Aides: Bush won't oppose spending cuts

By Major Garrett
CNN White House Correspondent

SARASOTA, Florida (CNN) -- The White House will not oppose a House Republican move to impose up to $12 billion in across-the-board spending cuts on the president's first budget in order to protect the Social Security surplus in this year's budget, aides say.

The House Budget Committee is expected to approve the legislation Tuesday. The full House is expected to vote on the measure Thursday, said senior House Republican aides.

"We're open-minded on that," said White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott McClellan. "We're willing to look at anything that will boost economic growth and protect Social Security."

But that's far short of a White House endorsement.

The House legislation poses a huge threat to President George W. Bush's spending priorities, which are included in the 2002 budget. That budget begins Oct. 1. The House legislation seeks to impose across-the-board cuts on this first Bush budget and credit the savings to the 2001 budget, which ends on September 30.

These cuts would undermine Bush efforts to boost education, defense and health research funding in his first budget. In private meetings, the White House has been very cool to this approach, but does not want to pick a public fight with Republicans over the budget, congressional and administration sources say.

House GOP leaders settled on the budget measure late Monday in a meeting between Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, and the party's four elected House leaders.

"The administration does not love this," said one senior House GOP aide involved in the budget strategy. "But they are not going to bash it. We're not doing this to create any kind of confrontation, but there are very few other options."

Senate Republicans are looking at a separate across-the-board spending cut that would affect only the 2002 budget and not credit any savings to the 2001 budget. The White House has not endorsed that approach either.