This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7295788.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| US Congress presents budget plans | US Congress presents budget plans |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| The US Democratic-led Senate has passed plans designed to balance the budget by 2012, and which are opposed President George W Bush's fiscal blueprint. | The US Democratic-led Senate has passed plans designed to balance the budget by 2012, and which are opposed President George W Bush's fiscal blueprint. |
| The Democratic plan would phase out tax cuts for the rich and keep spending programmes Mr Bush wants to trim. | |
| The Senate vote followed a similar move by the House of Representatives, but the two plans must still be reconciled. | The Senate vote followed a similar move by the House of Representatives, but the two plans must still be reconciled. |
| Mr Bush's $3 trillion (£1.5 trillion) budget plan would make most tax cuts permanent and curb domestic spending. | |
| The House of Representatives passed the budget plan by 212 votes to 207 votes. | The House of Representatives passed the budget plan by 212 votes to 207 votes. |
| "The budget charts a new direction for America," said John Spratt, the Democratic chairman of the House Budget committee. | |
| The votes are mainly symbolic at this stage of the budget process, with the final settlement unlikely to be resolved until after the November election. | |
| The proposals reflect the sharply different political positions of the two parties ahead of the presidential election. | |
| John McCain, the all-but-certain Republican nominee for president, is backing Mr Bush's proposals to make his tax cuts permanent. | |
| Democrats say that the tax cuts are unfair to ordinary people, and by repealing them the government will be able to spend more on health, education and the environment. |