But Senators retreated because of the political climate, which seems to demand deficit cutting.

The new spending would even raise the deficit, but once the economy was back on track, deficit cutting would kick in.

The officials said such savings could be used for even deeper deficit cutting, or to let the tax breaks take full effect immediately.

Nobody wants this meat-ax approach to deficit cutting, but, according to many legislators, it will take a miracle to avoid it.

But late last month he did a complete about-face, saying deficit cutting had to come first.

But the idea that deficit cutting is less of a problem during economic booms is still alive and well.

And they are also willing, for the sake of deficit cutting, to make a deal with the Democrats even if that involves some tax increases.

And the House Republican plans all assume that they'll be extended, so all the deficit cutting has to be done on the spending side.

The problem is that in an era of deficit cutting, Federal financing for basic research has suffered, too.

Either way, the program could endanger deficit cutting.