CONFEREES ADOPT PLAN TO BALANCE U.S. BUDGET BY '91

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B00858R000200250008-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 20, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2010/09/20: CIA-RDP87B00858R000200250008-9
ONFEREES ADOPT; ~~}
PLAN TO BALANCE
U.S. BUDGET BY '94
Leaders Expect Congressional
Approval Today Amid Rush
to End Year's Session _
By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 - House
and Senate conferees tonight approved
a bill designed to shrink the Federal
budget year by year and lead to a bal-
anced budget by 1991.
Leaders of both chambers said they
expected Congress to send the proposal
to President Reagan on Wednesday.
Mr. Reagan, in a statement released
this evening, stongly endorsed the bill,
although he said he had reservations
about the legislation's effect on the
military budget.
The President said he would propose
budgets with continued increases for
the military. Congressional leaders,
however, have said that such increases
would be politically impossible without
tax increases, which the President op-
poses, or the elimination of 30 to 50 non-
military programs.
Annual Deficit Cuts Required
The legislation would require annual
reductions in the deficit, now running
at more than $200 billion, leaving a bal-
anced budget by' 1991. If total appropri-
ations would exceed a given year's ceil-
ing, the President would be required to
make spending cuts, half in the mili-
tary budget and half in nonmilitary
spending. Social Security and several
programs for they poor would be ex-
empt.
A voice vote by the 66 Housb*;dSen-
ate cotiferee ' , ,ppro's ing the ;budget.
bala ng bill name as the 99t ,' n.
gross was driving to fl ia t, its; fir trjes.
sion taf !', go 'ht -net for R.Iihe hol ys,
probably until J4A. 21. ttolgg?thet;ptlier
important issues on the agenda are the
farm bill, a catchall appropriation for
1986, a bill on tax revision and a bill to
let theeGaverdmorlit"continue borrow-
ing:
Major Change in Process _
By a voice vote, the Senate passed its
version of fhe,c*tchall appropriation,
designed to last thraough next Septem-
ber, and sent-It't'o erence with the
House, where a major issue to resolve
will be the level of military spending.
One possible obstacle to Congress's ln-
ishing, this week is Mr. Reagafi's
threat, repeate?ltoday, to veto the bill.
The proposal to eliminate the der cit
Continued on Page I)30, Column 3',
Col ssiona[ C nferees Approve
Plan to Balance Budget by 1991
Continued Proin Page Al
,went-was-made before Mr. Reagan had
received a full briefing on the compro-
?mise, which gives the President some
'broader flexibility in determining what
military programs to cut- rly next
year if there is an automatic spending
:cut, as expected.
But the agreement does not give the
Reagan Administration as much flex-
ibility as it asked for and does not ex-
tend it to future years. In addition,
negotiators from both parties said the
measure would force the military
budget for 1986 below the 1985 level, a
?cut that the. Administration has op-
posed. Such a cut would leave thet Pen-
tagon budget below the level approved
in either the House or the Senate.
The timing of Congress's considera-
tion of the compromise measure is im-
portant because it is attached to a bill
'to raise the statutory debtlimit enough
toilet the Government continue borrow-
ing through next September. The
Treasury says the Government will de-
fault early Thursday unless the debt.
,limit is raised.
Other Congressional Matters
by 1991 represents a major revision'-of
the current budget process, which Con-
gress established 10 years ago. Much of
the last-minute negotiating was an ef=
fort to accommodate some of the Rea-
gan Administration's concerns, al-
though it did not get all the changes it
wanted.
The compromise, reached at 1 A.M.-
today between senior negotiators from
the House and Senate, is designed to
produce major cuts in the Govern-
ment's record budget deficits even if
the White House and Congress are un-
able to compromise on taxes or spend-
ing, both military and domestic.
