Word: gramm-rudman
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Almost as significant, however, was what was not done. The spending cuts were actually far less than those mandated by the automatic Gramm-Rudman- Hollings ax, which was temporarily activated last Friday pending enactment of the new compromise. Some of the other savings came from selling off federal assets and various financial sleights of hand. And the summiteers squandered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity -- a major financial crisis during a nonelection year -- to confront the biggest sacred cow of all: Social Security. Few dared even to whisper those words...
...good many lawmakers were left cold by the compromise. Liberal Democrats complained that the Pentagon reductions were not deep enough (they are less than half of what they would be under Gramm-Rudman). Republicans griped that the package relied too much on taxes. Several critics said the $30.2 billion in estimated savings for fiscal 1988 will hardly make a dent in the deficit for that year, which Congress projects will be $179.9 billion. Senator Bob Packwood, an Oregon Republican, called the budget package a "miserable little pittance." Congressman Newt Gingrich was even more acerbic in his appraisal...
...Washington seemed to feel no such ground swell, at least not last week. The group is losing a race against the calendar for an agreement on a bipartisan package of spending reductions and revenue increases before Nov. 20, when $23 billion in arbitrary cuts will take hold under the Gramm-Rudman law. The committee began the week with optimism all around, based on a plan proposed by House Minority Leader Robert Michel of Illinois that would cut the deficit by $30 billion in fiscal 1988 and $45.5 billion in 1989. Michel's proposal was considered a breakthrough because it managed...
This week the group may feel more pressure, since the deadline arrives Friday. Congress could seek an extension of the Gramm-Rudman date, but that would be risky unless the group produces a compromise plan beforehand. Reason: the delay might send a strong signal to the financial markets that Washington is truly incapable of making tough decisions...
However, if the deficit-reduction agreement is enacted, the Gramm-Rudman cuts would be canceled and programs would be restored...