As the details of the legislation become available in the weeks ahead, it will become clear as always which legislators are best at the political gamesmanship that surrounds passage of the budget. One thing is certain. Taxpayers can count on the fact that, rhetoric about fiscal responsibility notwithstanding, the budget will include millions of dollars in questionable pork barrel spending that legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, can tout as proof they are taking care of the folks back home. Lawmakers in the House had only a few hours to examine the final budget bill, and the Senate not much longer. The legislation, which actually merged 10 bills into one, created a foot-high stack of paper that even the fastest speed reader could not possibly digest before voting.
Lawmakers can now go home for the holiday break.
Both Republicans and Democrats will proclaim victories as they position themselves for the 2000 elections. The Government Printing Office plans to begin publishing copies of the budget document sometime this week. Only then will details of the budget package be disclosed and the winners become known. As for the losers, we already know who ll be paying the bill. Inc. Reproduction without permission is strictly forbidden.