Both parties view the votes as necessary preludes to negotiations on narrowing the $50 billion gap between cuts the White House and Republican want. Senate majority leader Harry Reid called the GOP reductions “mean-spirited.’’
Facing a federal deficit of $1.6 trillion, the White House and Congress have struggled to produce a long-overdue plan for the ongoing budget year. House Republican leaders are under pressure from activists of the Tea Party movement in their ranks who want significant spending cuts, putting them at odds with Democrats, who control the Senate.
The Democratic plan unveiled by Reid, of Nevada, completely restores money the House GOP cut from education, health, and job training programs. It provides a modest increase for homeland security rather than the 2 percent cut proposed by Republicans. And it softens cuts to housing subsidies and community development grants, while restoring about $5 billion in foreign aid, including help for such allies in the war on terrorism as Afghanistan and Pakistan.
But it is not expected to please the Defense Department. The Pentagon has already complained that the slightly more generous House measure would leave the armed forces without enough money to meet vital military requirements.
Reid promises votes next week on both plans but said he doesn’t expect either measure to win the 60 votes needed to pass.
“Our plan recognizes that we’re not in a competition to determine who can cut the most, without regard for the consequences,’’ Reid said. He said House Republicans’ plan “is based in ideology, ours is based in reality. These are decisions about real money, that solve real problems that affect real lives.’’
Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and a participant in Thursday’s talks with Vice President Joe Biden and congressional leaders, said the Democratic plan merely maintains the status quo. It falls far short of a House-passed GOP bill slashing domestic agencies by 13 percent or more on average.
Obama, Jeb Bush promote education at Fla. school
