Democrats offer compromise budget plan putting off decisions

Democrats controlling Congress unveiled an election-year fiscal blueprint Tuesday that puts the federal budget mostly on autopilot, leaving the winner of November's presidential election with a set of enormous challenges.

The House-Senate compromise, more than a month overdue, contains a host of shaky assumptions _ and forecasts that many of President Bush's signature tax cuts will expire on schedule at the end of 2010.

It predicts a $340 billion budget deficit next year, but achieves it only by understating likely war costs _ even if an anti-war Democrat takes back the White House _ and the $50 billion-plus cost of making sure more than 20 million …