Democrats to offer Bush budget compromise

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Trying to head off the "fiscal showdown" that President George W. Bush predicted, Democrats in the U.S. Congress will abandon about half of the additional domestic spending they have been seeking, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday.

"We'll ... split the $22 billion difference" between the Republican president's spending request and the budget Democrats are pushing, Reid said.

A spokesman for Bush's Office of Management and Budget did not directly address the Democrats' proposal. Nor did he immediately reject it.

"The president has been clear that Congress should adhere to the budgetary process and pass individual funding bills at reasonable and responsible spending levels," said the spokesman, Sean Kevelighan.

On October 15, Bush told business people in Arkansas, "You're fixing to see what they call a fiscal showdown in Washington."

That already has begun to play out, as Bush has vetoed a massive, $600 billion fiscal 2008 bill saying it would have overspent by about $10 billion on domestic health, education and labor programs, many for the poor.

As expected, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday night failed to overturn Bush's veto.

Democrats, who hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, insist they will do everything they can to avoid any government shutdowns related to the budget fight. They plan to send Bush their retooled spending plan sometime in December.