The Nation - News from Sept. 25, 1988

A member of the bipartisan commission studying ways to reduce the federal deficit says the panel may have a “bias toward tax increases.” Dean Kleckner, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, says the National Economic Commission has shown little support for the approach he favors, which includes a two-year freeze on federal spending and congressional debate on spending priorities. In remarks prepared for delivery today at a meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa., of the National Assn. of Business Economists, Kleckner says the 12-member advisory group should go beyond the “entrenched interests” of Washington in looking for ways to deal with the government’s $150-billion annual deficits. The panel plans to give its report to the new President-elect and Congress about Dec. 21.