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Drilling Ban Lifted, Automakers Helped In Big Spending Bill

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The Associated Press

Published: September 28, 2008

Updated: 09/28/2008 01:11 am

WASHINGTON - Automakers gained $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans and oil companies won elimination of a long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as the Senate passed a spending bill Saturday.

The 78-12 vote sent the $634 billion measure to President Bush, who was expected to sign it even though it spends more money and contains more pet projects than he would have liked.

The measure is needed to keep the government operating beyond the current budget year, which ends Tuesday. As a result, the legislation is one of the few bills this election year that simply must pass. Bush's signature would mean Congress could avoid a lame-duck session after the Nov. 4 election.

Such a huge bill usually would dominate the end-of-session agenda on Capitol Hill. But it went below the radar screen because attention focused on the congressional bailout of Wall Street.

The measure settles dozens of battles that have brewed for months between the Democrats who run Congress and the White House and its GOP allies.

The administration won approval of the defense budget. Democrats wrested concessions from the White House on $23 billion for disaster-ravaged states, a doubling of low-income heating subsidies and smaller spending items such as $24 million more for food shipments to the elderly.

The loan package for automakers would give them $25 billion in below-market loans.

Republicans made ending the coastal drilling ban a central campaign issue this summer as gasoline topped $4 a gallon, which stoked voter anger and turned public opinion in favor of more exploration.

The action could set the stage for the government to offer leases in some Atlantic federal waters as early as 2011.

Also in the bill is money to avert a shortfall in Pell college aid grants and solve problems in the Women, Infants and Children program delivering healthy food to the poor.

Democrats came under criticism from the GOP for short-circuiting the normal process for a spending bill after it became clear that Republicans would force difficult votes on the drilling ban.

Democrats also wanted to avoid an election-year clash with Bush that would have played out in his favor. They are willing to take their chances that Democrat Barack Obama will be elected president in November and permit increases for scores of programs squeezed by Bush each year.

Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group, discovered 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion. That included 2,025 in the defense portion alone that cost a total of $4.9 billion.

IN THE MONEY

Highlights of the spending bill sent to President Bush on Saturday that would end a freeze on more offshore oil drilling and provide money for federal agencies in the budget year that begins Wednesday.

OFFSHORE DRILLING: Lift quarter-century ban on drilling for oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts but keep in place restrictions on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

TEMPORARY SPENDING: Keep most domestic agencies operating at current levels through March 6 unless Congress separately enacts their budgets.

SECURITY SPENDING: Combine $603 billion for the 2009 budgets for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. Pay for a 3.9 percent raise for military personnel, provide a 10 percent increase for veterans' health programs and boost the homeland security budget by 6 percent.

DISASTER AID: Provide $23 billion in emergency aid for victims of recent hurricanes and of summer floods in the Midwest.

AUTOMAKER LOANS: Provide $25 billion in low-interest federal loans to help Detroit automakers retool factories to produce automobiles that would meet new emission and fuel efficiency standards.

HEATING SUBSIDIES: Double, to $5.1 billion, money for heating and air-conditioning subsidies for the poor.

Source: The Associated Press

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