LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) _ As Nebraska lawmakers make budget cuts that could reduce services and lead to layoffs, they may be protecting themselves from similar consequences.

The budget cuts that got second-round approval on Wednesday include a measure that would allow the legislative branch to keep more than $1 million. Gov. Dave Heineman had proposed that the money left over from the last budget cycle be used to help close the state's $334 million budget gap.

But Sen. John Wightman of Lexington said that without the change, lawmakers' staff may have been subject to layoffs. Sen. Beau McCoy of Omaha said lawmakers need to be careful to not exempt themselves from cuts when they are asking other parts of state government to make sacrifices. ____