House Leaders Let Go Of Many Spending Cuts
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 15) -- In hopes of pulling together enough votes to push the 1999 federal budget through the House Budget Committee next week, Republican leaders are letting go of several spending cuts.
The $1.7 trillion package will call for $100 billion in savings over the next five years. House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich has been pushing for the savings.
The budget is now expected to have a surplus, but the White House has made clear its opposition to additional cuts.
Kasich's measure will not include a long list of reductions he mentioned earlier this week in a document which drew strong opposition from moderates for cutting too much and from conservatives for not cutting enough.
The list included eliminating the Energy Department, reducing spending on public housing, and providing vouchers for education costs directly to parents of disadvantaged students rather than providing those funds to local school systems.
"Unfortunately, the details were making it impossible to build a coalition of
218," said Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.). That's the number of votes needed to pass legislation in the 435-member.
McIntosh and Christina Martin, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said it was a joint decision between House leaders and Kasich to omit the list. But McIntosh did say Gingrich "gently nudged" Kasich.
The Ohio Republican said he still supports his list of cuts and noted the specific details of congressional budgets are only suggestions for later tax and spending bills. Kasich said he would exclude his list to let other committees make independent decisions about budget savings.
"We hope they'll look at our list," he said. "I think we've got good ideas."
Republicans are still pushing for the elimination of the so-called "marriage penalty." Kasich's package will push for $50 billion to $100 billion in tax cuts which Republicans say will be used to eliminate the extra income tax many married couples pay over what they would have paid were they single and filing separately.
It remains unclear if the decision to omit the specific cuts will help in nailing down the needed votes. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.), a moderate leader, said he still believed the package cuts spending too much.
Despite the decision to omit the mention of specific cuts, Democrats accused Republican of setting the groundwork for budget battles like those of 1995 and 1996, which led to shutdowns of the federal government and a popularity drop for the GOP in opinion polls.
Kasich and other Republicans have held that specific GOP cuts would help bring conservative voters to the polls for the November congressional elections.
"It creates a contrast between their ideas and ours," said White House budget director Franklin Raines. "We are perfectly happy to be judged by that contrast."
The Senate approved a fiscal blueprint on April 2. It does not include the additional spending cuts Kasich wants and only has a modest five-year, $30 billion tax reduction.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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