Word: congressmen
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Fort Campbell, Ky., and the pall carried over to the gathering on Capitol Hill. There was a moment of silence for the 248 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who died in the Arrow Air crash two weeks ago. Then it was down to business. More than 160 G.O.P. Congressmen were eager to explain why they had voted to prevent consideration of a bill drastically overhauling the nation's tax code, and the President was just as eager to persuade them not to kill his "No. 1" domestic priority and leave him crippled by a revolt in his own party...
...bill, the Republicans told Reagan, did not reflect his original tax- reform plan. It had been usurped and ideologically warped by the Democrats, they said. Reagan listened patiently. Then he pulled out a packet of index cards and began a prepared response. He understood the Congressmen's concerns. He too would oppose the bill -- if it were unchanged in the final version. But for the process to continue, the bill must be passed and sent to the Senate, where it could be improved. If killed in the House, there would be no second chance...
...Hampshire and by Democrat Fritz Hollings of South Carolina, compels Congress to vote to balance the budget within five years or face automatic cuts. "What % this bill does is put the fat in the fire," declared Gramm. "It forces decisions." Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana, however, likened Congressmen voting for the bill to "the person who writes on the bathroom mirror in lipstick, 'Stop me before I kill again...
...push tax reform through the Democrat-controlled House, the President had taken a calculated gamble and formed an unholy alliance with Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski, a bluff old-style Democratic pol. Though studded with deals and concessions to buy off various Congressmen and their constituencies, the tax package Rostenkowski wrung out of his committee last month was at least a reasonable facsimile of the reform proposal launched by Reagan with great fanfare last spring. Beset by conflicting advice from his aides, however, the President hesitated before endorsing Rostenkowski's bill two weeks ago, and even then his praise...
This rationale offered perfect political cover for Congressmen whose real purpose was to protect the endangered tax breaks of special-interest groups. . Sunbelt Congressmen could look out for oil and gas; Northwestern Congressmen could protect timber; Representatives from Rustbelt states could defend steel and heavy industry. In the end, 164 Republicans and 59 Democrats rebelled and defeated the proposed rule, 223 to 202. Only 14 Republicans backed the President...