Feuds among party factions scuttled a $2.8 trillion Republican budget blueprint for the upcoming year, just hours after debate opened Thursday. Opposition to the plan among moderates and a power struggle between a faction of conservatives and the Appropriations Committee led GOP leaders to pull the measure from the floor, though they hope to revive it when the House returns from a two-week recess.
Republican leaders tried to mend the rifts, but rival factions dug in stubbornly Thursday, battling over domestic spending, procedures for passing disaster aid and earmark "reform." Efforts to extend tax cuts on dividends and capital gains for two years were also stymied. Failure to pass a budget would embarrass the newly overhauled House GOP leadership, which is trying to show voters that it's cracking down on spending.
The budget resolution is a nonbinding blueprint that establishes lawmakers' tax and spending priorities. It sets the outlines for subsequent bills that cut or raise taxes and spending. With Republicans anticipating a mostly stand-pat year — with no major tax cuts on the agenda and efforts to cut benefit programs iffy at best — passing a budget plan isn't critical.
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Republican unity was essential to passing the plan, since no House Democrats were expected to back it. The plan endorses Bush's call for a 7 percent increase in the core defense budget — which doesn't include Iraq war costs — for next year. That increase comes at the expense of domestic programs like education, health research and grants to local governments and relief agencies.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060406/ap_on_go_co/congress_budget_5
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