Daschle losing faith in pledge for budget by Memorial Day

Washington Times ^ | Friday, May 17, 2002 | By Stephen Dinan

[JohnHuang2]

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle is unlikely to make his self-imposed Memorial Day deadline for adopting a fiscal 2003 budget blueprint, leaving House leaders to use their budget in the appropriations process and Senate appropriators without a framework.

Mr. Daschle, who on Tuesday said the bill would get done before the start of the Memorial Day break, said yesterday that may not be possible.

[JohnHuang2]

Friday, May 17, 2002

Quote of the Day by backhoe 5/17/03

[Coop]

"I'm not as optimistic as I once was — let me put it that way," the South Dakota Democrat said, though he hadn't written off the possibility. "Obviously, I'd love to do it. And if there is way to address the budget before the next recess, we're going to try to do that."

"It's just that I've been so busy trying to damage President Bush's reputation," Tiny Tom said, "what with this 9/11 photo thing, and now these reports that he planned the attacks with Bin Laden himself..."

[IVote2]

" Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat, said there is still a chance that everything could come together next week. He said they were "pretty close" to agreement on the three individual pieces of the package that the Democrats want to construct — the budget, an increase in the debt ceiling and an emergency supplemental appropriation — "but bringing it all together is pretty difficult.""

The debt ceiling must be raised or the government will be in default, an historic first. But Democrats can't handle this? Then get out of the way! Talk about failed leadership.

[IVote2]

BTTT!