Mr. Chiles said the Republican members had not indicated whether they wanted to work with him on a bipartisan budget.

"In the spirit of cooperation, Democrats and Republicans crafted a bipartisan budget that includes a more sensible financial plan than the one proposed by the governor," Mr. Silver said.

House Republican leaders, in a letter to Speaker Jim Wright, suggested they wanted agreed-upon "stipulations" before working on a bipartisan budget.

His refusal to shift control back to the Democrats forced negotiations that eventually resulted in a bipartisan budget with 44-2 votes.

Add your name to my petition and tell the Senate that we need a sensible, bipartisan balanced budget amendment.

"If it really were under the cap, and if it really were balanced, we'd already have a bipartisan budget."

Republicans were largely silent today on one of the major changes contained in the Clinton budget: its abandonment of the strict spending limits set by the 1997 bipartisan balanced budget act.

Yet, without the bipartisan balanced budget we just passed, our budget officials estimate the deficit would rise next year, to $50- to $100 billion, and stay at that level for years to come.

Although legislators have talked about their desire for a bipartisan budget, their campaigns are rancorously partisan.

As chairman of the Finance Committee since 2001, John has led the city to a balanced and bipartisan budget every year while reducing property taxes and increasing Cincinnati's police force.