Panel Rejects Bush Budget, Approves Democratic Plan

The House Budget Committee Tuesday approved a Democratic spending plan that rejects President Bush’s proposed reductions in Medicare and veterans’ benefits as well as his bid to lower capital gains taxes.

Even so, the Democratic alternative would make only modest changes in the President’s budget for the year starting Oct. 1 and sticks by the overall $1.45-trillion spending figure that Bush recommended last February.

Republicans on the panel said that there is practically no difference between the Administration’s proposal and the rival plan, put forward by Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Carmel Valley), chairman of the Budget Committee.

But Panetta and his Democratic allies insisted that there are important distinctions in the amount of federal funds earmarked for education, health care and public works.

However, the relatively small changes indicate that Congress will go along with the new spending caps worked out last fall. Lawmakers appear to have little interest in a replay of last year’s marathon budget meetings, which drove a wedge between the White House and conservative Republicans over Bush’s unexpected support for a series of tax increases.

Democrats said that their plan would channel far more money than the President wants to Head Start and children’s immunization programs by allocating less money for the space program than Bush is asking.

The alternative budget drew praise from one Republican on the panel, Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut, who said that he would vote for it on the floor.

“It’s basically the President’s budget with some alterations that make it more urban-friendly,” Shays said just before the panel rejected the Bush budget and approved the Democratic plan in back-to-back voice votes.

But Rep. Bill Gradison (R-Ohio), ranking GOP member of the panel, told his Democratic colleagues: “I honestly believe that your budget is 99 and 44/100% of what the President recommended.”

Added Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield): “What we are dealing with is the difference between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.”

The Democratic plan would shift about $10 billion that the President earmarked for space, science and other programs to social programs, highways and aviation improvements, thus adhering to a ceiling of about $190 billion for domestic discretionary spending.

“The main thrust is to focus on workingmen and -women,” Panetta said. But he acknowledged that the ability to make changes in Bush’s spending plan is sharply limited by ceilings on domestic, defense and international outlays approved in the five-year budget agreement.