The Senate voted to kill all Medicaid cuts from Bush's proposed budget...and with an amendment from a Republican Senator no less. From the
WaPo:
The Senate voted Thursday to strip all proposed Medicaid cuts from the $2.6 trillion budget for next year, killing the heart of the plan's deficit reduction
and dealing an embarrassing setback to President Bush and Republican leaders.
The amendment, whose chief sponsor was moderate Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., was approved 52-48 after days of heavy lobbying by both sides. It was widely seen as a test of the GOP-run Congress' taste for making even moderate reductions in popular benefit programs that consume two-thirds of the budget and are growing rapidly, even at a time of record federal deficits.
More below.
The fight is not over yet, so perhaps calling this a win is premature, as the House and Senate will try to craft a compromise budget next month. But with a 52-48 win, we see that there are a few sensible Republicans left.
Perhaps even more importantly, no Democrat broke ranks on this one.
Besides Smith, the other Republicans crossing the asile:
Lincoln Chafee - RI
Norm Coleman - MN
Susan Collins - ME
Olympia Snowe - ME
Mike DeWine - OH
Arlen Specter - PA