1. Undue process," The Economist, November 9, 1985, p. 32. [BACK]

2. Pat Towell, "Pentagon Asks $313.7 Billion for Defense Buildup," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, February 9, 1985, pp. 229-35. [BACK]

3. Elizabeth Wehr, "Reagan, Senate GOP Reach '86 Budget Accord," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, April 6, 1985, pp. 627-28. [BACK]

4. Ibid. [BACK]

5. Elizabeth Wehr, "FY '86 Budget Struggle Moves to Senate Floor," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, April 20, 1985, pp. 717-19. [BACK]

6. Ibid. [BACK]

7. Ibid. [BACK]

9. Elizabeth Wehr, with Jacqueline Calmes and Pamela Fessler, "'86 Budget Hung Up in Senate Floor Squabble," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, April 27, 1985, pp. 768-69, 771. [BACK]

10. Elizabeth Wehr, "Defense Cut, Social Security Boosted: Republican Budget Package Picked Apart on Senate Floor," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 4, 1985, pp. 815, 817-18. [BACK]

11. Ibid. [BACK]

12. Elizabeth Wehr, "Budget Speaks Through Senate Floor Vote," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 11, 1985, pp. 871-74. [BACK]

13. "Undue process," The Economist, November 9, 1985, p. 32. [BACK]

14. Jacqueline Calmes, "House Panel Gives Quick OK to '86 Budget," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 18, 1985, p. 915. [BACK]

15. Jacqueline Calmes, "House, With Little Difficulty, Passes '86 Budget Resolution," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 25, 1985, p. 975. [BACK]

16. Elizabeth Wehr, "House Centrist Bloc: Still Waiting to Happen," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 25, 1985, p. 972. [BACK]

17. Elizabeth Wehr, "Tough Task: Reaching An '86 Budget Accord," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, June 1, 1985, pp. 1044-45. [BACK]

18. Jacqueline Calmes, "Budget Negotiations Resume as Senators Offer New Plan," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, June 29, 1985, p. 1258. [BACK]

19. Ibid. [BACK]

20. Ibid. [BACK]

21. Jacqueline Calmes, "President Fails to Unsnarl Budget Deadlock," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, July 13, 1985, pp. 1355-58; "Budget is Settled With President, Leaders Declare," New York Times, July 10, 1985, pp. A1, A14. [BACK]

22. Ibid. [BACK]

23. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "G.O.P. Rift Widens as Dole Criticizes Reagan and House," New York Times, July 13, 1985, p. 1. [BACK]

24. Ibid.; Calmes, "President Fails to Unsnarl Budget Deadlock." [BACK]

25. Calmes, "President Fails to Unsnarl Budget Deadlock." [BACK]

26. Jacqueline Calmes, "Budget Negotiations Collapse for Second Time," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, July 20, 1985, pp. 1413-15. [BACK]

27. Ibid. [BACK]

28. Ibid. [BACK]

29. Ibid. [BACK]

30. David Rogers, "Talks on Fiscal 1986 Budget Collapse; Agreement This Summer Seems Unlikely," Wall Street Journal, July 18, 1985, p. 48. [BACK]

31. Calmes, "Budget Negotiations Collapse for Second Time." [BACK]

32. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "New Senate Budget Plan Proposes Oil Import Fee," New York Times, July 26, 1985, p. B5. [BACK]

33. Pamela Fessler, "Filibuster Keeps Item Veto Off Senate Floor," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, July 20, 1985, p. 1415. [BACK]

34. Elizabeth Wehr, "Senate Budgeteers Tie Tax Hike to COLA Delay," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, July 27, 1985, pp. 1467-69. [BACK]

35. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Senate Republicans Consider Dropping Attempt at Compromise on Budget," New York Times, July 24, 1985, p. A17. [BACK]

36. Ibid. [BACK]

37. Ibid. [BACK]

38. Janet Hook, "Medicare Savings Approved: $19 Billion Deficit-Reduction Package Wins Committee OK," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, July 27, 1985, pp. 1483-85. [BACK]

