White House decries GOP civilian spending cuts

The White House Tuesday accused Republicans of seeking to gut most domestic discretionary spending by 10 percent-charging that the emerging GOP fiscal 2001 budget resolution would force unsustainable cuts in spending on health care, the environment, science and technology and law enforcement.

Speaking Tuesday with a small group of reporters, White House National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling and Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew said the GOP plan would slash domestic spending by $24 billion. This would total 10 percent of all domestic discretionary programs, excluding those Republicans have pledged to "protect," such as education, funding for the National Institutes of Health and Veterans Affairs medical care.

Lew said "protect" would mean funding these programs at the level requested by President Clinton. In a letter Tuesday to House Budget Chairman John Kasich, R-Ohio, White House Chief of Staff John Podesta fleshed out the White House attack. The letter said Republicans would force the FBI to shed 1,100 agents, cause the loss of 2,000 air traffic controllers, and end funding for 25 ongoing Superfund cleanups and all 15 new ones.

Sperling tagged the GOP budget a "political decision" designed to make room for a large tax cut, while charging it was a less principled document than past GOP attempts to cut wasteful spending. He said House Republicans already had passed an untenable tax cut of nearly $450 billion over 10 years and demanded that the GOP clarify this year's total tax picture. But he refused to rule out accepting-even before all GOP tax initiatives are known-a cut that falls within a "fiscally responsible framework," noting that the White House and Republicans are seeking agreement on certain tax plans.

Sperling warned Republicans that they will suffer for this budget in the fall. "It will not be in their interest as they get down to the end of the year and are trying to get of town," he said. Lew complimented Republicans for erasing some "gimmicks" with the pending supplemental appropriations bill, but indicated there remain many issues to be ironed out before Clinton would sign the measure.