House Approves Sweeping Plan to Cut Deficit

The House today approved a sweeping deficit-reduction plan that matches the $56 billion in savings of a rival 1986 Senate budget but accomplishes it through deeper slashes in President Reagan’s military buildup and without restraining Social Security benefits.

The 258-170 vote, embracing the largest package of spending cuts and freezes ever adopted in the Democratic-controlled chamber, sets the stage for negotiations with the Republican-led Senate on a final compromise budget.

Both chambers have now passed budgets that meet Reagan’s goal of trimming the government’s $200-billion-plus deficit by at least $50 billion next year and roughly halving it by 1988--without raising taxes.

While not trimming domestic programs as deeply as the Senate would, the House budget calling for a total of $967 billion in 1986 spending would freeze Pentagon spending authority and scores of other federal programs at 1985 levels.

The House plan makes deep cuts in a variety of other programs, although it leaves intact low-income programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. And it protects next year’s cost-of-living increase for 36 million Social Security recipients that the Senate voted to cancel.

Firm on Social Security

House leaders immediately served notice that their negotiators will stand firm against tampering with Social Security payments.

Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.) predicted that the Senate will retreat from its decision to limit those benefits. “They’ll be trampling all over each other to get away from it,” he said.

“They didn’t know what they were voting for. That fellow from California will wish he stayed in the hospital before it’s all over,” O’Neill added, referring to Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), who left a hospital bed to vote for the budget, resulting in a tie allowing Vice President George Bush to cast the deciding vote in the 50-49 approval by the Senate earlier this month.

O’Neill said recent public opinion surveys reflect mounting opposition throughout the country to the Senate action to limit Social Security increases.

A House-Senate conference committee on the budget will meet after the weeklong congressional Memorial Day recess, leaders said.