Supplemental -- Hoyer Expects Bill Late Next Week: Amid reports that congressional Democrats haven't settled on a strategy yet regarding the president's $108 billion war spending supplemental request, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told reporters yesterday that the House and Senate could take it up on the floor by the end of next week. "Democratic leaders have repeatedly said that, in the end, US troops in the field will be funded. But expectations are high that finally Congress will be able to extract a significant policy concession for that money." Story. Contracts -- Reg. Change Short of Laggards Bill: A change to the Federal Acquisition Regulation falls short of the requirements of the Contracting and Tax Accountability Act, which passed the House on April 14. The change would require contractors to indicate whether they have been convicted over the past three years of violating any federal criminal tax law or failing to pay any tax. Contractors also would have to certify if they have been notified of an unresolved tax lien or any unsatisfied federal tax delinquency in excess of $3,000. See Federal Register change. Economy -- Per Bush, It's a 'Slowdown', Not a Recession: "We're not in a recession, we're in a slowdown," Bush said at a news conference yesterday. Just a severe slowdown. For example, the National Association of Realtors released March home sales figures yesterday. The totals are down 20 percent from a year ago. See News Release. The president has a policy precription ready: "The key is for Congress not to raise taxes during this period of time and [to] send a signal that they're not going to raise taxes." Story.