PERSPECTIVES ON THE FEDERAL BUDGET : Guts, Injustice and a Blow to Bubba : A Congress prepares to vote on the federal deficit-reduction and taxation package, some excerpts from commentary, pro and con:

This is the week we can look through those pin-striped suits on Capitol Hill and know if there are any guts inside.

By week’s end, all members of Congress must vote yes or no on the half-trillion-dollar cut in the federal deficit endorsed by both President Bush and congressional Democratic leaders.

Those in Congress who vote “aye” are casting a courageous vote for lower deficits, a reduced U.S. debt load, lower interest rates and--cross your fingers--one less recession. Those who vote “aye” will be telling us what kind of leaders they are. There is hardly an item in the whole package that promises anything but grief. From top to bottom, the budget rescue plan is packed with tax hikes and benefit cuts. If it doesn’t hit you on the revenue side, it nails you on the program side.

In other words, it’s perfect. Not only does the plan attack the country’s No. 1 economic demon, it exposes those politicians who lack the courage to join in the attack.

Just as members of Congress who vote “yes” this week signal their courage, those who vote “no” tell hometown voters precisely how we ourselves should vote when we spot their names on the ballot Nov. 6.

Oh, those who vote “nay” will have as many rationales as there are colors in the rainbow. Supply-side conservatives will say the budget package isn’t true-blue enough because it doesn’t cut capital-gains taxes enough. Rosy-cheeked liberals will have their own complaints. They’ll say that the plan isn’t democratic enough, that it doesn’t tax the rich enough and that it’s too tough on the middle class and the poor.

But on the left as well as the right, this week’s “no” voters will be conveniently ignoring the central reality of the budget agreement: It’s a compromise. It’s purpose is not to improve federal government but to sustain it. Either Congress cuts the deficit, now heading toward $300 billion a year, or the American economy plunges into a chaos that hurts everyone.