Subscribe to one of our news e-mail lists . Documents in PDF format require Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing. Despite agreement on the tax cut, House and Senate Republicans remain deeply divided on government spending. Senate Republicans are pushing for more spending and some want to increase allocations in fiscal year 2002 by as much as 8 percent. Bush has denounced such spending levels as excessive.
Congressional sources say the two sides remain divided on the spending question.
Meetings between key House and Senate players and Daniels are expected to last through the day. Congressional sources say the goal is to reach a deal on spending by Tuesday night and bring the compromise budget outline to the House floor by Wednesday and to the Senate floor by Thursday. The spending question is crucial on several fronts. If Bush fails to win a spending number in the budget resolution he favors he may have to veto spending bills passed by a Republican Congress, just the kind on confrontation the White House and congressional GOP leaders would rather avoid. If the spending number is perceived by some Republicans as too low, it might mean key spending bills will be bogged down and left unpassed by the end of the fiscal year.