Congress passes president's budget plan

The vote of 233 to 193 in the House, closely following party lines, demonstrated again the deep ideological divisions, as all Republicans rejected the spending plan, joined by 17 Democrats.

The Senate vote later yesterday afternoon was 53 to 43, also with no Republican support. Newly turned Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania voted no, as he did earlier this month when it initially passed the Senate. Three other Democrats also voted no: Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Robert Byrd of West Virginia, and Evan Bayh of Indiana.

Obama cheered passage of the plan, saying in a statement that it "builds on the steps we've taken over the last 100 days to move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity."

Democratic supporters of the spending plan - which is for the fiscal year 2010, which starts Oct. 1 - called it a big improvement over the economic approach followed by Republicans in recent years. They said the plan would cut the deficit by half within five years after 2010, when it is expected to be $1.2 trillion, swollen by spending on the two-year economic stimulus package. And they said it was more honest than previous budgets and would require Congress to pay for new spending or tax cuts.

"This legislation puts America back on the path to fiscal responsibility," said Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader.

But Representative John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, called the Democratic budget an "audacious move to a big, socialist government in Washington." Republicans said the plan underestimates future deficits - noting the report that the US economy shrank by 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009 - and would shift much of the responsibility for pay those deficits to future generations.

The budget leaves for the months ahead much of the heavy work of fashioning the new policies that the Obama administration is seeking. It opens the door to major overhauls in healthcare, energy, and education but requires that they not add to the deficit. At the same time, the budget does not spell out how to pay for the legislation.

Republicans also objected because the blueprint included a procedural provision that would bar filibusters against a healthcare plan later this year if it meets nominal budget targets. Democrats say they intend to apply that provision only as a last resort if Republicans refuse to negotiate seriously over a healthcare plan. The budget also allows 11 years to pay for any healthcare initiative, which is expected to cost more than $1 trillion over the next decade.

Obama did not get all he wanted in the measure, a nonbinding outline for follow-up tax and spending legislation. Lawmakers in both parties dismissed the administration's plan to raise $318 billion by limiting income tax deductions for wealthier taxpayers. The budget also does not extend a new middle-class tax cut established by the president beyond 2010, unless Congress finds a way to pay for it.