GOP Moves to Slash Domestic Program Funds

The bill will hew to the tight constraint of $385 billion that President Bush set for domestic spending after the Republicans gained full control of Congress in the midterm elections. As a result, lawmakers from both parties face battles over how to divvy up scarce dollars among their favorite programs.

Among the potential trade-offs: Should the National Institutes of Health get a big boost at the expense of education programs? Should the U.S. Customs Service sacrifice to make room for reforms in election procedures? And should the government scale back parks and public land programs to bolster homeland security?

These and other showdowns neared as the Senate on Thursday cleared for Bush's signature another stopgap funding bill to keep much of the government running through Jan. 31 at levels from the previous fiscal year. It was the sixth such continuing resolution since the fiscal year began Oct. 1.

Of the 13 annual bills that finance the government's discretionary spending, only two, for defense, became law during last year's congressional session. The other 11 died, forcing much of the government to operate on autopilot for at least one-third of fiscal 2003. Democrats protested the ongoing spending freeze.

"Basically, what this reflects is a dramatic cut, a deep, deep cut in the funding for education, a deep cut for homeland security, a deep cut for transportation and research, cuts virtually across the board," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). "We will voice, as strongly as we can, our opposition to these cuts."

But Daschle allowed the stopgap spending bill to clear the Senate without a recorded vote -- saving his fire for larger battles.

Republican leaders plan to cut the Senate Democratic spending blueprint by about $9 billion, according to House Republican aides. For instance, programs proposed for the departments of Commerce, Justice and State would be cut by a total of $2.4 billion, to hit a new target of $41.3 billion. Those planned for Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services would be trimmed by $2.7 billion, to meet a goal of $131.4 billion. Other notable cuts could come in Transportation, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture.