As Senate Republicans continue to struggle with a tax cut- Social Security plan, the House and Senate have all but abandoned efforts to reach a budget reconciliation deal that could ease passage of any proposal.
"It's clear that the House feels the need to put a package together," a key Senate GOP aide said Thursday, adding, "If they want to pass their bill, why don't they just pass their bill?"
House Republicans are still discussing the proposal by House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, to enact a $700 billion tax cut and set aside $700 billion for Social Security over the next 10 years. Senate Republicans are talking about a plan that could wall off budget surpluses until Social Security is shored up.
"We're talking," Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said following a meeting today in Majority Leader Trent Lott's office. "We're working, but that's all."
Despite a flurry of activity during the past few days, Senate GOP aides said they do not expect a final plan to be agreed upon until after the August recess. "There are still some issues," one Senate Republican aide said, citing the mechanism for how budget surpluses would be preserved.
Another Senate Republican aide said from political and budget standpoints it is necessary to tie up any budget surplus and make it clear the funds cannot be spent. "It can be protected," the aide said.
Senate Republicans have been discussing as many as four plans. One leading alternative would establish a Social Security preservation and tax cut reserve fund, with all current and projected surpluses going to that account. The legislation would establish a super-majority vote requirement against using the money for anything but Social Security reform. After passage of Social Security reform, the super-majority vote would apply to using the funds for anything but tax cuts or debt reduction.
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