CONGRESS LEAVES BUDGET IN LIMBO.

Byline: Bill Hillburg Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Money for open space in the Santa Monica Mountains, cleaning up the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and hundreds of other local projects was shelved Wednesday as the lame-duck Congress voted to go home, delaying passage of the 2002-03 budget until next year.

Federal outlays put on hold include $13.4 million for cleanup of Rocketdyne's research facility in the Simi Hills, $2.5 million to buy land for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, $30 million to California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Europa Mission, $2.25 million to the city of Glendale for a chromium 6 study and water treatment plant, and $190,000 for the Simi Valley Senior Center.

``You've got government on automatic pilot,'' said Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, after the House approved a continuing resolution that keeps federal funding at 2001-02 budget levels and delays passage of 11 spending bills until the new Congress convenes on Jan. 7.

``You've taken a bunch of under-performers and rewarded them by giving them two months off.''

Under House and Senate rules, hundreds of spending bills - many of which had been approved by committees - must be resubmitted in January.

The original deadline for passing the spending bills was Oct. 1. Since then, the federal government has been operating under a series of stopgap extension bills. The only parts of the new budget in force are two defense spending bills that were recently signed into law by President George W. Bush.

The extended budget impasse will not affect existing federal programs and services, or Congress' scheduled pay raise, from $150,000 to $155,000 a year on Jan. 1.

``The American people deserve better,'' said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, a member of the House Appropriations Committee and a point person for major local federal funding projects.

``Because Congress has failed to pass these important spending bills, the critically needed resources for homeland security will be held hostage.''

Roybal-Allard predicted that most major local projects will be approved next year, but noted that actual payments to local agencies - which many expected by December - could be delayed until next spring.

She noted that large agencies like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could probably handle the delay, but that smaller municipal departments might find themselves struggling when expected payments fail to materialize.

Jim Specht, an aide to Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, the Southern California delegation's leading member of the House Appropriations Committee, said agencies dealing with anti-terrorism projects could be among the hardest hit.

``A lot of cities and their departments have already incurred high costs for overtime,'' he said, ``and are still waiting for the money they need to train and equip special units.''

Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Oxnard, who has won initial passage for a number of Ventura County projects, downplayed the impact of the budget delay.

``The glass is three-quarters full,'' he said. ``We were able to pass the defense spending bills, which account for a lot of jobs in Southern California. And when we get back, I believe we'll be able to move ahead on these other bills because we'll be past the partisan political season.''

But Gary Ruskin, director of the Congressional Accountability Project, a watchdog group founded by activist Ralph Nader, called the delay a disservice to the public.

``It's also a good argument for having a biennial budget covering two years, so Congress can work out these bills on time and also have oversight over spending,'' he said.

In addition to the congressional salary hike, salary increases for federal workers and Social Security recipients also will go through as scheduled. Federal workers will receive raises of 3.1 percent; Social Security benefits, which are tied to inflation, will rise by 1.4 percent.

For the elderly, that Social Security hike will be offset by already approved increases in Medicare fees.

Deductibles for Medicare Part A, which covers stays in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, will rise from $812 to $840 a year, up 3.5 percent. Monthly premiums for Medicare Part B, which helps pay for doctor visits and outpatient care, will increase from $54 to $58.70, an increase of 8.7 percent.

LOCAL PROJECTS

Here is a partial listing of local projects contained in 11 federal budget bills that have been put on hold until the new Congress convenes in January:

--$93 million to upgrade the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles.

--$40.5 million final payment to Metropolitan Transportation Authority for Red Line extension to North Hollywood.

--$15 million to deepen main channel of the Port of Los Angeles.

--$13.4 million for cleanup of Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

--$3.5 million to MTA for new buses.

--$2.5 million to buy land for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

--$2.25 million to city of Glendale for chromium 6 water study and water treatment plant.

--$500,000 pilot project to stem storm water trash outflows on the lower Los Angeles River.

--$500,000 to city of Los Angeles for family violence prevention program.

--$400,000 to hire 12 additional rangers for the California Desert Conservation Area.

--$190,000 to expand the Simi Valley Senior Center.

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LOCAL PROJECTS (see text)