Senate Links Nomination, Spending Bills

The Senate will not take action on President Bush's nominee to head the White House budget office until the administration engages in "a serious discussion" with Democratic leaders about his threat to veto most congressional spending bills, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said yesterday.

"We will not be setting a time for the hearing until there have been further discussions," said Conrad (D-N.D.), whose committee is one of two Senate panels that must vote on the nomination of former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle (R). "There needs to be a serious discussion here about how we conclude the business of the country in some serious and responsible way."

The Democratic Congress is working on spending bills that exceed Bush's budget request by about $21 billion and would increase discretionary spending by about 2 percent over what Bush has proposed. The White House has threatened to veto many of those bills, setting the stage for a showdown that could shut down the government this fall.

Democrats contend that Bush's budget would require spending cuts for education, housing and other essential services, and they have refused to adjust their figures. Nussle's nomination, they said, creates an opportunity to press the White House to back down.

White House Office of Management and Budget spokesman Sean Kevelighan said that Bush is determined to hold the line on spending.

-- Lori Montgomery