Washington — Republicans on Wednesday overwhelmed Democrats and pushed a $1.94 trillion budget for 2002 through the House, as President Bush's blueprint for tax cuts and curtailed spending cleared its first major congressional hurdle.
The vote was a near party-line 222-205. Though devoid of suspense because of the GOP's thin but unified majority, Republicans hailed their victory as a triumph for their view of government.
President Bush will turn his attention to Senate passage of his tax-cut plan. On Wednesday, the same day the House passed the plan, Bush met with GOP leaders from Capitol Hill at the White House. From left are Sen. Don Nickles, Bush, Speaker Dennis Hastert, and Sen. Strom Thurmond.
"The choice is between two visions," said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Tex. "A vision of bigger and bigger government, a choice between larger and larger taxes or a choice of smaller government that trusts the people."
The House roll call, though, was but a warmup for a rougher test next week in the evenly divided Senate. There, the GOP not only faces near-lockstep Democratic opposition, but some moderate Republicans have said Bush's 10-year, $1.6 trillion tax cut is too big and his proposed spending restraints too stingy. Even so, Bush said the House action made Wednesday "a big day" and said the budget's centerpiece an across-the-board cut in income tax rates would help all Americans.
"We need to cut all rates so that there's certainty in our economy when people plan, and I'm confident we can get this done," he said before meeting with GOP congressional leaders at the White House.
Hoping to claim the economic stimulus argument as their own, House Democrats joined their Senate colleagues and said they wanted a $60 billion tax reduction effective this year. If moved as a separate bill instead of attached to Bush's big tax cuts, as Republicans insist the measure could zip through Congress in a day, Democrats said.
"But they refuse to do it because they have an obsession with a year-old tax plan, like a dog after a bone," House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., said at a news conference, referring to Bush's plan.
Senate Republicans have said they favor a $60 billion tax cut for this year, but have yet to determine all the details. House GOP leaders remain undecided on the size and shape of a package meant to stimulate the economy. A final figure will be set in the final congressional budget, which House-Senate bargainers hope to complete next month.
Besides its tax reduction, the House GOP budget envisions $2.3 trillion in debt reduction over the coming decade, using parts of the Social Security and Medicare surpluses to overhaul both programs, and limiting many programs to 4 percent growth next year. That would be half this year's increase.
Besides drawing Democratic fire, Bush's fiscal plans have prompted calls from some Republicans for deeper tax cuts and added spending for defense, farms and special education. But participants in Wednesday's White House session said that while Bush seemed open to changing details of his budget and tax plan, he was sticking to its basic principles, including the $1.6 trillion tax cut.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., described Bush's message to the lawmakers: "Stay the route. Get this thing done."
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