Democrats Urge Economic Summit : Want Bush to Call Meeting on Deficit, Revenue Proposals

In a warning of the partisan warfare that lies ahead, leading congressional Democrats on Sunday urged President-elect George Bush to convene an economic summit on slashing the nation’s budget deficit, and to put “everything on the table,” including proposals for new taxes.

Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.), a strong candidate to become the next Senate majority leader, charged that Bush’s election-year support for increased defense spending and new social programs such as child care is not “mathematically feasible” without new revenues. Bush, he said caustically, should admit that he “over-promised” during the campaign.

However, Republican congressional leaders dampened speculation about a quick economic summit, saying that a bipartisan solution to the nation’s budgetary ills would not come before July or August at the earliest.

Making First Move

Although Bush has said he intends to work with the Democratic-controlled Congress, party leaders indicated that they expect the new President to make the first moves, especially on the thorny issue of cutting the nation’s $155-billion budget deficit. In particular, they served notice that Bush would have to join them in advancing any politically unpopular solutions.

Sen.-elect Charles S. Robb (D-Va.), appearing with Johnston on ABC-TV’s “This Week With David Brinkley,” said that “if the chief executive isn’t willing to walk the plank with the Congress” (on the need for new revenues), “few members are going to get out and simply watch the commander-in-chief standing on the side as they go over.”

“President Bush,” he added, “is going to have to provide leadership.”

Beyond the deficit, the new Administration will have to propose a solution for the nation’s deteriorating savings and loan industry, which could cost more than $50 billion, according to some economists. Congress may also be called upon to spend about $20 billion as an initial payment toward correcting health and safety flaws in the nuclear weapons industry.

Johnston and Robb warned that, without a plan to attack such problems, Bush and Congress will be on a collision course in May, when the deadline for extending the debt limit expires. They said the nation could lose the power to borrow money to finance interest on the national debt if the two sides fail to extend the deadline because they disagree on strategy..

Everything on Table

“For my part, I’m saying to the President: ‘You ought to convene a summit and put everything on the table,’ ” said Johnston. If there is no consensus, he predicted, “it’s going to be a train wreck.”

Republican leaders, however, said there would be no overnight solutions. During an appearance on CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation,” Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, said “those people who want it (an agreement) next week just aren’t going to get it.

“It’s going to get solved, but it’s not going to get solved next week or next month,” he said. “I think it will get solved about July or August,” when the deadline approaches for massive, across-the-board budgetary cutbacks mandated by the Gramm-Rudman deficit-cutting law.

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders agreed Sunday that the party should make changes in the timing of its nominating primaries, so future campaigns would pay more attention to the South, where Michael S. Dukakis failed to carry a single state.

Although Democrats scheduled their Super Tuesday primaries to focus on the region earlier this year, Robb and Johnston suggested that more tinkering is needed to convince Southern voters that Democrats are paying sufficient attention to them.

“There are going to have to be some rules changes so that someone who’s more of a centrist can get the nomination,” Johnston said. “I would say you need to break up Super Tuesday. You shouldn’t have all the South (scheduled) together.”

Robb suggested that party leaders should rotate the primaries, so Iowa and New Hampshire do not always come first. Democratic Party Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr., appearing on NBC-TV’s “Meet the Press,” said the irony of the current system is that “candidates are out in Iowa for virtually three years, whereas for an important region like the South . . . they were really only there for three days. That is all, I think, out of whack.”

Kirk Stewardship

While Democrats agreed on the need for changes in nominating rules, there was conflict between the party’s liberal and conservative wings over Kirk’s stewardship as chairman. Kirk has said he would step down at the conclusion of his current four-year term, but indicated Sunday that some party leaders have asked him to consider serving another term.

“I’m going to listen to the counsel of a number of the leaders and elected officials in the party who said don’t say you won’t stay on until we have an opportunity to chat with you about it . . . . So that’s my plan,” he said.

However, the Rev. Jesse Jackson declared on the CBS broadcast that Kirk told him after last Tuesday’s election that he would honor his pledge to step down. Jackson, who is known to be touting his own campaign chairman, Ron Brown, for the party post, charged that Kirk is now sending out “mixed signals” on the issue.

Asked if he would support Kirk for another term, Jackson replied: “I would not appeal to him to stay on . . . I could not say yes or no to that.”