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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JakeStraw who wrote (361262)	2/19/2003 1:14:11 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Bush can't even sell his domestic agenda to a Republican Congress. Remember that he is the guy who said he could get it done. Bush domestic agenda takes hits By Laurence McQuillan and William M. Welch, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The White House is working to regain control of its domestic policy agenda after key proposals in President Bush's State of the Union speech took hits from members of his own party. Bush promotes his economic stimulus agenda during remarks at the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va., Wednesday. By J. Scott Applewhite, AP Bush's program, especially proposals for tax cuts and a Medicare overhaul, has foundered since the speech Jan. 28 as Bush has focused on building support for a likely war with Iraq. Critics, including some Republicans in Congress, have complained of a lack of specifics on Medicare and expressed worry about the tax cuts making a growing federal budget deficit worse. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan cautioned Congress against broad tax cuts. "We have to make sure the fiscal vehicle does not run off the road," Greenspan told the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. Bush responded, "If the economy needs a little oomph, why wait?" The highly influential Fed chairman's views could doom Bush's hopes of selling large tax cuts, especially because a war would deepen the budget deficit. Bush's domestic agenda has been overshadowed by foreign policy as the White House prepares for war and confronts opposition from other countries. This week, Republican leaders, among them House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, questioned Bush's proposals publicly. Both quickly received phone calls from the White House — and quickly qualified their remarks. White House officials are telling Senate and House Republicans to be patient until details are clear and to keep any doubts to themselves. Senior aides are talking tough to the straying GOP lawmakers. Bush has been inviting them to the White House for friendly chats. Greenspan's words gave ammunition to Democrats, who say Bush's proposed income tax cuts — budgeted by the White House at $674 billion over 10 years but calculated by Democrats in Congress at $1.5 trillion — would worsen a growing federal budget deficit. Bush's proposal to revamp Medicare, the government's health insurance for the elderly, has run into opposition within his party over a key detail: A long-sought benefit covering prescription drugs would be linked to the beneficiary joining an HMO-type managed-care plan. Would managed care be a requirement for the drug benefit? Initial information from the White House said it was. After a brouhaha erupted, White House officials briefing reporters declined to answer questions about it. Last week, Health Secretary Tommy Thompson said no one would be forced into an HMO to get a drug benefit. HMO critics complain that their cost controls limit medical care. Hastert told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that Bush's proposal to offer drug benefits only to those who leave the traditional fee-for-service program can't be sold to the public and won't work. "I don't think you can do it politically," he said. "I don't think it's practical." A day later, after calls from senior White House officials, Hastert said Bush's plan "does not force seniors into an HMO in order to get life-saving prescription drugs." He said he supports the plan. Bush's other domestic proposals may face difficulties also. Democrats say they will have enough votes in the Senate to block legislation to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. And Bush's push for more money to expand development of hydrogen-powered car technology got a cool reaction. Bush has been trying to strike a balance between foreign policy and his domestic agenda. Today he visits Jacksonville. First he meets with small-business owners to promote his tax cut proposal. Then he speaks with sailors at Mayport Naval Air Station. Contributing: Barbara Hagenbaugh and Kathy Kiely