WASHINGTON-President Clinton signed appropriations legislation Friday to fund the Federal Communications Commission and scores of other government agencies for the rest of fiscal 1996, ending a bloody budget battle between the White House and the GOP-led Congress that caused two partial government shutdowns and Republicans to reluctantly retreat.
The FCC will operate through Sept. 30 at $185.7 million, a compromise between the House’s $175 million appropriation and the $195 million figure settled on by the Senate. The FCC spending level is nearly the same as fiscal 1995.
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the administration’s telecommunications policy arm that resides in the Commerce Department, is funded at $17 million for the next five months. That is about $4 million less than last year’s budget. NTIA’S telecommunications and information infrastructure grant program was halved from $44.9 million to $21.5 million.
For the past seven months, or since the beginning of fiscal 1996 when new budgets were supposed to be in place, the FCC was funded at $175 million in 13 stop-gap spending bills.
While the omnibus 1996 spending bill approved by the House, 399-25, and by the Senate, 88-11, late last week removes the uncertainty for the FCC and scores of other federal agencies, the commission is not apt to be happy with 1996 funding.
The FCC is weighted down with 80 rulemakings to implement the telecommunications reform bill that President Clinton signed Feb. 8., and is poised to move its headquarters across town to The Portals.
Meanwhile, Congress has begun to move forward on 1997 spending. The House Commerce appropriations subcommittee will hold a hearing on the FCC budget May 7. The commission is seeking $223 million for fiscal 1997.
President Clinton, who wants to raise $32 billion from auctions by 2002 ($700 million from 888 toll-free telephone numbers during the next three years to the chagrin of the wireless telecommunications industry), was gracious to Republicans in hailing the budget agreement, but took the opportunity to also take a swipe at them.
“We have shown that we can work together, and that when we do, we can get results that are good for the American people, today and for our future,” said Clinton. “But when the leadership of Congress insists on going it alone, one party alone, we get gridlock, stalemate, vetoes, government shutdowns.”
Republicans claimed victory, too, pointing to the $20 billion saved over 1995 spending levels for the agencies covered under the omnibus spending bill.
“In a situation where we have a liberal president trying to get more spending and trying to get more bureaucracy, it was a remarkable achievement,” House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) told the Associated Press.
Republicans fared just as bad in a separate fight with the White House over a seven-year balanced budget, abandoning that effort to pursue piecemeal legislation.
Left in limbo because of the collapse of balanced budget talks is bipartisan legislation to expand the auction authority of the FCC.
