Today in the Senate, Frank Lautenberg introduced an amendment to change the name of the Republicans' "Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005" to the "Moral Disaster of Monumental Proportion Reconciliation Act".

Senators had yet to vote on the amendment as of this post, but given the Republican majority in the Senate the name change seems to have little chance of passage.

The overall bill being debated in the Senate is aimed at making cuts in spending on entitlement programs in order to offset the massive federal costs incurred for the clean-up of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita along the Gulf Coast. Democrats have massed in opposition to the cuts, which they insist disproportionately disadvantage the nation's poorest and most infirm citizens.

The Republican push to gut social spending to pay for Katrina recovery has been infuriating me for months. Those hurt the worst by Katrina are the very people the Congressional Republicans think we should be targeting for budget cuts. It's really exemplary of the disdain the GOP has for the disadvantaged.

Back in August, I suggested changing the name of the budget bill to "The Kick 'Em When They're Down Act of 2005". But since that didn't fly, I guess Lautenberg's proposal is an acceptable compromise.