Capital Briefs: Leach Sees Panel Voting This Month on SAIF

The House Banking Committee will vote late this month on plans to shore up the thrift deposit insurance fund as part a new balanced budget bill, Chairman Jim Leach said Wednesday.

The vote is likely to be scheduled on July 25 or July 30, according to a committee staffer.

In a memo, Rep. Leach reminded committee members that last year's balanced budget bill also included the thrift fund fix, but was vetoed by President Clinton. Expecting a repeat, Rep. Leach said this bill is unlikely to resolve the lingering debate.

Banks have opposed the fund rescue because it would force the industry to assume the bulk of payments on bonds used to bailout the thrift industry in the late 1980s.

Nevertheless, Republican leaders have instructed the House and Senate banking panels to find $3.6 billion in savings from government programs they oversee to help balance the budget by 2002. A one-time assessment on thrifts to capitalize the Savings Association Insurance Fund would generate $900 million in budget savings over six years, according to congressional estimates.

The rest of the savings are created by changes to government housing programs and the creation of a dollar coin.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Alfonse M. D'Amato has not indicated when he wants to vote on the balanced budget bill.