Deficit Concerns May Play a Role

Passage of the Treasury-Postal and other appropriations bills will come against a backdrop of renewed White House pressure to hold down spending levels in order to contain the federal deficit. That could translate into efforts to hold the raise down to the 2.6 percent the Bush administration has recommended. A common compromise in similar situations in the past has been to legislate the higher amount but require agencies to absorb the additional cost-in this case, estimated at $1.5 billion-out of their general overhead accounts. In at least some cases, though, Congress is on track to provide agencies with the money needed to fund a 4.1 percent increase.