Democratic leaders back $21.9 billion budget cuts

March 19, 1980

Congressional Democratic leaders have settled on $21.9 billion in cuts and savings in the fiscal 1981 budget, including elimination of Saturday mail delivery and all revenue sharing for states, House Democratic leader James C. Wright Jr. said Tuesday. If the entire program is enacted, said Mr. Wright, a Texas Democrat, the budget will not only be balanced, but will have a projected

Meanwhile, in a vote that may reflect the division felt toward the President's new economic policies, a Senate committee Tuesday narrowly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment demanding that the federal budget be balanced yearly.

Eight senators voted for the amendment, nine against, Monitor correspondent John Yemma reports. Sen. Robert Dole (R) of Kansas, arguing for the amendment, predicted such a new law would have had a greater impact on the nation than President Carter's proposed method of balancing the budget.