senate were the five principals, with staff assisting us, and we resolved seven riders relating to environmental issues and to the other riders that were very controversial: population control, HIV, repeal of the military, and the abortion package relating to certification. We had the opportunity to engage in having the administration and executive branch help offset the add-backs that were requested by the administration. We added $4.2 billion totally offset the $8 billion that they had asked for as add-backs.”