8-22-2001: Sen. Robert C. Byrd, who as chairman of the Appropriations Committee will hold sway over President Bush's budget, warned yesterday that the shrinking federal surplus could force Congress to scale back the president's proposal to boost defense spending.

Byrd (D-W.Va.) also made clear he is dubious about Bush's efforts to build a missile defense system, suggesting that it is a prime candidate for cuts as Congress completes work on the 2002 spending bills this fall. At least $3 billion in new funds slated for missile defense are in jeopardy, Byrd said.

Byrd said he didn't have "a modicum of confidence" in the "scientific effectiveness" of missile defenses, and so "it is very unwise for Congress to lend its support."

While Bush spoke confidently about the budget in a speech in Missouri yesterday, nothing better illustrates the difficult battles ahead for the administration than a 45-minute interview with the Senate's longest-serving Democrat.

Byrd said he remains angry about the passage last spring of Bush's tax cut, referring to it repeatedly as a "colossal, unwise, irresponsible tax bill." He rejected the president's contention that he will bring "fiscal sanity to Washington" and that Americans should keep watch on Congress before it again busts the budget.

"The administration needs to take a look in the mirror and get a clear view on who has done and who is doing this spending," Byrd said. "He's the chief spender, hands down."

Byrd pulled a letter from his navy blue suit. "My wife and I have received this statement, 'Notice of Status and Amount of Immediate Tax Relief,' " he said, spitting out the words. It was one of the more than 100 million notices sent to taxpayers informing them of how much and when they will receive an advance tax refund this year as part of the tax cut. "There's the spending," Byrd said. "That's real money coming out of the Treasury."

Byrd was reminded that the president, in his speech yesterday, touted the tax cut by saying, "I'd rather you spend your own money, than the federal government spend your money."

Byrd held up a blue sheet of paper -- his Senate paycheck. He noted that the administration will officially reveal today that the combination of the tax cut and the slowing economy will mean it must use Medicare surplus funds on other government spending -- and is close to crossing the politically sensitive line into the Social Security surplus. Then he read how much has been withheld from his paycheck for Medicare and Social Security so far this year.

"That Social Security trust fund is your money," Byrd said. "Medicare is your money."

Byrd will receive his $600 share of the tax cut the week of Sept. 10. But he said he will simply send the check back to the Bureau of Public Debt, an arm of the Treasury Department responsible for monitoring the national debt, and which happens to be in Parkersburg, W.Va., because of Byrd's clout.