GOP worries Clinton will provoke budget standoff

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bothered by the election-season leverage wielded by President Clinton, Republican leaders expressed worry yesterday that Democrats will try to provoke a year-end budget standoff as Congress rushes to finish its annual spending work.

"I'm concerned the White House wants to create a mess at the end of the session for political purposes," Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) told reporters as lawmakers filtered back to the Capitol after their August recess.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and other Republicans said they would not let such brinksmanship escalate into a federal shutdown, such as two that wounded the GOP in 1995 and 1996.

Even so, Republicans said they believe Democrats will try to grind Congress' work to a crawl to minimize GOP accomplishments, highlight Democratic demands for gun safety and other popular issues and keep Republicans from going home to campaign for re-election.

John Podesta, the White House chief of staff, said "we have no interest" in forcing a closure of federal agencies just before the elections. Indeed, with close races for control of the White House and House and an outside shot at winning a Senate majority, Democrats must be careful to not press their hand too far and risk a public backlash.

With the election so near, "I don't think either side is going to want to rock the boat" with a budget standoff, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said.

But with just two of the 13 spending bills necessary for the coming fiscal year signed into law - covering most defense accounts - Clinton and Democrats are saying little to ease the worries of many Republicans.

With fiscal 2001 beginning Oct. 1, both sides know the GOP will have to yield to most of Clinton's demands for billions in extra domestic and foreign aid spending before remaining bills can be signed and lawmakers can return to their districts. The two sides also have numerous policy differences, such as how to spend extra education dollars that will be provided.

"We are committed to breaking the legislative logjam," Clinton said after discussing legislative strategy at the White House with Democratic leaders yesterday morning. "But we have to move forward with fiscal responsibility, with responsible tax cuts and with public investments that give all our people a chance and fuel our prosperity."

While Clinton's comments generally underlined what Democrats' demands would be, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was more succinct about their strategy.

"We're not going anywhere until we're satisfied," Daschle told reporters.

The 11 incomplete bills cover the budgets of 13 Cabinet level agencies from the Agriculture Department to Veterans' Affairs, plus spending for Congress, the courts and foreign aid.

Though spending legislation will be Congress' chief focus in its remaining five scheduled weeks, lawmakers also will devote time to other items. These include some measures that have virtually no chance of becoming law but will allow one party or the other to make political statements in time for the presidential and congressional elections, now just nine weeks off.

The House plans to vote tomorrow to override Clinton's veto of a bill phasing out estate taxes. That effort and one next week against Clinton's veto of a bill cutting taxes for many married couples are virtually sure to fail but will let Republicans argue that taxes would go down with a Republican in the White House.

Republicans hope, however, to pass tax bills this year expanding the amounts people can contribute to IRAs and 401(k) plans, repealing the 3 percent telephone excise tax and providing $6 billion in tax breaks over five years to spur investment in poor urban and rural areas.

They also hope for small business tax breaks that they have attached to a bill designed to meet Clinton's demand to boost the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage by $1 hourly by Jan. 1, 2002.

Meanwhile, Daschle said Democrats will continue trying to force votes on issues they want to spotlight for the elections, such as increased rights for managed-care patients, gun safety and the minimum wage.