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Dems Push Spending Increases in House Bills; Bush Threatens Vetoes

Posted on: Friday, 15 June 2007, 06:16 CDT

By Richard Wolf

WASHINGTON -- Democrats and President Bush are engaged in a battle over $22 billion -- less than 1% of the federal budget, but enough to threaten a deadlock over tax-and-spending issues this year.

After 12 years of mostly Republican rule in Congress, Democrats want to boost spending on hundreds of programs -- from tuition assistance to veterans' aid, health research to homeland security.

"We have to back up our promises to the American people with the dollars in this budget," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

The White House and congressional Republicans are determined to stop the increases. Bush, who has vetoed only two bills during his presidency, has threatened vetoes already on two of the first three spending bills to go before the House. His budget director, Rob Portman, says about five more veto threats are likely.

The threats help Bush with conservatives, who have opposed his support for an immigration bill that could help up to 12 million illegal immigrants become citizens.

And on Thursday, House Republicans announced they have 147 votes -- one more than necessary -- to sustain those vetoes if Democrats attempt to override them.

The push-and-pull over such a small part of the budget reflects a combination of impassioned politics and constrained finances. The budget remains nearly $200 billion in the red; both sides want to balance it within the next five years. But most Democrats and Republicans differ greatly on how to do it.

Fighting Democrats on spending "is not just the right thing to do, but it will help Republicans politically," Portman says.

Bush's proposed $2.9 trillion budget for 2008 paid for his priorities -- the war in Iraq and making his tax cuts permanent -- by cutting Medicare and Medicaid and holding other domestic spending below inflation. He's seeking an increase of more than 10% for defense and an even greater boost for veterans and foreign aid. Spending for health, education and environmental programs would decline.

About $933 billion of the budget is subject to annual review by Congress in 12 spending bills. The rest goes to benefit programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which fluctuate based on population and program rules, and interest payments on the debt.

Democrats rewrote Bush's budget in March. In a blueprint that lacks the power of law, they made room to increase spending on popular programs by about $22 billion, to $955 billion, a 2.3% increase. They turned down Bush's proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and called for a broad expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program. They have yet to say how they would pay for it all.

Democrats are now bringing their spending bills up for votes in the House and Senate. The first of 12 came before the House this week; most of the others will be delayed slightly so that lawmakers' pet projects can be added. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its first two bills on Thursday. The spending bills are supposed to be approved by both houses, then reconciled and passed again in time for the Oct. 1 start of the 2008 fiscal year.

Among the programs Democrats are seeking to increase:

*Health care: $645 million more than Bush sought to help the uninsured, $1 billion more for biomedical research and $1.4 billion more to help new parents and prevent unintended pregnancies.

*Education: $1 billion more than the president's request to help states and school districts implement the No Child Left Behind education law, and $3.2 billion more for college grants and loans.

*Energy: $880 million more than Bush budgeted to help low-income Americans heat their homes.

*Environment: Nearly $900million more than Bush wanted for the Environmental Protection Agency, including nearly $600 million for water and sewer projects.

*Housing: $1 billion more than Bush sought for rental aid for low-income, elderly and the disabled.

*Veterans: $2.5 billion more than Bush, a 7% increase, mostly for medical services. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said some of the increases represent "more of a political statement than a reality of need." But with the nation at war in Iraq, Bush is not threatening a veto.

Some liberal advocates say even those increases barely make up for inflation and demonstrate the fiscal shackles imposed by large deficits. "They're fighting over the stuff that is hardly growing at all," said Richard Kogan of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. (c) Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Source: USA TODAY

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