The House : 1988 Budget

By a 230-192 vote, the House adopted a fiscal 1988 budget projecting spending of slightly more than $1 trillion, a deficit of $108 billion to $132.5 billion and unspecified new taxes of $18 billion. The resolution (H Con Res 93) will go to conference with a companion measure now moving through the Senate. The resulting blueprint, which does not require President Reagan’s signature, will guide Congress as it enacts spending and revenue bills for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

Authored by Democrats, the House blueprint sets a fiscal course sharply at odds with Reagan’s budget request (below) and the priorities of the House GOP leadership, which this year did not propose an alternative budget.

In key disagreements, the Democratic budget provides less military and more domestic spending than favored by Reagan and the GOP leadership and commits the House to approving substantial new taxes to trim the deficit.

Members voting yes favored the Democratic budget resolution.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Anderson (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Dymally (D) x Rep. Gallegly (R) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Lungren (R) x

The President’s Budget

The House rejected, by a vote of 27-394, President Reagan’s proposed fiscal 1988 budget. Reagan had sought a defense spending hike of $7.8 billion above inflation, domestic spending cuts of $22.5 billion, the eventual elimination of dozens of programs and $6.1 billion from new revenue sources such as user fees, asset sales, tighter tax enforcement and levying the Medicare payroll tax on state and local government workers.

His budget was similar to the Democratic plan in its total spending and projected annual deficit.

Members voting yes favored President Reagan’s budget.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Anderson (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Dymally (D) x Rep. Gallegly (R) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Lungren (R) x

Black Caucus Budget

By a 56-362 vote, the House rejected the Congressional Black Caucus’s fiscal 1988 budget plan. Contrasted with other proposed budgets, it urged much more revenue from new taxes, more generous domestic spending and zero funding of major weapons systems such as Star Wars and the MX missile.

Members voting yes favored the Black Caucus budget.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Anderson (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Dymally (D) x Rep. Gallegly (R) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Lungren (R) x

Conservatives’ Budget

The House rejected, by a 47-369 vote, the fiscal 1988 budget proposal of some of the House’s most conservative members. Along with their call for significantly higher defense and lower domestic spending than contained in the Democratic budget eventually approved by the House, the conservatives offered a fresh plan for easing the federal deficit--the issue of gold-backed government bonds.

Members voting yes supported the conservatives’ budget.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Anderson (D) x Rep. Dixon (D) x Rep. Dymally (D) x Rep. Gallegly (R) x Rep. Levine (D) x Rep. Lungren (R) x