House budget chair's plan will track Bush proposal

Heading into Wednesday's markup of the fiscal 2002 budget resolution, House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, Tuesday said the plan he will present is "reasonable and enforceable" and is one that Congress should be able to stick to or risk crossing the "new sheriff in town... the President."

In an interview with CongressDaily, Nussle claimed congressional authorship of the budget his panel will mark up, which essentially tracks the budget blueprint President Bush presented to Congress last month in its recommendations of $1.62 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years, $661 billion in FY02 discretionary spending authority and $2 trillion in debt reduction over 10 years.

Nussle indicated the chairman's mark could include reconciliation instructions for as many as four tax bills in the House--the same number as in last year's House-passed budget resolution--and that it will call for any increased budget surplus projections to be dedicated to additional tax relief or debt reduction.

For Medicare reform, the FY02 budget resolution will establish a reserve fund of $153 billion over 10 years, using the amount set aside in Bush's budget, and establish a "lockbox" to protect the entire Medicare Part A trust fund surplus.

"We had a lot to say about what was in the budget," Nussle said, because the incoming administration "didn't have the time" to put together a budget without significant advice from congressional budget writers.

Nussle also said, "It's not a deviation to support the President's budget because it's what we've been doing for the last 10 years."

On spending--based on his discussions with appropriators, the leadership and Democratic committee colleagues--Nussle said he was confident that "the budget is reasonable, and therefore enforceable" with presidential vetoes if necessary should spending exceed the amounts set out in the annual, non-binding resolution. "We will see the president involved throughout the budget [process], I believe," Nussle predicted.

One early area for presidential involvement, Nussle observed, would be when the House and Senate go to conference on the budget resolution. Although the Bush budget is expected to sail through markup and House floor votes without significant alteration, the situation is quite different in the Senate, where Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., plans to take the President's budget directly to the floor and "let the Senate work its will."

In the evenly divided Senate, where GOP moderates who are anxious about several elements of Bush's budget hold considerable sway, that process could produce a markedly different budget than what Bush has proposed.

Nevertheless, Nussle was not worried about conferees' ability to produce a final budget plan close to what Bush has called for--not only because he believes the numbers fit and that economic concerns will spur conferees to reach agreement, but because a personal call from the President asking for support can be very powerful for both members and senators to receive.

"I believe the President's power of persuasion here is something that shouldn't be taken lightly," Nussle said.