Senate OKs $1-Trillion Budget in Partisan Vote

The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to the first trillion-dollar federal budget resolution, setting the stage for confrontations with President Reagan over individual spending and tax bills to follow.

The vote, 53 to 46, followed party lines. The House passed the same resolution Tuesday on a 215-201 vote.

The Democrats, controlling both houses of Congress, fashioned the budget plan that includes $64 billion in tax increases over the next three years and a military budget $15 billion below the amount sought by President Reagan.

“Everybody knows this is a Democratic budget,” said Sen. Lawton Chiles (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Budget Committee.

The President began a campaign Monday to drum up public opposition to the Democratic proposal, promising to veto any tax increases, and accusing the Democrats of skimping on defense spending.

Approval of the budget resolution means Congress has established the general outlines of federal spending for fiscal 1988, starting Oct. 1. President Reagan cannot veto the resolution, but he can veto the detailed spending and tax bills that will follow the resolution’s guidelines. “Without the President’s cooperation, the next few weeks will not be easy,” Chiles said.

And there is no sign of a compromise, with the Administration and congressional Republicans professing unalterable opposition to any tax increases.

The debate Wednesday showed there is an unbridgeable gap between the parties on the issue of the deficit.

‘Unfair to Our Future’

“This is an unwise proposal, unfair to the American people and unfair to our future,” said Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), as he denounced the budget.

Sen. Terry Sanford (D-N.C.) accused the President of profligate spending and amassing big deficits, then leaving the problem “at Congress’ door for us to clean up.”

“Have you no shame, Mr. President?” Sanford said. “The people can see through your smooth talk.”

The budget resolution sets a limit of $1.04 trillion for federal spending, with a deficit of $134 billion.

Domestic programs would be cut by a total of $6.8 billion during the next fiscal year. However, certain activities would receive more money, including education, job training, and aid to the poor. There is increased spending for AIDS research, and some funds for new programs to help the homeless.

Defense Linked to Taxes

Defense spending in the new budget would be linked to tax increases. If higher taxes are approved, defense spending authority would be $296 billion. Without higher taxes, defense would be frozen at today’s level of $289 billion.

“We are treating defense as a hostage,” complained Sen. Wilson. “Even with this tax increase, we will wind up underfunding defense preparedness,” he said.

The fate of legislation enacting the tax increase is uncertain. Democrats will find it hard to agree on the tax plan, because there is little appetite to change the individual and corporate tax rates, lowered in the 1986 tax act.

The only other likely significant sources of revenue would be increases in the federal excise taxes on gasoline, cigarettes, wine, beer, and distilled spirits. But many members of Congress view excise taxes as unpopular charges.

Wednesday’s debate illustrated the difficulty of cutting the budget. About 70% of federal spending is accounted for by a few relatively untouchable programs, including defense and Social Security.

In the vote Wednesday in the Senate, three Republicans supported the Democratic blueprint while three Democrats voted against it. The three Republicans were Sens. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. of Connecticut, Robert T. Stafford of Vermont and John H. Chafee of Rhode Island. The Democrats were Sens. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, Howell Heflin of Alabama and William Proxmire of Wisconsin.