The House : Gramm-Rudman Test

By a vote of 339-72, the House adopted a resolution reaffirming the first round of budget cuts made under the new Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction act. The $11.7 billion in virtually across-the-board fiscal 1986 cuts was triggered automatically last March 1 by the Comptroller of the Currency, under the law as it stood then.

But the cuts were voided by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that the trigger mechanism breaches the Constitution’s separation of powers because it gives executive branch authority to an official subservient to Congress.

So for the foreseeable future, at least, Congress must inflict the periodic Gramm-Rudman cuts by what Rep. Leon E. Panetta (D-Monterey) terms “the old fashioned way--by voting for them.”

This was the first such vote, with the next vote on Gramm-Rudman cuts affecting hundreds of programs likely to occur in October.

Critics say the substitution of record votes for an anonymous, automatic trigger will doom Gramm-Rudman because too many lawmakers lack the courage to vote repeatedly to offend special interests and constituent groups.

Members voting yes supported the first round of Gramm-Rudman cuts.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Waxman (D) x

Legal Services Corp.

By a 103-278 vote, the House rejected an amendment to kill the Legal Services Corp. by eliminating its proposed budget for fiscal 1987. The vote left $305.5 million for the agency in the l987 appropriations bill for the judiciary and the departments of State, Justice and Commerce and related agencies. The $13-billion spending bill was sent to the Senate.

President Reagan wants to discontinue the agency, through which taxpayers provide legal assistance to the poor. But the House has increased its 1987 budget by $13.1 million over the previous year.

Members voting yes wanted to eliminate the Legal Services Corp.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Waxman (D) x

EDA Vote

The House rejected 108-302 an amendment to cripple the Economic Development Administration by eliminating most of its fiscal 1987 operating budget. The President long has wanted to terminate the agency, which has targeted federal grants and loan guarantees to the most depressed areas of the country. The Administration argues these areas will benefit from “the rising tide” of economic recovery brought about by the president’s policies.

Under this amendment, virtually all money for public works grants and related development projects, about $190 million, would have been deleted from the 1987 EDA appropriation.

Members voting yes wanted to virtually kill the Economic Development Administration.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Waxman (D) x