FY 2004 appropriations unlikely to be completed by the start of the new budget year.

This year it appeared the trains would run on time. Congress vowed to complete the annual appropriations bills with enough time for the president to sign them before the new fiscal year begins on October 1.

Despite those good intentions the appropriations bills are not likely to get done before the new fiscal year starts in a little over a week. In fact, not one appropriations bill has yet been sent to President Bush.

Some of the problem involves Republicans wrestling with each other over spending priorities. With tax cuts and increased spending on the military, lawmakers are having a hard time deciding whether to cut domestic spending or increase the size of the deficit even more. One key sticking point has been how much will be spent on homeland security, with Democrats offering amendments to increase spending that Republicans have voted down. Additionally, there are a variety of "riders," or legislative restrictions that have caused friction between the White House and Congress. Three public issues include using the spending bills to alter the administration's position on OMB's competitive sourcing initiatives, Department of Labor's overtime pay, and FCC's media ownership rules.

House legislators are planning a continuing resolution, perhaps for one month, to fund the government past October 1. Some Republicans have indicated that they are quite satisfied with running the government through continuing resolutions because it would curtail funding increases that are being debated on some appropriations bills. The next few weeks should prove very interesting.