39. Fuerbringer, "New Senate Budget Plan"; Wehr, "Senate Budgeteers Tie Tax Hike to COLA Delay." [BACK]

40. Robert Pear, "Spending Freeze Gaining in House Despite Deadlock," New York Times, July 28, 1985, pp. A1, A25. [BACK]

41. Ibid. [BACK]

42. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Reagan Rebuffs Senate on Budget," New York Times, July 30, 1985, pp. A1, A17. [BACK]

43. Gerald M. Boyd, "Republicans' Ties to Reagan Frayed by Budget Rebuff," New York Times, July 31, 1985, pp. A1, A13. [BACK]

44. Jacqueline Calmes, "Angry Senate Republicans Bear No Grudges," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, August 3, 1985, p. 1522. [BACK]

45. Ibid. [BACK]

46. Elizabeth Wehr, "Congress Cuts Budget by More Than $55 Billion," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, August 3, 1985, pp. 1520, 1523-24. [BACK]

47. Warren Rudman prepared a carefully crafted speech explaining his reasoning, on the Senate floor, August 2, 1986. [BACK]

48. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Deficit Forecast Too Optimistic, Leaders Report," New York Times, August 3, 1985, pp. A1, A8. [BACK]

49. Elizabeth Wehr, "CBO Sees Hopeful Signs in Deficit Reduction," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, August 17, 1985, p. 1651. [BACK]

50. Steven V. Roberts, "Phil Gramm's Crusade Against the Deficit," New York Times Magazine, March 30, 1986, pp. 20-23, 40, 57, 60. [BACK]

51. Ibid. [BACK]

52. Jacqueline Calmes, "Gramm: Making Waves, Enemies, and History," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, March 15, 1986, p. 611-15. [BACK]

53. Ibid., p. 614. [BACK]

54. Allen Schick, Congress and Money (Washington, D. C.: Urban Institute, 1980), pp. 36-43. [BACK]

55. "The Senate's Anti-Deficit Duo," U.S. News and World Report, November 11, 1985, p. 15. [BACK]

56. Ibid. [BACK]

57. Interview with Senator Warren Rudman, April 14, 1986, Washington, D.C. [BACK]

58. Ibid. [BACK]

59. Dick Kirschten and Jonathan Rauch, "Political Poker Game Over Deficit Bill Calls Bluff of Reagan and Congress," National Journal, December 14, 1985, pp. 2857-58. [BACK]

60. Interviews with Thomas Dawson, Dennis Thomas, and Donald Regan at the White House, March 14 and July 15, 1986. See also Kirschten and Rauch, "Political Poker Game." [BACK]

61. Interviews with Dawson, Thomas, and Regan. [BACK]

62. Kirschten and Rauch, "Political Poker Game." [BACK]

63. "Symposium on Budget Balance: Do Deficits Matter?" New York City, January 9-11, 1986, sponsored by American Association of Retired Persons, American Stock Exchange, Avon Corporation, The Business Roundtable, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, General Foods Corporation, GTE Corporation, and the Kerr Foundation. Quote is on p. V-28; reporter Owen Ullman's remarks were made during Session VI discussion. [BACK]

64. Kirschten and Rauch, "Political Poker Game." [BACK]

65. Dick Kirschten, "White House Tests Legislative Flair on Risky Deficit-Reduction Measure," National Journal, October 19, 1985, pp. 2380-81. [BACK]

66. Congressional Quarterly Almanac 1985, Vol. 41 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1986), p. 459 (hereafter CQA 1985). [BACK]

67. Elizabeth Wehr, "Support Grows for Balancing Federal Budget," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, October 5, 1985, p. 1977. [BACK]

68. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Plan to Balance U.S. Budget by '91 Delayed in Senate," New York Times, October 5, 1985, pp. 1, 3. [BACK]

