Tax Plan Puts ‘Family First,’ Reagan Says

President Reagan said today that the $2,000 personal exemption is the centerpiece of his tax revision plan and charged that “public policy of our nation has in fact worked against the interests of the family for decades.”

In an East Room speech where he exhorted evangelical broadcasters and writers to help promote the program, Reagan described his proposal as a “family-first bill.”

“We were concerned about the family so we created a tax reform proposal that puts the family first,” he said. “There is nothing more important to all of us, our society and the future than the family.

“In spite of our general agreement that the family is important, the public policy of our nation has, in fact, worked against the interests of the family for decades now.”

Not Interested in Exemptions

“Administration after Administration has not been interested in exemptions,” he said. “I’m tired of that kind of behavior and I’m sick and tired of governments that put the family at the end of the line.”

Reagan noted that those in the audience had helped the Administration push for school prayer and anti-abortion legislation. “I want to ask all of you to help in the area of tax reform,” he said.

Aides today said Reagan told a meeting of his presidential appointees that he does not intend to become a “lame duck” in his second term and confirmed a Washington Post report that he had told the government officials he has “been sleeping with a veto pen in my pajamas.”

One aide said Reagan looked robust at the Wednesday session, which was closed to the press, and hopped up on the small platform in the East Room, showing he is getting back in form. He also skipped down from the platform after his remarks.

“The summer is half over and I want to thank you for your hard work,” Reagan told his aides.

The aides said Reagan then vowed he would not become a “lame duck” in his second term and reiterated his goal of cutting government spending.