Quick Action on Federal Budget Called Unlikely

Quick agreement between congressional and Administration budget negotiators is unlikely and Congress may miss its April 15 deadline for drafting a spending plan, House Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley said today.

“I do not expect this to move very fast,” Foley (D-Wash.) said as the closed-door talks resumed on Capitol Hill. “It has to move over a period of time. It’s a gradual process.”

Foley said he did not expect agreement by March 23 when the negotiating group is scheduled to report to President Bush and the House and Senate leadership. “I think the 23rd is very early,” he said.

‘A Historic Step’

“What we would like to do is meet the April 15 date for a budget resolution,” he said. But “that often has not been possible” and a May 15 completion of a fiscal 1990 budget might be more realistic, he said.

Bush and congressional leaders agreed at a White House meeting Tuesday that the talks would aim to develop a consensus on broad generalities instead of specific programs in hopes of finding progress before the end of next week.

“I believe it is a historic step,” said Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.), the senior Republican on the Budget Committee who gave the most bubbly assessment following the meeting. “I look forward to the beginning of earnest negotiations.”

The Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Jim Sasser (D-Tenn.), was upbeat but less sanguine.

‘50-50 Chance’ Seen

“I think we’ve got at least a 50-50 chance at this juncture of a successful negotiation,” Sasser said. “I don’t want to overstate the chances of success, however.”

White House aides have been meeting steadily with congressional budget writers since Bush on Feb. 9 released his $1.16-trillion spending plan for fiscal 1990. However, the discussions have dwelt on the scope and format of their mission as neither side has been willing to propose either new taxes or new spending cuts to reduce the deficit.

At Bush’s invitation, the budget negotiators, key committee chairmen and party leaders of the House and Senate met Tuesday at the White House to see if the talks could be moved forward.