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Slaughter votes
'No' on budget
By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Calling the budget agreement presented to Congress early Monday morning a “rehash” of the first compromise rejected last week, Seventh District Congressman D. French Slaughter Jr. again voted against the measure.
“This package was worse than the summit agreement we overwhelmingly rejected at one thirty in the morning last Friday,” the Culpeper Republican said. While there were some cosmetic changes with respect to the so-called Medicare ‘cuts,’ we are presented with billions more in tax increases and more committee ‘discretion’ in meeting savings targets. ” T
The “discretion” Mr. Slaughter referred to was given to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee in determining actual amounts in the budget bill. The Congress approved overall targets for spending ceilings, and left specific program cuts and tax increases up to the committees, which are controlled by the Democrats.
The measure calls for cuts of $40 billion this year, and a total of $500 billion in budget reductions over the next five years. Some of the most objectionable provisions of the package rejected last week, including an increase in taxes on gasoline, home heating oil, alcohol and tobacco, were missing from this version.
The increase in Medicare premiums and reductions in benefits, which drew vociferous objections from the elderly, were also reduced by one-third.
Despite the objection of Congressman Slaughter and other conservative Republicans, the measure was approved by the House of Representatives by a 250-164
See SLAUGHTER, p. A-ff
93.9%