zimv20
Jun 30, 2004, 02:31 PM
link (http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/30/congress.budget.ap/)
Republicans split on tax cuts
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 Posted: 2:55 PM EDT (1855 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican hopes of pushing a $2.4 trillion budget through Congress have all but vanished, an election-year embarrassment forced by an angry rift between GOP moderates and conservatives over tax cuts.
Though Republicans control the House and Senate, they almost certainly will fail to complete one of Congress' most basic tasks, raising questions about the GOP's ability to manage its narrow majorities.
Without a budget, Congress can still pass spending bills to keep agencies functioning, and tax cuts, too. But Republicans lose the procedural advantages that make it easier to cut taxes, raise the federal borrowing limit and keep spending bills' costs from swelling.
"This is a battle within the Republican Party about whether deficit reduction or smaller government should be the dominant ideology," said Brian Riedl, budget analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation. Conservatives say cutting taxes will force lawmakers to make government smaller.
"Because the Republican Party is not united on that issue, there are going to be breakdowns," he said.
With war, terrorism and the economy stealing the headlines, few voters are likely to notice whether lawmakers finish a blueprint of their tax and spending goals for the federal budget year that starts October 1.
But it was an emotional fight on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, accused moderate Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, of not understanding sacrifice during wartime, prompting McCain -- the former Vietnam prisoner of war -- to question his party's devotion to reducing deficits.
(more)
Republicans split on tax cuts
Wednesday, June 30, 2004 Posted: 2:55 PM EDT (1855 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Republican hopes of pushing a $2.4 trillion budget through Congress have all but vanished, an election-year embarrassment forced by an angry rift between GOP moderates and conservatives over tax cuts.
Though Republicans control the House and Senate, they almost certainly will fail to complete one of Congress' most basic tasks, raising questions about the GOP's ability to manage its narrow majorities.
Without a budget, Congress can still pass spending bills to keep agencies functioning, and tax cuts, too. But Republicans lose the procedural advantages that make it easier to cut taxes, raise the federal borrowing limit and keep spending bills' costs from swelling.
"This is a battle within the Republican Party about whether deficit reduction or smaller government should be the dominant ideology," said Brian Riedl, budget analyst for the conservative Heritage Foundation. Conservatives say cutting taxes will force lawmakers to make government smaller.
"Because the Republican Party is not united on that issue, there are going to be breakdowns," he said.
With war, terrorism and the economy stealing the headlines, few voters are likely to notice whether lawmakers finish a blueprint of their tax and spending goals for the federal budget year that starts October 1.
But it was an emotional fight on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, accused moderate Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, of not understanding sacrifice during wartime, prompting McCain -- the former Vietnam prisoner of war -- to question his party's devotion to reducing deficits.
(more)
