The gloom that had increasingly characterized this year's budget debate lifted somewhat Tuesday night, as congressional leaders and White House officials emerged from a top-level White House meeting voicing optimism.
The gathering included President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, House Speaker Denny Hastert, R-Ill., Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas.
Armey in particular was brimming with enthusiasm. "It was a very energetic and, I thought, enthusiastic meeting, full of optimism and commitment within goals that clearly define budget parameters," Armey told reporters. He indicated the fiscal 2000 budget negotiations may be wrapped up by next Tuesday.
Although the next continuing resolution is expected to last through Oct. 29, it appears Tuesday, Oct. 26, has become the latest "deadline" for reaching a political settlement. Gephardt described a "sense of urgency" to get a deal by then. Clinton also will have to decide whether to veto the Defense spending bill that day.
Daschle told CongressDaily that the same group will assemble again next Tuesday if an agreement is not at hand.
Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew was scheduled to travel to Capitol Hill Wednesday to begin meeting with Appropriations subcommittee chairmen to start what both sides clearly hope will be a brisk finale.
But as participants described the basis for their optimism, the questions that remain, even about what was agreed to at the meeting, became apparent.
Republicans insisted that any tobacco tax was dead and buried. House Republicans emphasized the point Tuesday by bringing up a package of tax-and-fee increases proposed by the president, which were voted down 419-0.
White House sources stressed the vote was meaningless because the revenue enhancers were not matched to any of the funding goals articulated by the president.
Democrats and White House officials indicated Clinton's 55- cent per pack proposal was history, but that something less, or some other way to cull funds from the tobacco industry, remains in play.
And the meeting's perhaps most significant understanding, that there will be no attempt to tap the Social Security surplus, begs the question of where the money will come from.
Hastert and other participants spoke enigmatically of new "pay fors."
"We're going to put together offsets to pay for our priorities," a White House official said. He pointed to Clinton proposals to "make polluters pay," such as fees related to Superfund cleanup, that the White House will stress.
There also appeared to be an entente over how to consider the bills. Republicans fear an omnibus package, which they believe creates too much new spending.
"We're willing to sit down with the Republican and the Democratic appropriators on a bill-by-bill basis," White House Chief of Staff John Podesta said, while maintaining that there was agreement in the room to "see where all the pieces are, how they all wind up, so that we can put them together in a more comprehensive way."
"There's not going to be a big summit like you had last year," Lott told CongressDaily. But he nevertheless indicated the bills must be related to each other after they are finished piecemeal.
"You've got to do them one by one before you can do them all," Lott said, adding that there will be intense communication between the two sides stretching through the weekend.
Hastert noted that on education, a key sticking point, there are differing "philosophical" inclinations.
However, Hastert indicated a willingness to consider Clinton's ideas, saying Republicans would work to "find ways to pay for" the president's proposals.
Daschle said there was "good discussion" on another thorny issue, the funding of U.S. arrears to the United Nations.
And Gephardt said Clinton had pushed Republicans to put Social Security solvency on the table.
In a statement issued before the meeting, Clinton called for passage of a "lock box" to wall off the Social Security Trust Fund.
"At a minimum, we should agree on a down payment on reform by passing a Social Security lock box that extends the life of Social Security to about 2050 and pays down the debt by 2015," Clinton said.
With more GOP advertisements reportedly on the way accusing Clinton of wanting to tap the Social Security surplus, White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart appealed for calm.
"It's our hope the Republicans will put the attack ads aside, put the talking points aside, and come down and work in good faith," Lockhart said before Tuesday's meeting.
Lockhart also indicated Clinton would nevertheless "find a way" to sign the Agriculture spending bill in "a prompt and efficient way."