69. Ibid. [BACK]

70. Ibid. [BACK]

71. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Senate Seeks Bar to Deficits By '91 in Bipartisan Vote," New York Times, October 10, 1985, pp. A1, B19. [BACK]

72. Ibid. [BACK]

73. Ibid. [BACK]

74. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Leaders in Senate Reach Compromise On U.S. Debt Limit," New York Times, October 9, 1985, p. A1. [BACK]

75. Jacqueline Calmes, "Senate's Initiative Leaves Democrats Frustrated at Leadership, Republicans," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, October 12, 1985, pp. 2036-37. [BACK]

76. Interview in Washington, D.C., April 14, 1986. [BACK]

77. We wonder what would happen without informed staff! [BACK]

78. CQA 1985, p. 457. [BACK]

79. New York Times, October 24, 1985, p. 14. [BACK]

80. Calmes, "Gramm: Making Waves, Enemies, and History." [BACK]

81. Let us say that some authority (GAO?) calculated that outlays were too high and should be cut 5 percent. If 5 percent of new budget authority were sequestered for each program, project, or activity, the resulting outlay cuts would be very small for any slow-spend program (say buying aircraft carriers), and the total outlay cut for that year (though not over time) would be far below target. Alternatively, average translation of budget authority to outlays could be calculated. About two dollars of new budget authority creates one dollar in outlays each year. So 10 percent of all new budget authority could be sequestered, thereby saving the needed 5 percent of outlays. Here there are two problems: the budget authority cut is huge, and it hurts fast-spend programs such as personnel (and what use are tanks without someone to drive them?). That could be avoided by sequestering exactly enough in new budget authority for each account (or P/P/A) to meet the 5 percent outlay reduction target for that account. In personnel, that would be 5 percent of the budget authority, sensible enough. But in a procurement account most of that year's outlays derive from prior contracts. If these are protected on constitutional and practical grounds, saving 5 percent of outlays that year might require eliminating all new budget authority. [BACK]

82. Richard E. Cohen, "Balanced Budget Plan Forces House Democrats to Get Their Act Together," National Journal, November 16, 1985, pp. 2586-88. [BACK]

83. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Democrats Would Exempt the Poor From Budget Ax," New York Times, October 30, 1985, p. B6. [BACK]

84. Steven V. Roberts, "Budget Battle: Democrats United Behind Party Plan," New York Times, November 2, 1985, p. 9; Cohen, "Balanced Budget Plan Forces House Democrats." [BACK]

85. Ibid. [BACK]

86. The most active were Representatives Aspin, Foley, Gephardt, Obey, Panetta, and Republican Trent Lott, together with Senators Chiles, Domenici, Gramm, Packwood, and Rudman. [BACK]

87. Elizabeth Wehr, "Gramm-Rudman Both Disappoints and Succeeds," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, November 15, 1987, pp. 2879-82. [BACK]

88. Elizabeth Wehr, "Bipartisan Budget Agreement Now Seems Likely," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, May 17, 1986, p. 1082. [BACK]

89. Elizabeth Wehr, "Bipartisanship vs. Election-Year Politics: Senate Restlessness May Signal Unique Cooperation on Budget," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, February 22, 1986, pp. 443-45. [BACK]

90. Ibid. [BACK]

91. Kirschten and Rauch, "Political Poker Game." [BACK]

92. The conference agreement explained it very differently: as a $20 billion maximum prorated for the fact that, as of March 1, 1986, only seven months remained in the fiscal year—thus seven-twelfths of $20 billion equals $11.7 billion. [BACK]

93. The deficit reduction timetable is slightly altered from Alice C. Maroni and Robert E. Foelber, "The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Deficit Reduction Process (P.L. 99-177) and the Department of Defense: A Summary Review," Report No. 86-7, Congressional Research Service, January 6, 1986. [BACK]

94. Even more important to the tactics of GRH, appropriations for the coming year might not have been passed. So what do you sequester from? Essentially, from last year's levels; subsequent additions supposedly would be inhibited by points of order. [BACK]