Senator William V. Roth Jr., Repub-
lican of Delaware, was the only con-
feree to voice opposition to the compro
mise. He said the proposal would force
a tax increase, which he opposes to re-,
duce. the deficit. The bill, hesaid,."puts
us firmly on the path ofaseries of
major tax increases over the next five;
years." Mr. Reagan hasrepeatedly ex= ? congress also faces time pressure on
pressed his opposition to any tax rises. the catchall appropriation that the Sen-
Congressional-leadersfrom both par='ate passed tonight. It is designed to ex-
ties met witI Mr. Reagan at the White tend through next September an in-
House this morning to discuss the pro terim appropriation that expires
posal. Larry Speakes, the White House Thursday at midnight.
spokesman, quoted Mr. Reagan as say-. The President told the Congressional
ing in the meeting, "I am very con-19aders thismorning that he would veto
corned that you will be forcing our na- the appropriation if any of its nonmili-
tional security interests to take an `tary spending is above the Congres-
unacceptable reduction in funds." sional udget,target for 1986. "If there
"Even more important," Mr. Rea-- is excessive spending In any area I will
gar said, "I hope that you don't take veto that bills" he was quoted as'say-
away our flexibility to. maiiagenational
security resources as we think in the mSenator Bob Packwood, Republican
best interests of the nation." of Oregon, said both Democrats and
Mr. Speakes said later'that:this com Republicans told Mr. Reagan that in
Previous,, years Congress had sent him
total appropriations that were under
the Congressional target and would do
so-again this,year.
Mr. Packwood said the President.
had replied`-that Congress approved
higher nonmilitary spending than he
wanted this year and, less for the mili-
tary: "That went back and forth for, a
while," the Senator said
Meanwhile, conferees ' from the
House and the 'Senate continued to
work on a separate bill to cut spending
and raise revenue enought to carry out
a major. portion, of ,Congress's prom-
ised deficit reduction for 1986, 1987 and
1988. In a compromise, the House ac-
cepted the Senate's extension of the
Trade Adjustment Assistance program
and the Senate's proposed 1 percent
maximum import 'fee to 'pay for the
program in the future. Mr. Reagan has
said he would veto a deficit-reduction
package that includes this import fee
and the extension of the 16-cent-a-pack
cigarette tax included in the both the
House and the Senate proposal.
By contrast, the White House gave its
enthus' -tic support when the plan to
balan. ie budget by 1991 was first
proposer,. Some Democrats said today
that the quick endorsement had been
made for political reasons and that the
White House's reservations on the ef-
fect on the Pentagon meant it was get-
ting what it deserved.
"They played politics with this and
they are -now 'reaping: thr whirltvind;"
said Representative Les Aspin, Demo-
crat of Wisconsin, the chairmariof the
House Armed Services'; Committee.
"They thought Congress would -never
vote it. They just thought it would
never 'happen."
The flexibility for choosing cuts in
the military budget was granted only
for 1986. Democrats said they would
consider offering it year by year in the
future if they thought the Pentagon was
using it fairly and the militaryxbudget.
was bearing its full 50 percent share of
any mandatory spending cut.
It works this way: In a situation
where the automatic cut is set, say, at 4
percent of all military spending, the
President could choose not to make re-
ductions in uniformed personnel and
salaries and incentives for military
personnel. This is a new discretion
agreed to in negotiations Monday, and
it would represent the only military
category he could choose not to cut.
The money not cut from personnel
must be made up elsewhere. A, deeper
cut, about 5 percent in this case, would
be applied to the rest of the military.
More Flexibility in '86
Each account must be cut by this 5
percent. But in 1986 0e President can
choose what to cut wtlan account.
The President co d'dut .some pro-
grams, projects and activities by up to
twice the standard percentage, 10 per-
cent in this case, and not cut others at
all, so long as the total cut is achieved
for the entire: account.
This higher cut, however, could not
be applied to programs, that Cqngress
finaticed at 110 percent or more of the
president's budget; request, and the
President could not eliminate any pro-
grams.
The White House and somd.Senate
Republicans, also got a key technical
compromise which would allow 'the'
Pentagon to liquidate old contracts to
achieve some of the mandatory cuts.
This provision would help reduce the
effect on weapon programs and dome
The original budgeWialanctiunigg,.-.pro-
posal approved in the Senate had"none
of these compromises. It required that
all programs, projects'and activities be
cut by the same percentage.
Approved For Release 2010/09/20: CIA-RDP87B00858R000200250008-9
NHITE HOUSE SUPPORTS IT