House Democrats Agree to OK Defense Spending Compromise

House Democratic liberals tentatively decided Tuesday night to accept a proposed compromise in a fight over defense spending even as the Reagan Administration warned it would regard House rejection of the Pentagon’s budget as an opportunity to seek controversial changes.

Under the proposal, the House would approve a bill authorizing the Pentagon to spend $302.5 billion next year, but would actually appropriate $10 billion less, according to sources who spoke only on condition they not be identified.

Congress authorizes and appropriates money in separate bills.

Key Feature

The key feature of the compromise calls for the $302.5-billion budget to be passed, but with a provision instructing the House Appropriations Committee to come up with a defense budget of only $292 billion, the sources said.

The agreement was reached in a series of closed-door meetings between the House Democratic leadership and a group of Democrats, headed by Reps. Barbara Boxer (D-Greenbrae); Charles E. Schumer (D-N. Y.) and George Miller (D-Martinez).

At the Pentagon, spokesman Fred S. Hoffman, making it clear that he was speaking for Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, said any House change in the compromise $302.5-billion budget for fiscal 1986 would prompt an effort for even higher funding.

Hoffman said that the Pentagon would be interested in reversing a $2.9-billion cut in the military retirement account, stripping away a limit of 50 on the deployment of the MX missile and seeking more money for research projects, particularly the “Star Wars” missile defense system.

Weinberger’s View

He said Weinberger was convinced that “the best thing that could happen would be for the House to approve the conference report (compromise) as is.”

The House-Senate compromise, prepared in mid-July, authorizes Pentagon spending of $302.5 billion for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. The Administration had requested $313.7 billion.

The compromise was approved, 94 to 5, by the Senate July 30, and is awaiting House action.