Democrats Would Make It Harder for Senate to OK Tax Cuts, Spending Boosts

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAY0RY9MRD.html

Democrats Would Make It Harder for Senate to OK Tax Cuts, Spending Boosts

By Alan Fram Associated Press Writer
Published: Mar 9, 2004


WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats proposed making it harder for lawmakers to approve tax cuts or spending boosts as Senate debate on a $2.36 trillion budget turned Tuesday to the politically sensitive subject of protecting Social Security.

Under an amendment by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., 60 Senate votes would be needed for any tax reduction or increase in automatic benefits like Medicare for the foreseeable future. That margin can be tough to achieve in the narrowly divided 100-member Senate, where Republicans hold 51 seats.

The requirement would be waived if the government stops using cash collected by Social Security's trust funds for other programs. That probably won't happen for many years because of today's enormous federal deficits. <snip>

Democrats could prevail on another amendment, which would require future tax cuts and spending increases to be paid for with other budget savings, unless opponents could marshal 60 Senate votes to prevent passage. <snip>