The same administration that gave us spying on Americans, good news bought and paid for in the Iraqi press and a costly war built on elusive rationales now wants to reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor. Americans deserve better -- and the Senate should say so today by voting no.

Although the House passed the deficit-reduction bill Monday, the Senate outcome is in doubt. President Bush even ordered the vice president back from his Middle East tour in case his vote is needed as a tiebreaker. It's easy to see why the administration's package is in trouble.

It would cut programs and services for the nation's most vulnerable citizens while taxes are being reduced for the wealthiest. Pennsylvania Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum have a chance to stand with America's underprivileged by rejecting the plan and demanding instead a fair approach to deficit reduction.

The package before the Senate attempts to cut deficits by $40 billion over five years. That's only 2.5 percent of the $1.6 trillion in debt that the government will pile up in that time, but the bulk of it will weigh heavily on those who must rely on federal support.

Medicaid, the health program for the poor and disabled, will take a $4.8 billion hit. Low-income families will be faced with higher co-payments and premiums and reduced benefits. At the same time, the pharmaceutical and managed-care industries will be spared some of the cost-sharing that had been expected of them under a previous form of the legislation.

The bill also cuts $1.5 billion for child-support enforcement efforts, which could leave $2.9 billion in support from absentee parents uncollected over five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Although the measure would add $1 billion for child care, that's $7.4 billion less than the CBO says states will need to help the poor meet new work requirements.

The list goes on and on. This is deficit reduction the likes of which Americans can't afford. It's up to Sens. Specter and Santorum and their colleagues to decide whether their vote belongs to average citizens or to special interests.