WASHINGTON — For all the time and speeches it has devoted to deploring the budget deficit, Congress will adjourn for the year without making more than a dent in it.
The Senate is expected to vote today on a package of cuts that have passed the House. But the whole package would trim about $3 for every $1,000 the government would otherwise spend.
In its particulars, the legislation has spawned considerable outrage -- notably over cuts in spending for Medicaid, welfare reform and student loans. The measure barely squeaked through the House. And the Senate vote is considered such a cliffhanger that Republicans and Democrats have gone to extraordinary lengths to maximize their votes.
Vice President Dick Cheney cut short a Middle East trip to be available to cast the decisive vote in case of a tie. Across the aisle, Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, who had been home in Connecticut recuperating from knee surgery, was called back to the Capitol so he could vote against the legislation.
With Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) slamming the package as "a bill Scrooge would love," all 44 Democrats and one independent were expected to oppose it. That means Republicans can afford to lose no more than five votes, and at least five Republicans seemed poised to vote no.
A sixth defection -- by Sen. Norm Coleman of the sugar-beet-producing state of Minnesota -- was headed off when Republican leaders restored $30 million in subsidies for sugar producers.
"Sugar farmers will not face any cuts in this important agreement," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), "and Sen. Coleman will support the ... package."
A testament to how difficult it is to narrow the gaping deficit is that it remains unclear whether Republicans can pass a bill that would trim less than one-half of 1% in projected federal spending.
Spending cuts are rarely popular under the best of circumstances. They are even harder to achieve while also maintaining the tax cuts of President Bush's first four years and dealing with such costly events as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and the cleanups from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In tandem with the spending-cut bill, Congress has prepared legislation to extend some of the temporary tax cuts that it enacted in 2001 and 2003. The spending bill would save $40 billion over the next five years. The tax bill, which Republican congressional leaders hope to bring to a vote early next year, would cost $70 billion.
