Donnybrook over the Budget

But the House heeded the message from home: Fight inflation

Nothing is as tough as getting a budget resolution through the House."

So confessed Connecticut Democrat Robert Giaimo, chairman of the House Budget Committee, after narrowly winning an acrimonious fight last week to limit federal spending in fiscal 1979 to $500.9 billion, $42.7 billion higher than this year's record budget.

The annual budget resolution, which the House and Senate assumed as a major responsibility in 1974, amounts to a statement of principle setting forth what Congress decides should be the Government spending plans for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 . The Senate has passed its own budget resolution to spend $498.9 billion, and late last week members of the two chambers began working out a compromise that will be sent to President Carter early this week. Whatever the exact total finally is -- and many economists believe it will be too high and burdened with too large a deficit -- it will set the guidelines for all of Congress's deliberations on appropriations in the months ahead.

Last week's House debate was a classic donnybrook, not just between Democrats and Republicans but also between free-spending liberals and hard-fisted conservatives, between Congressmen who want to cut military spending in favor of social welfare and those who want the exact opposite. Serving as a referee of sorts was Giaimo, 58, whose job was to ensure that no one could force through an amendment greatly changing the overall figures worked out by the Democratic leadership.

A giant of a man (6 ft. 3 1/2 in., 220 Ibs.), Giaimo is a 20-year veteran Representative from New Haven. He regards himself as a liberal on social welfare issues but a moderate on economic questions largely because of the influence of his banker father. Says Giaimo: "I learned a healthy respect for economic realities from him."

But the Congressman was confronted last week by an array of lobbyists and Congressmen who wanted to tack more money onto the budget resolution--for defense, for social service programs, for farm supports, for education, for veterans' benefits. To all of them, Giaimo had the same rejoinder: "It's time that we curb our appetites. If we're ever going to get control of the budget, this is the time to do it."

On Giaimo's side were some powerful allies, including an inflation-minded President who had threatened to veto any new programs that would make the budget deficit higher than $60 billion (the House resolution forecasts red ink of $57.9 billion) and many voters who oppose increasing the federal deficit. This same anti-inflation spirit turned House Republicans into a formidable force, even though they are outnumbered by Democrats, 288 seats to 147. In contrast to Senate Republicans, who let their budget resolution breeze through unchallenged last month, House Republicans set out to cut about $20 billion from the Democrats' proposed spending. Said New York's Barber Conable, a chief G.O.P. budget strategist: "Bob Giaimo is exhibiting grace, wit and patience in a difficult task--and I don't like his product."

When Giaimo opened the House debate two weeks ago, declaring that "congressional restraint is imperative," the first stiff challenge came from a fellow Democrat, New York's Samuel Stratton. He wanted to add $2.4 billion to the proposed defense budget of $115.7 billion (compared with this year's Pentagon budget of $110.1 billion). In private, Giaimo had pleaded with Stratton: "Look, if you put your amendment in, you're playing into the hands of those who want to defeat the budget resolution. Leave it alone." But Stratton would not budge. Fumed Giaimo: "How the hell do you talk to Sam Stratton? He's going to say, 'The Russians are coming!' He's going to blow the bill out of the water." But, to Giaimo's surprise, most Democrats held firm, and the House defeated the Stratton amendment, 262 to 142.

Then the Republicans launched their first attack. Maryland's Marjorie Holt proposed an across-the-board cut of $21.4 billion. After a few minutes of debate on an almost empty House floor, Democratic leaders thought they could easily block her amendment. Suddenly, Republican Congressmen, who had been waiting in the Speaker's lobby and the Republican cloakroom, poured into the chamber. The Democrats hastily regrouped. Speaker Tip O'Neill wandered around the floor, glowering and muttering at potential Democratic defectors. Majority Leader James Wright of Texas collared three Democrats and persuaded them to vote the leadership line. He dashed into the cloakroom, pulled another Democrat off the phone and told him, "By God, we need you." The leaders managed to switch seven votes altogether, and the Holt amendment lost, 203 to 197.

Conservatives tried another offensive last week with an amendment proposed by Virginia's Joseph Fisher to slash 2% from the budget resolution. O'Neill, Wright and Democratic Whip John Brademas of Indiana again grabbed wavering Democrats and persuaded them to support the party's leadership. O'Neill jokingly described the arm twisting as "strictly an appeal to reason." Said Wright: "After they had already gone over the brink, we threw over a rope and pulled them back." The leaders changed a dozen votes, and the Fisher amendment was beaten, 203 to 195.

The Democratic leaders did lose a few votes. The House voted to increase spending for veterans' benefits by $844 million, to a total of $21.3 billion ($1.1 billion more than this year's budget). The House also favored reducing projected revenues by $635 million in case Congress later gives parents tax credits for children enrolled in private schools and colleges.

All along, Giaimo had counted on not receiving any G.O.P. votes for his overall budget resolution. He even expected that he might be defeated and forced to start all over again. But on the final vote, three Republicans unexpectedly supported him, and that gave him the victory, 201 to 197.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.