Reagan Challenged on 3 Major Issues by Democrats

Democratic congressional leaders, flexing their new majority-party strength, challenged President Reagan face to face today on the budget, trade policy and his planned veto of an $18-billion clean water bill.

The bipartisan cooperation Reagan promoted in his State of the Union address Tuesday night failed an initial test as his first meeting with the leadership of the 100th Congress produced sometimes heated arguments.

Senate Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd said the meeting showed that his party, in control of the House and Senate for the first time since Reagan took office, is “going to insist that the Congress be an equal partner” in setting national policy.

Not Just to Listen

“We don’t come here from an equal branch of the government just to listen,” Byrd told reporters after the meeting with Reagan. “We come to listen, but we also come to state our viewpoints as well.”

“I think what we saw in there was probably the opening round of what the Democrats plan for the next two years,” said Senate GOP leader Bob Dole, “and that was coming on strong, talking about getting a trade bill out early and then really giving the President the business on the budget.”

“I think it’s the opening gun of 1988,” he added.

The Democrats, projecting a firm, united front, informed Reagan of their plans to move a major trade bill through the House by the end of April, invited details of his promised catastrophic health and competitiveness initiatives and asked for a summit meeting on the budget.

The response from Reagan, participants said, was a commitment to follow through on proposals mentioned in his State of the Union address, along with an apparent rejection--for the time being--of their request for a budget summit.

“Ours is the budget that is on the table,” said White House spokesman Larry Speakes. “If they’ve got suggestions, we’re ready for them. We’re ready to move ahead.”

Reagan sent Congress a $1-trillion fiscal 1988 budget earlier this month that was criticized by Democrats for its priorities and challenged on what will be needed to bring the deficit down to the target of $108 billion.

House Speaker Jim Wright said $60 billion to $80 billion in savings may be needed to hold the deficit to that figure, rather than the $42 billion provided in Reagan’s budget.

Byrd, who broached the idea of a budget summit, said he asked Reagan that “we sit down and stop the partisan sniping and finger-pointing” and hammer out a spending plan suitable to Congress and the Administration.

But with such issues as taxes and Pentagon spending at the center of the budget debate, Reagan merely offered to consider the idea while other Republicans demanded that the Democrats offer budget proposals of their own.

Clean Water Bill

On a related matter, Reagan confirmed to the congressional leaders that he will veto an $18-billion clean water bill attacked by the Administration as “a budget-buster.” He was informed that Congress is all but certain to override the veto, setting the stage for his first major political setback of the new year.

A vote is expected Tuesday in the House, with the Senate following on Wednesday or Thursday.