No Tax Hikes: House GOP : Democrats See Hitch in Bush Talks

House Republicans today declared their opposition to any deficit reduction plan that includes new taxes, a position Democrats said will cripple budget talks with President Bush.

The resolution was approved by voice vote at a meeting of the House GOP only hours before congressional leaders met with Bush for what his spokesman said would be an effort by the President to “nudge” the talks forward.

“If they want Republican votes, they’d better come up with a package that Republicans believe in,” said Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.). He said he would rather have the talks collapse than “a deal that excludes House Republicans.”

House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) said the resolution will not undermine the nearly stalled budget talks, but Democrats disagreed.

“To have one party say revenues are off the table would really cripple this negotiation,” said House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.).

White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater downplayed the House Republicans’ vote, which rejects Bush’s reversal on his “no new taxes” pledge. “They don’t need to pass a resolution to make us aware of (their sentiment),” he said.

Rep. Dick Armey (R-Tex.), sponsor of the resolution, and other Republicans said it is aimed at the Democrats and not at the President. It included a clause attacking Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.), who said last week that he would not support a cut in the capital gains tax unless tax rates on the wealthy were increased.

House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.) said the GOP resolution repudiates calls by Bush and Republican leaders for a balanced package of deficit-reduction measures.

“It’s not so much a debate with us as it is with the President and the Republican leadership,” Foley told reporters.

The GOP vote, which participants said carried by a 2-1 margin, left the House minority party in awkward counterpoint to Bush.

“We admire the President, we support the President, but we don’t work for the President,” Edwards said.

Other Republicans downplayed the significance of the vote.

“All it says is Republicans oppose taxes,” said Rep. Bill Frenzel (R-Minn.), one of the budget negotiators. “We’ve always opposed taxes.”

And some Republicans said they opposed the resolution because it limited the President’s options for reaching a budget compromise.

“What comes first is the country, and not just the Republican conference or individual political careers,” said Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.).

On Monday, the White House estimated that the budget gap in fiscal 1991--which starts Oct. 1--will reach $168.8 billion, and tens of billions more if the costs of the savings and loan rescue are counted.

The Gramm-Rudman law sets a shortfall target for next year of $64 billion. The law will trigger automatic spending cuts of more than $100 billion unless a budget pact is reached.

Lawmakers from the two parties have been meeting separately since last week on the deficit.