1. APPROPRIATIONS:
Senate Interior, supplemental markups canceled, pre-empting showdown on drilling

The Senate Appropriations Committee pulled two spending bills off the markup calendar yesterday in a move Republicans say shows Democrats are running scared on energy. Chairman Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) canceled markups of the Interior appropriations bill and a supplemental spending bill scheduled for today and tomorrow, citing the short congressional work period remaining before the August recess and the current Senate floor debate on oil price speculation. Go to story #1