Coming Up: Head-On Collision

The Democrats, all together now, propose an opposition budget

Hoisting high their glasses of Harp Lager, Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill hailed St. Patrick's Day at a luncheon in the Speaker's lair on Capitol Hill. But the tableau of bipartisan spirits, which reflected the compromises that have been attained so far on Social Security and a $5 billion jobs program, may be the last symbolic display of unity for a while. Beneath the blarney was brewing what could turn out to be a bloody partisan battle. After the lunch was over, the House Budget Committee passed a plan designed by the Democratic leadership that sets up a showdown over the budget for fiscal 1984, which begins in October.

Two years ago, Reagan won passage of his program for cuts in domestic spending and taxes by rolling over the House leadership with the help of a handful of dissident conservative Democrats. Last year a strained bipartisan budget compromise was reached that left the foundations of the Reagan approach in place. But after the Democrats won 26 additional seats in the November elections, Speaker O'Neill passed the word to fellow Democrats that they would attempt to roll back Reaganomics with a budget plan of their own this year.

To start off the effort, Oklahoma Democrat James Jones, chairman of the Budget Committee, set up a series of briefings during which members filled in questionnaires designed to shape a party consensus. For example, 43% of the Democrats who participated in the poll voted for a 5% real increase in defense funding, and 41% preferred a 3% increase. In response, the leadership fashioned a consensus approach for its budget proposal, calling for 4% more defense spending, far below Reagan's proposal for 10% growth. The Democrats also agreed on a plan to raise $30 billion in new revenues, perhaps by limiting the 10% income tax rate cut due to take effect in July, and to restore funds that have been cut from such domestic programs as child nutrition, food stamps and social services. "We know that behind the smokescreen of voodoo economics is the real need to make tough choices," said O'Neill in announcing the Democrats' version of the budget.

Despite the committee's approval of the budget package by a straight party vote, the fragile Democratic consensus may break down on the floor of the House: members will have to wrestle with the political problems inherent in hiking taxes and trimming defense funds in the face of presidential opposition. Even if the budget resolution passes the House, the far more contentious decisions over exactly which taxes to raise and which military programs to cut will have to be resolved in the Ways and Means, Appropriations, and Armed Services committees. Nor will the Republican-controlled Senate be an easy sell: despite G.O.P. sentiment to scale back Reagan's defense increases, leaders in the upper chamber bowed to Administration pressure and delayed consideration of the budget until after Easter.

Reagan is unlikely to accept anywhere near the military cuts or tax increases that the Democrats envision, and he plans a forceful public presentation of his case over the next few weeks. Said he on Friday: "The so-called Jones proposal is a declaration of war against the common-sense principles that are now rebuilding America. This partisan Democratic budget is a dagger aimed straight at the heart of America's rebuilding program." Although some uneasy accommodation is eventually possible, the stage now seems set for months of partisan crossfire as a prelude to the 1984 election. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.