BALANCED BUDGET BILL . . . ON TO THE SENATE

After a hearty, 300-132 sendoff in the House last night, thebalanced budget amendment proposalis ready for the Senate, where it is favored to pass within two weeks despite the narrow majority of its support there. "I believe we are going to do the same thing in the Senate," Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.), a leading Democratic proponent, said today, but added: "It's by no means certain." Similar hedging came from House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who nonetheless crowed after Thursday's bipartisan vote: "This is a historic moment for our country." TIME congressional correspondent Karen Tumulty says the Senate GOP leadership will have to campaign hard to overcome an expected challenge from the body's most formidable Democratic obstructionist, West Virginia's Sen. Robert Byrd. "In the Senate, they have exactly 67 votes," Tumulty says. "So it's not a few votes either way -- it's one vote either way."