Gephardt Expected to Oppose Budget Accord

In a sign of Democratic divisions over President Clinton’s leadership, House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) is planning to announce his opposition to the bipartisan budget accord in a floor speech today, sources said Monday.

Even Gephardt’s aides do not expect his opposition to derail the deal. But it is symbolic of the growing uneasiness with Clinton’s agenda in the Democratic base--whose banner Gephardt may carry into the presidential primaries against Vice President Al Gore three years from now.

In his speech, sources said, Gephardt will criticize the budget on two fronts. He will argue that it will not meet its goal to balance the budget by 2002 and will denounce its tax provisions as unfairly tilted toward the affluent.

Many liberal Democrats have voiced similar criticisms. But many Democratic centrists have praised the plan on both policy and political grounds. A majority of Democrats on the House Budget Committee voted for it last week when the panel adopted a budget resolution that translated the outlines of the deal into a legislative blueprint for the year’s tax and spending bills.

The budget resolution, which codifies the budget-balancing agreement announced by Clinton and GOP congressional leaders earlier this month, calls for cutting projected spending by $300 billion over five years to balance the budget by 2002. But it makes room for a net $85-billion tax cut, including estate and capital gains tax cuts that Democratic critics complain would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

Gephardt questions whether the budget really will balance, a source close to him said, because it postpones much of the proposed spending cuts until the plan’s last two years. Under the plan, the deficit would increase from $67 billion this year to $90 billion in 1998 and not drop below this year’s level until 2001. Critics worry that the budget will be thrown off course by unexpected changes in the economy.

Despite those complaints, one source close to Gephardt said a majority of House Democrats is expected to vote for the budget today. The package is expected to pass the House with a comfortable majority and the Senate is expected to follow suit later this week.

The Senate Budget Committee approved the agreement Monday on a 17-4 bipartisan vote.

Gephardt’s opposition has greater implications for the long-term evolution of the debate within the Democratic Party. His rebellion marks Gephardt’s continued estrangement from Clinton’s “New Democrat” agenda.

Gephardt is already opposing Clinton’s effort to win expedited “fast-track” negotiating authority to extend the North American Free Trade Agreement to South America.