Dems Budget Plan Gets Initial Approval, Would Provide Surpluses by Allowing Tax Cuts to Expire

WASHINGTON (Fox News) — House Democrats awarded initial approval of an election-year budget blueprint early Thursday that would produce sizable surpluses by 2012 by allowing President Bush's tax cuts to expire as scheduled.

The $3 trillion budget plan for 2009, which passed the House Budget Committee on a party-line 22-16 vote, would award greater-than-inflation increases to domestic programs. That immediately earned a promise from the White House that Bush would veto subsequent spending bills funding agency budgets.

The Senate Budget Committee planned a vote Thursday on a largely similar plan. At issue is the annual congressional budget resolution, a nonbinding document that sets guidelines for later legislation to put in place tax and spending goals for the budget year that begins Oct. 1.