House GOP sets $50b target for cuts to budget

WASHINGTON -- House Republican leaders are pushing a plan to slice $50 billion from federal programs and enact a 2 percent across-the-board cut to all government accounts under congressional control, as they seek to quell conservative worries over runaway spending in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Though the details will be worked out in the coming weeks, the budget ax is likely to fall heaviest on programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, and federal student loans, with smaller trims to environmental, housing, and education programs. President Bush met with Republican congressional leaders yesterday at the White House to discuss areas where spending can be cut.

But GOP leaders are struggling to get the party's moderate members to sign off on the cuts, and Democrats say they are united against such reductions. House majority whip Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, acknowledged yesterday that he's still trying to gather enough support for the plan to pass, and last night House leaders considered delaying a key vote on budget cuts scheduled for today.

The effort to trim federal spending marks the first time since 1977 that congressional leaders want to reopen the federal budget -- which passed in the spring -- to enact further cuts. It's shaping up as a major test of Republican strength in Congress at a time that the Bush agenda is faltering and Representative Tom DeLay, the influential former majority leader in the House, is facing criminal indictments.

Democrats argue that many of the programs set for cuts are ones that would help destitute hurricane victims. They say Republicans intend to deny aid to the poor while ignoring more pressing issues, such as soaring gas prices and the looming threat posed by the avian flu.

''They are going to cut programs that help the most vulnerable people in America," said Senate Democratic whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois. He added that Republican leaders did not cut the budget to pay for the Iraq war or to cover the cost of tax cuts pushed by Bush.

Despite the problems in lining up support, GOP leaders predicted that their plan will be approved. Republicans will rally and return to the responsible spending habits that helped make them the majority party in Congress a decade ago, said Representative Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican.

''It is that commitment to fiscal discipline that the American people expect from Republican majorities in the House and the Senate," said Pence, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservative members of Congress.

''We're energized and united and dedicated to get this done," said Representative Deborah Pryce, an Ohio Republican who chairs the House Republican Conference. ''It's high time that we get back in control of our spending."

So far, the federal government has allocated about $62 billion to help New Orleans and the Gulf Coast recover from Hurricane Katrina and rebuild, and some members of Congress have said final costs could approach $200 billion. With the federal budget soaring past $300 billion even before Katrina hit, conservatives threatened a revolt against House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert's leadership if he didn't embrace further cuts.

Now, Hastert has called for Republican committee chairmen to produce $50 billion in cuts over five years -- up from the $34.7 billion originally called for in the budget approved by the House and Senate.

Besides the across-the-board reductions to all discretionary programs, Republican leaders have asked the president to propose cuts to allocations Congress has already approved but not yet spent.

Outside groups are gearing up for the budget fight with campaign-style fervor. A coalition of organizations aligned with Democrats is airing radio advertisements urging moderate House Republicans to vote against the cuts. Several conservative groups are rallying on Capitol Hill this morning to press Republicans to join the efforts to find savings in the US budget.

''What they're talking about doing is the very least we could do," said Pat Toomey, president of the conservative Club for Growth. ''If they can't even do that, then it's a very big problem for the party."

Democrats on the House budget committee released an analysis yesterday of the effect of the GOP cuts. They painted a dire portrait: $600 million less for veterans healthcare; a $40 million reduction on top of the $175 million already cut from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and $154 million from environmental programs, including those protecting water supplies and funding cleanups at Superfund sites.

''The message from this budget is, not only is the federal government not going to be there for you, it's going to make matters worse for you and use you as an excuse to give tax cuts to the wealthiest," said House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California.

If the package is passed by the House, it is unlikely to be embraced by the Senate, where leaders have struggled to meet the original $34.7 billion cutting target. In any event, the level of cuts under discussion is too modest to make a dent in the deficit; House leaders have ruled out repealing the Medicare prescription drug benefit, which is set to start next year, as well as the $286.4 billion highway bill passed this summer.

Still, Republican leaders say they see symbolic value in finding a way to pay for Katrina by reducing federal spending.

''We can and will show the American people that we are prudent stewards of taxpayer dollars," said Representative Eric Cantor, a Virginia Republican who is the chief deputy whip.