Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2005 | 8:33 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- With the cost of Hurricane Katrina expected to top $200 billion and the war in Iraq grinding on at $5.9 billion a month, congressional lawmakers are grappling with the thorny issue of spending cuts -- and Nevada's delegation is in the middle of the fray.
The House and Senate are to consider several budget options this week. The plans include a controversial proposal for an across-the-board spending reduction.
Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., ridicules that approach as "a nonthinking, Neanderthal way of budgeting."
In both parties, disagreements have sprouted over whether to exempt some spending areas, such as defense, veterans affairs and education. The proposal is aimed at "discretionary" budgets set each year by Congress, as opposed to mandatory spending programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Republican leaders are considering other strategies, including a plan floated in the House last week to eliminate roughly 100 government programs. Another House proposal: Cut $50 billion in mandatory spending programs, including Medicaid.
The Senate this week could act on a $35 billion spending cut, including slicing roughly $10 billion from Medicare and Medicaid.
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., plans to unveil his own spending reduction plan today. He and a "Senate Fiscal Watch Team" that includes six other Republicans, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona have been huddling for several weeks to draft a list of specific spending cuts.
At a press conference last month, Ensign and four of the senators backed a 5 percent across-the-board cut, as well as a two-year delay in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit program. He said the delay would not affect low-income seniors. They also advocated trimming "pork" projects from the $286 billion highway and transit bill approved in August.
"My colleagues and I want to make sure that our compassion for the hurricane victims is matched with a sense of responsibility for the health of our economy and future generations," Ensign said.
Nevada lawmakers agree on one program that could be slashed: the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The House approved $661 million for the dump, and the Senate approved $577 million, but Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada is negotiating to cut it down as much as he can.
Beyond Yucca, opinions diverge. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., has been a longtime supporter of a 1 percent across-the-board cut because it would force programs to curb waste without cutting into benefits, spokeswoman Amy Spanbauer said.
"The goal is to rein in the bureaucracy," Spanbauer said.
Gibbons also supports a possible trim on farm subsidies, which by one estimate could save up to $10 billion. Gibbons also would consider NASA cuts, Spanbauer said.
Unlike Gibbons, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., opposes across-the-board cuts in favor of more targeted waste trims, Porter said. He has introduced a bill to cut duplicative spending. There are three government agencies that inspect frozen pizzas, for example, Porter said.
"There are billions of dollars being wasted in the federal government," he said.
Democrats have said one way to save money is to scrap planned tax cuts, such as a $70 billion cut that would extend certain tax breaks, such as on capital gains. Porter and Gibbons support that tax cut.
Berkley generally opposes the tax cut as well as the $50 billion in cuts proposed by the Republicans, such as a reduction in spending on student loans.
"Why would you give tax cuts to fabulously wealthy people on the backs of college students?" Berkley said.
In the Senate, Reid has said he doesn't want to discuss which programs to slash until GOP leaders postpone tax cuts. Reid aides said that approving a proposed estate tax repeal would cut as much as $750 billion over 10 years from the federal budget.
"If Republicans can find the time and resources to spend billions on tax breaks for special interests, they certainly should be able to find the time and resources to help working Americans, too," Reid said last week.
Benjamin Grove can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or at [email protected].
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