With the clock ticking on the April 15 statutory deadline for Congress to pass a budget resolution, charting a course for hammering out balanced budget plan, with or without tax cuts, is the top item on the agenda for congressional leaders as they return to Washington this week.
On the House side, Speaker Newt Gingrich returns energized from his widely publicized Asian trip, looking to build on the momentum he gathered with his tough talk abroad by plunging into the debate on tax cuts and how to balance the budget.
A GOP leadership aide contended that Gingrich's recent comments on deferring tax cuts until a separate balanced budget blueprint is passed were misconstrued, and that Gingrich expected to clarify his intentions in an address this evening to GOPAC, the political action committee he once headed.
According to the aide, the speaker's comments reflected a "change in strategy, not a change in philosophy," and that Gingrich is "more committed to tax cuts than ever." The idea of separating tax cuts from the budget plan, the aide said, represents "a strategic option for achieving a tax cut" that will be evaluated by the House leadership.
Prior to leaving for the far East last month, Gingrich said on the House floor he believed that tackling Medicare first would be the most effective approach, and the aide said that "is still a strong possibility," although no decisions have been made.
The House will kick off a seven-week period of continuous sessions with debate Thursday on legislation to ban the use of federal funds for doctor-assisted suicide; next week, as the April 15 tax filing deadline rolls around, the House will take up bills to make it unlawful for IRS employees to go through people's files and a constitutional amendment to require a super- majority to raise taxes.
On the Senate side, an aide to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said that with respect with the budget, Lott is "ready to move with or without administration participation at this point; the door is always open, but we've waited quite a while without any offering beyond the political budget they sent down."
The aide added, "We have options and [Lott] intends to move a vehicle so we can get to the appropriations process."
House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-Texas, has said the House and Senate are likely to consider budget resolutions during the first two weeks of May, and a key Senate aide said last week that senators want to see if a deal can be reached before beginning work on a resolution.
Of tax cuts, the Lott aide said, "We will have a tax bill this year in the Senate, there are several ways it can be done, and hopefully it will be sooner rather than later."
The aide said tax cuts could come "either as part of the budget or as separate legislation, preferably as part of the budget agreement."
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