Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 29, 1990 TAG: 9006290843
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"I knew I'd catch some flak on this decision," said Bush, who has been sharply criticized by many lawmakers in his own Republican Party. "But I've got to do what I think is right."
Speaking at a White House news conference, Bush said budget talks with congressional leaders are "a make or break effort at responsible government." He said the negotiations are going well and expressed hope there could be an agreement within a few weeks.
Bush won the White House in 1988 by campaigning as an ardent foe of new taxes. "Read my lips, no new taxes," was the most memorable line of his successful drive for the presidency.
But the president today likened himself to Abraham Lincoln. "I'll think anew," he said, when faced with a deficit he said was worse than "any of us visualized" when he made his pledge.
Republican congressmen have made it clear they feel betrayed by the president's reversal on a winning campaign issue.
"Arrows have been flying, back, front, sideways, but that's what I get paid for," he said. "I can totally empathize with what they're going through."
Bush's declaration earlier this week that "tax revenue increases" were an essential element of any deficit-reduction package jump-started budget negotiations with Congress.
Without a deficit-reduction agreement, Bush said, automatic spending cuts totaling $100 billion could take effect Oct. 1, with "draconian" reductions in defense and domestic programs such as student loans.
The deficit for next year could total $150 billion, not counting the cost of cleaning up failed S&Ls.
In accepting the Republican president nomination in 1988, Bush said:
"And I'm the one who will not raise taxes. . . . My opponent won't rule out raising taxes. But I will.
"And the Congress will push me to raise taxes, and I'll say no, and they'll push, and I'll say no, and they'll push again. And I'll say to them: Read my lips. No new taxes."
Bush was asked how he could have made his no-tax pledge in 1988 when the deficit was already at record levels. "The budget deficit is bigger, far bigger. I thought I could do a better job of getting spending down," he said.
The president spoke shortly before leaving for a brief vacation at Kennebunkport, Maine. Next week, he travels to London for a meeting with NATO leaders, then on to Houston for the annual economic summit of industrialized nations.
Asked about a Western package of economic aid for the Soviet Union, Bush cited "the difficulties we have" with such a proposal. "There has got to be economic reform there . . . all kinds of changes I believe [Soviet President Mikhail] Gorbachev wants to see take place but they have to be in place in order for aid to go forward."
The president also defended his son Neil, whose connections with a failed Colorado savings and loan have come under scrutiny by federal regulators and congressional investigators. "I have - what dad wouldn't - full confidence in the integrity and honor of my son," he said.
by CNB