95. Two complications in sequestration appear: the reductions in health programs were taken off the top (if, in our example, they were $2 billion, other defense and domestic would be cut $17 billion each, or $34 billion total). COLAs for federal retirement could be sequestered (though existing benefits could not), but it was hard to tell whether they were defense or domestic because they consisted of military, Pentagon civilian, and civilian agency retirees. Therefore, they credited any retirement COLA cuts half to the defense and half to the domestic sequester targets. [BACK]

96. As for the sources of spending, in any year the defense function (050) has at its disposal (1) new budget authority and old budget authority that (2) is obligated and (3) unobligated to be spent. The outlay base consists of outlays from new budget authority due to be spent that year, plus outlays generated from the prior year's obligated balances, plus new spending from previously unobligated balances. Conferees decided to sequester a new category called "budgetary resources"—all new budget authority, together with unobligated balances. (Obligated balances were left out because the government had already signed contracts to spend them.) This meant that all new budget authority (NBA) and unobligated balances would be sequestered, whether or not they caused outlays in that year. The percentage reduction for outlays is calculated as the amount needed, divided by the definition of the outlay base. That percentage is then applied to the budgetary resources, which are what is sequestered. So, in a personnel account, maybe $1.03 billion in budgetary resources exists with $1 billion in projected outlays. If a 10 percent outlay cut were needed, $103 million in resources would be cut. A procurement account with much greater BA than outlays would have a much larger difference between the BA sequestered and the outlay target, but the savings, though spread over a number of years, might well be less than the outlay target in the first year. [BACK]

97. After sequestration, however, presidents would retain whatever reprograming authority they had been able to exercise in the past, a practice based mostly on informal understandings with Congress. Gramm-Rudman-Hollings did nothing to change that whole gray area of appropriations law, in which the obligation of the executive to conform to any congressional instructions not engraved in law was very dubious. It remained to be seen whether GRH would drive Congress and the president into battle over a set of old understandings based largely on custom and without legal force. To continue describing the close monitoring of presidential performance: on September 5 the chief executive would submit a list of proposed changes in contracts to the Armed Services and Appropriations committees. At the end of the month, GAO would certify that savings stemming from sequestration of contracts were correct—if they were. [BACK]

98. Representative Mike Synar, who brought the suit, and his legal advisers, apparently guessed right in accepting the Senate's terms, hoping the district court rulings on which Senate staff relied would not hold. [BACK]

99. Elizabeth Wehr, "Ways and Means Bill Blocked: Trouble Brewing as Congress Moves to Reduce Spending," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, September 21, 1985, p. 1863. [BACK]

100. Stephen Gettinger, "Budget Leaders Force Cuts in Spending Bills," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports, October 5, 1985, p. 1984. [BACK]

101. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Senate Approves Measure on Budget," New York Times, September 26, 1985, p. B10. [BACK]

102. Warren Weaver, "$100 Billion Tax Rise is Urged by Stockman," New York Times, September 30, 1985, p. D7. [BACK]

103. "Undue Process," The Economist, November 9, 1985, p. 32. [BACK]

104. "Conferees OK Legislative Spending," p. 2172; and Stephen Gettinger, "Senate Votes $9.9 Billion Transportation Bill," pp. 2172-73, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, October 26, 1985. [BACK]

105. Jacqueline Calmes, "House Passes, Senate Defers Major Deficit-Cutting Bills," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, October 26, 1985, pp. 2142-43, 2145-46. [BACK]

106. Jacqueline Calmes, "House Panels Surpass Deficit-Reduction Target," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, October 5, 1985, p. 1979; Calmes, "House Passes, Senate Defers." [BACK]

107. Federal Budget Report, October 29, 1985, p. 3. [BACK]

108. "Undue process." [BACK]

109. Diane Granat, "Adjournment Date Slips: Congress Hung Up on Deficit as Fiscal Crisis Week Arrives," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, November 9, 1985, pp. 2263-65. [BACK]

