President to Seek Binding Spending Lid

President Reagan will ask Congress to change its budget process to set a binding limit on spending to avoid automatic cuts that would be triggered by the new balanced budget law, the White House announced today.

Instead of passing a concurrent resolution with no force of law, Congress--if it agrees with the proposal--would have to pass a joint resolution requiring the President’s signature, spokesman Larry Speakes said.

“The President has long felt that the budget is submitted to Congress and called ‘the President’s budget,’ but from the moment it leaves the White House . . . he has very little to do with it except for persuasion,” Speakes said.

“If it’s going to be called the President’s budget, it ought to be the President’s budget,” he added.

Leaders Approached

Reagan already has “sounded out” some congressional Republican leaders, some of whom agree, Speakes said.

Under the new Gramm-Rudman Act, the fiscal 1987 budget would have to cut spending by more than $50 billion to reach a legislated deficit of $144 billion. If there is no agreement between the two houses, automatic across-the-board cuts in each program would take effect.

Reagan said for the first time on Wednesday that he opposes the automatic trigger, and Speakes said the reason for the new proposal would be to prevent such a stalemate from occurring and forcing Reagan to make the cuts. Speakes described the proposal as “a compact between the executive and legislative” branches.

The proposed resolution would simply set into law an overall budget ceiling, containing the deficit ceilings already in place under Gramm-Rudman.

Address Shortened

Reagan will make the proposal in a State of the Union address Jan. 28 that will be shorter and less specific than those in recent history, Speakes said.

The speech will be no longer than 20 minutes, “supplemented by customary applause.”