11.   Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., is offering a companion measure in the House.

12.   She was accompanied by San Diego Mayor Susan Golding, and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., who is sponsoring a companion measure in the House.

13.   The Assembly took the opposite approach, debating the companion measures first and saving the budget until the end.

14.   The House approved a companion measure Thursday, and a Senate vote is planned for next Wednesday.

15.   The House last month approved a companion measure that would, among other things, strengthen civil remedies for U.S. citizens whose property was seized by the Castro regime.

16.   The Senate, however, has yet to act on a companion measure.

17.   The tax bill and a companion budget measure that covers most mandatory federal spending, including Medicare and Medicaid, could be unveiled later today or tomorrow.

18.   The Senate Finance Committee approved companion measures last week that would not be so generous to the richest families.

19.   The Senate is debating a companion measure.

20.   There is no companion measure on travel currently before the Senate, the critics noted, and the overall bill faces a presidential veto on unrelated matters.