Who's In Charge Here?

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Despite a blizzard that kept most Washingtonians at home, Republicans brought new budget numbers to White House negotiations today but said at this point, there is litte room left for bargaining. GOP reaction towards President Clinton's new 7-year budget balancing plan, which he offered over the weekend, has been, well, frosty. GOP Sen. Trent Lott on Sunday implied that President Clinton's efforts amounted to a "snow job." The new Republican proposals restore $63 billion to previous GOP budgets, adding back $33 billion to Medicare and $30 billion to Medicaid. But that's still some $66 billion less than Clinton's latest budget would provide Medicare, and $52 billion less than Clinton would provide Medicaid. Sen. Lott accused the President of sticking to the status quo while warning there may soon be enough congressional Democrats to support a veto-proof compromise budget deal, allowing Congress to ignore the President. "That's doubtful," notes congressional correspondent Karen Tumulty. "They'd have to move a lot further on Medicare and tax cuts. Remember, the budget proposal submitted by centrist Democrats recently has zero in tax cuts. Moreover, the fact that the Republicans have gone back to the White House with a new proposal suggests they still see those negotiations as their primary avenue." White House and GOP leaders are scheduled to meet throughout the week to try to work out a final budget agreement before the stopgap measure expires January 26. If no agreement is reached, some government offices could close for a third time.