Reagan silences Congress on Social Security cuts

WASHINGTON (A P) Republican congressional leaders said yesterday that President Reagan gave them no encouragem en t w hen they proposed cu tting Social Security and o th e r open-ended benefit p rogram s this year in o rder to hold dow n the federal deficit. O ne called th e proposal, “just barely an open question .” A nother said it “should be put to res t” for this year, despite w hat w ere described as strong p resen tations by som e senators w ho to ld Reagan those program s m ust be cu t now in o rder to make the substantial budget reductions he w ants for the fiscal year that begins O ct 1. Reagan him self gave repo rte rs a rare “no com m ent” w hen they asked him at the start o f the m orning m eeting w h eth er he w ould rule out a proposal to recalculate cost-ofliving increases for Social Security recip ients to reduce costs. Social Security is the largest o f the many so-called en titlem en t program s that are poolitically and financially difficult to con tro l b e ­ cause they pay benefits no t on the basis o f annual congressional ap­ propriations bu t on the basis o f the num ber o f people w ho m eet the ir eligibility criteria. Entitlem ent p rogram s also in­ clude food stamps, welfare, un ­ em ploym ent, veterans’ pensions, Medicaid and M edicare. Various W hite House spokesm en said last w eek as the adm inistration sought ways to make new budget cuts that Reagan w ould no t seek fur­ ther reductions in en titlem en t program s this year, but m ight w hen C ongress takes up the fiscal 1983