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Democrats ready to challenge spending cap©New York Times
© St. Petersburg Times, WASHINGTON -- Democrats in Congress headed Wednesday toward a major confrontation with President Bush over tax and spending policy, vowing to defy his threat to veto legislation that provides additional money to counter terrorism in the United States. The Senate Republican leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi, and the speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert of Illinois, sided with the president, who told lawmakers Tuesday that they should wait until next year to review whether more money is needed beyond the $40-billion Congress has already provided. The leaders put pressure on their colleagues, winning support from top Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee who had favored added spending. But Democrats said they welcomed the coming confrontation with Bush as an opportunity to highlight differences between his domestic priorities and theirs. Democrats brushed aside Bush's threat to veto emergency spending that exceeds the $40-billion approved by both houses of Congress on Sept. 14, three days after the terror attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, and before the outbreak of anthrax and other security concerns. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, the House Democratic leader, said: "The $40-billion has all been spoken for. Additional money for homeland security and bioterrorism is urgently needed. If there's anything that is important to people right now, it's their personal safety and security and their economic safety and security." Today, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve a $67-billion package of tax cuts and new spending intended to stimulate the economy, which has been teetering for months on the edge of recession. Democrats plan to take the bill to the Senate floor next week after adding $10-billion to $20-billion -- to hire agents at the FBI, the Customs Service and the Border Patrol; to upgrade the public health system; to purchase smallpox vaccine and antibiotics; and to pay for new food safety and airport security measures. The money also could be used to increase security at nuclear power plants and to inspect ships arriving at American seaports. In addition to that spending, Democrats relished the opportunity to contrast their economic stimulus bill -- which provides jobless benefits and health insurance for the unemployed and immediate tax rebates for low-wage workers -- with a Republican bill passed by the House, which would cut taxes for many large corporations. "The Democratic caucus sides with the people," said Sen. Mark Dayton, D-Minn. "The Republican caucus sides with the privileged, so they can give tax relief to millionaires and billionaires." Senators of both parties predicted Wednesday that the economic stimulus bill would be approved by a party-line vote in the Finance Committee. Sen. James M. Jeffords, independent of Vermont, said he planned to vote with the Democrats. To win his support, the Democrats agreed to pump $6-billion into agriculture programs, not normally viewed as a means of providing quick stimulus to the economy. Lott said the proposals for new spending had proliferated so fast that "it's hard to keep up with all the different suggestions." He circulated a critique of the Democratic bill deriding it as a "special interest grab bag." In the end, Lott said, the president's veto threat will avert the need for a veto. "There won't have to be a veto" because Congress will rein in its impulse to spend more and more, Lott predicted. Under one provision of the Senate Democratic bill, the government would help farmers by purchasing certain commodities that have been selling at low prices in the past two years. Crops eligible for this program include apples, asparagus, blueberries, cauliflower, cranberries, peaches, potatoes, pumpkins and watermelons. Dick Armey of Texas, the House Republican leader, rallied to the president's side, saying: "This country is in the middle of a war. Now is not the time to provoke spending confrontations with our commander in chief." The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, C.W. Bill Young, R-Fla., had previously wanted to increase spending on antiterrorism programs. Wednesday, under pressure from House Republican leaders, Young said he would support Bush's call to limit such spending to $40-billion. But he said other members of his committee would insist on additional money, and Young said he might not have the votes to block those efforts. Hastert said Congress could always provide more money next year. "If there are new needs," he said, "we would move legislation as soon as the need arises." Despite Lott's prediction that no veto would be needed, the president's threat was somewhat risky. Many Republican lawmakers would like to vote for more money for popular antiterrorism efforts. The administration supported the stimulus bill approved by the House, saying that corporate tax cuts would help avert further layoffs and would stimulate an economic recovery by encouraging companies to invest in new equipment and factories. But Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said the House bill would provide a windfall to big companies. Specifically, he said, by retroactively repealing a provision of the tax code known as the alternative minimum tax, the bill would provide $1.4-billion to IBM, $1-billion to Ford, $833-million to General Motors and $671-million to General Electric.
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