4. Congress strikes deal on $350 billion tax cut; vote this week
House and Senate tax writers struck an agreement Wednesday on a $350 billion tax cut that Republicans leaders plan to pass by Memorial Day and that cuts President Bush’s stimulus package in half.
Negotiators said they had the votes to pass the bill in the House and Senate this week. It is much less than the $726 billion Bush originally requested.
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“We do have 50 votes,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
5. GLOBAL AIDS BILL OK’D: The House on Wednesday passed and sent the White House a $15 billion global AIDS bill, giving President Bush powerful leverage as he asks other Western leaders to work harder in the fight against the deadly disease.
6. EPA CHIEF QUITS: Christie Whitman resigned as Environmental Protection Agency administrator on Wednesday, weary after two-and-a-half years of struggles with fellow Bush officials, Congress and business and environmental groups.
Whitman, who differed with the White House on issues ranging from global warming to power plant pollution, informed President Bush of her decision during a half-hour meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon.
7. METH CRACKDOWN: Missouri lawmakers approved some of the nation’s toughest restrictions on cold medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine, but Gov. Bob Holden said Wednesday he was still deciding whether to sign the bill.
The measure, passed overwhelmingly Friday, targets the sale of over-the-counter medication containing pseudo-ephedrine.