110. Jacqueline Calmes, "Up to $85 Billion in Savings Projected: Conferees Begin to Reconcile Versions of Deficit-Cutting Bill," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, December 7, 1985, pp. 2550-51. [BACK]

111. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Congress Adopts Stopgap Measure on U.S. Spending," New York Times, December 13, 1985, pp. 1, B8; Elizabeth Wehr, "Congress Enacts Far-Reaching Budget Measure," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, December 14, 1985, p. 2604. [BACK]

112. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "'86 Spending Act Rejected in House," New York Times, December 17, 1985, p. B11. [BACK]

113. Ibid. [BACK]

114. Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Conferees Compromise on an '86 Spending Bill," New York Times, December 19, 1985, p. B22; Pat Towell, "Despite Decline in the Budget, Defense Programs Will Survive," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, December 28, 1985, pp. 2748-50. [BACK]

115. Fuerbringer, "Conferees Compromise on an '86 Spending Bill"; Jonathan Fuerbringer, "Congress Reaches Impasse on Plan to Reduce Deficit," New York Times, December 20, 1985, pp. 1, D6. [BACK]

116. Here is a brief listing of some of the hundreds of subjects—some controversial and others mundane—the bill addressed, many of which had little to do with deficit reduction; because the House amended the bill and returned it to the Senate, it is technically still alive though perhaps brain-dead.

—routine extension of several housing programs;

—a requirement that the Transportation secretary withhold 10 percent of highway funds starting in fiscal 1989 from states that have not set their minimum drinking age at 21;

—an instruction to build three highway bridges over the Ohio River between designated points in Ohio and Kentucky;

—a plan to allocate to Gulf Coast states billions of dollars from oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf;

—extensive overhaul of medicare, including changes in the 1983 law that set up a new prospective reimbursement system for hospital fees to limit costs;

—extension of the right to social security benefits to children adopted by and living with their great-grandparents;

—eligibility of Connecticut state policy for social security;

—an increase in the federal excise tax on domestically mined coal to finance the black lung disability trust fund and a waiver for five years of interest payments on the funds' indebtedness.

Richard E. Cohen, "Congressional Focus," National Journal, January 11, 1986, p. 110. [BACK]

117. Jacqueline Calmes, "Deficit-Reduction Bill Goes Down to the Wire," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, December 21, 1985, pp. 2669, 2671-72. [BACK]

118. Steven V. Roberts, "Many in Congress Say Session of '85 Was Unproductive," New York Times, December 22, 1985, pp. 1, 26. [BACK]

119. Ibid. [BACK]

120. "President Bars a Tax Increase," New York Times, December 22, 1985, p. A34. [BACK]

121. Jonathan Rauch, "Politics of Deficit Reduction Remains Deadlocked Despite Balanced Budget Act," National Journal, January 4, 1986, pp. 15-21. [BACK]

122. Jeffrey L. Sheler, "Budget Skirmishing Begins," U.S. News and World Report, February 3, 1986, pp. 20-21. [BACK]

123. Jacqueline Calmes, "Congress May Revive Deficit-Reduction Bill," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, January 18, 1986, p. 106. [BACK]

124. Pat Towell, "Advisory Panel Backs Pentagon Reorganization," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, March 1, 1986, pp. 495-96. [BACK]

125. Stephen Gettinger and CQWR staff, "Deficit-Reduction Bill's Tortuous Journey Ends," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, April 5, 1986, pp. 751-68. [BACK]

126. Stephen Gettinger, "$18 Billion Deficit-Reduction Measure Clears," Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, March 22, 1986, p. 682; Gettinger et al., "Deficit-Reduction Bill's Tortuous Journey Ends." [BACK]

127. "Inside Washington," National Journal, April 19, 1986, p. 923. [BACK]

128. Gettinger, "$18 Billion Deficit-Reduction Measure Clears." [BACK]

129. Gettinger et al., "Deficit-Reduction Bill's Tortuous Journey Ends." [BACK]