Senate plans to shelve Bush’s stimulus plan

The Washington Post

WASHINGTON — Senate leaders conceded Tuesday they won’t reach an agreement on legislation to bolster the economy and plan to shelve it Wednesday, signaling the tough battle ahead over the president’s just-released budget and economic plans.

President Bush made a plea for economic stimulus legislation in his State of the Union address and he included it in the 2003 budget unveiled on Monday, arguing that the measure provided insurance for a still-weak economy. But, with showdown votes planned for today, Democrats and Republicans said they had no hope of bridging the political divide over the best mix of tax cuts and aid to the unemployed — though a deal may be reached simply to extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks.

As lawmakers digested the details of Bush’s $2.13 trillion budget plan and heard testimony from senior administration officials on Capitol Hill, other parts of the budget plan fared better. Many Democrats quickly supported the president’s call for the biggest boost in military spending in two decades, and the administration won praise for its push to bolster homeland security. The president held a campaign-style event in Pittsburgh to promote his plans to fight bioterrorism.

But Democrats pounced on the administration’s projection of deficits for the rest of Bush’s term, with Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., declaring that history will judge the president "harshly" for "taking us back down the road to deficits and debt."

Still, the collapse of the stimulus plan would help improve the administration’s 2003 budget forecast, turning a projected $80 billion deficit into a $15 billion deficit — and actually producing a surplus in 2004. Moreover, if the economy revives in time for the November elections, GOP strategists said, the administration wouldn’t have to share credit with Democrats but instead could claim last year’s tax-cut was responsible.

Conservative Republicans pressing for a balanced budget said that absent the stimulus deal, a balanced budget was in reach and they would press for one by calling for deeper spending cuts.

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