‘Push, Push, Push’ on Budget, Reagan Tells Congress Leaders

President Reagan gave congressional leaders a pep talk today, urging action on a fiscal 1986 budget that will help hold down the government’s tide of red ink.

Reagan delivered a message of “push, push, push” to get a budget before Aug. 2, when Congress begins a monthlong recess, said Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.).

The President also “talked about domestic spending, further cuts,” Senate Minority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) said.

The meeting was held in the Treaty Room of the White House, where Reagan, clad in pajamas and a bathrobe while recuperating from recent cancer surgery, greeted the legislators

“We didn’t get into details,” Dole said of the discussion.

House Majority Leader Jim Wright (D-Tex.) suggested at the meeting, as he often does, that increased taxes may be necessary to trim deficits.

Reagan, as he always does, rejected the idea.

“I think that’s kind of a tonic--for him to argue with Jim Wright over taxes,” Dole remarked.

Byrd said Reagan “had a good bit of bounce” during the session, and Dole said Reagan “looked good,” although “he’s obviously lost some weight.”