And she insisted that Administration decisions were not being made on the basis of cost.

"It is to present its results in time to support an Administration decision on the way forward by August 2009."

The Administration decision to abandon the financing plan was reported today in the Washington Post.

Mr. Nunn said this sequence of events brings a final Administration decision on the treaty to "late spring or early summer."

In recent years the budget director has played an increasing role in developing health policy, as fiscal considerations became increasingly important in Administration decisions.

Yet a plausible case can be made to support an Administration decision to withhold punishment.

The Administration decision as conveyed to the governments involved was that the United States would not accept the protocols "at this time."

The Ambassador was returned to Damascus in September as part of an Administration decision to repair relations.

But a final Administration decision had not yet been made.

In all these cases, Congress gave executive agencies flexibility in administering programs but retained the ability to veto Administration decisions.