ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 5, 1997 TAG: 9703050098
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
In a stinging setback for Republicans, the balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution went down to narrow defeat in the Senate on Tuesday at the hands of Democrats who attacked it as a threat to Social Security.
The vote was 66-34, one shy of the two-thirds needed to prevail. It marked the third year in a row the GOP has failed to muster the support to pass a cornerstone of their conservative agenda.
Republican frustration was evident in the moments before the vote, when GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch repeatedly accused Democrats of ``demagoguery'' when it came to Social Security.
``You're doggone right we [Republicans] like Social Security, and we're tired of the demagoguery,'' the Judiciary Committee chairman said in a fiery floor speech. Democrats, he said, simply ``don't want to cast the right vote'' to force an end to nearly three decades of nonstop deficits.
But Democrats had long since made up their minds.
Social Security ``is the most successful social program in the history of the world,'' said Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle. ``For millions of older Americans, it is the difference between living in dignity and living in fear and poverty. A balanced-budget amendment shouldn't force us to break that historic contract.''
In Arkansas to survey tornado damage, President Clinton said he was pleased with the amendment's defeat. ``At the same time, let me be clear: While I oppose a constitutional amendment, I am committed to achieving the bipartisan goal of balancing the budget by 2002.''
He said the amendment could have caused or worsened a recession, threatened the nation's creditworthiness, involved judges in national economic policy and jeopardized Social Security.
The gallery overlooking the chamber was packed with spectators as the roll was called, and senators rose solemnly from their seats, one by one, to cast their votes.
In the end, all 55 Republicans and 11 Democrats, including both Virginia senators, voted for the amendment. The other 34 Democrats voted against it.
The measure would require a balanced budget by 2002 and every year thereafter, unless three-fifths of the House and Senate vote otherwise. Exceptions could be made in cases of war or other military conflict.
Passage by a two-thirds majority was needed to send the measure to the House, where the amendment has stalled. Ratification by three-fourths of the states would have added the amendment to the Constitution.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said in advance that ``this is an issue that will not go away.'' He predicted the House would vote on the amendment in the next month or two, and, despite its apparent difficulties, he forecast its approval there. If the House adopts it, he said, ``we will take another look at considering this issue.''
Republicans have sought its approval for years and made it a cornerstone of their conservative revolution when they took control of Congress two years ago.
A similar amendment cleared the House in 1995 and stood at the brink of passage in the Senate, falling short when then-Sen. Mark Hatfield of Oregon became the only Republican to oppose the measure.
Hatfield's retirement and Republican gains of two seats in last November's elections created a solid bloc of 55 GOP supporters, and the fate of the amendment swiftly came down to four freshman Democrats who had campaigned as supporters.
In the end, two of them, Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Max Cleland of Georgia, swung behind the measure. The other two, Sens. Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Bob Torricelli of New Jersey, joined opponents.
Johnson cited the threat to Social Security, while Torricelli said the amendment would make it too difficult to grapple with future recessions or military conflicts and barred creation of a separate budget for long-term capital expenses. Both had voted for versions of the amendment that met their concerns.
But their decision to oppose the GOP-drafted amendment sparked a strong rebuff from Lott, who questioned their integrity in remarks on the Senate floor Friday. ``All 55 Republicans will keep their word to their constituents,'' he said in another jab a few hours before the final vote. ``The question is, will there be one more Democrat who will have the courage to do the right thing?''
Republicans argued that folding Social Security into the amendment was the only sure way to assure the pension fund's security. But the decision by Johnson and Torricelli - and the other 32 Democrats who signaled their opposition - underscored the extent to which opponents had been able to neutralize a politically popular measure that seemed to have unstoppable momentum six weeks ago.
``The polling data suggests that there is more support for protecting Social Security than there is for passing this version of the balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution,'' said Daschle, of South Dakota.
Whatever the reality, both sides were already redeploying their forces for the next phase of the budget struggle. Lott noted that congressional budget analysts had determined that Clinton's balanced-budget plan would produce a deficit of $69 billion in 2002. ``It just proves once again we must have a constitutional amendment to get a balanced budget,'' he said.
Other Republican leaders called on Clinton to resubmit his spending plan after making changes to erase the deficit.
Democrats retorted that Clinton had already produced a budget and now it was the Republicans' turn.
``Where's yours?'' Daschle demanded of key Republicans. ``Come on, guys, let's deliver.''
While the Senate vote appeared close, the proceedings were far less dramatic than two years ago, when the amendment had already cleared the House and when Hatfield's deciding vote seemed in doubt to the very end. Two years ago, the vote was 66-34, until then-Majority Leader Bob Dole switched to the opposition in a parliamentary maneuver designed to permit a new vote.
That second vote, in June 1996, produced a 64-34 roll call.
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. With the Capitol behind him and a pile of federalby CNBbudget books in front, Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., leaves a rally
in favor of the balanced budget amendment. color.