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Dems' spending plan in trouble
Facing outright rebellion from deficit-weary lawmakers, House Democratic leaders were forced to scale back a massive tax cut and benefits package and postpone action on war spending bill stuffed with high-priced domestic items.
"I think we've reached a tipping point, where you can only expect members to vote so many times for unpaid-for spending," said Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa.
Altmire and other Democrats, many of them politically vulnerable freshmen or members of the fiscally conservative House Democratic Blue Dog Coalition, were leading the opposition to what was originally a nearly $200 billion package that combined unemployment benefits, health insurance for the jobless, the extension of certain tax breaks and a three-year delay in scheduled Medicare payments for doctors.