Carter calls for frugality and restraint
The day before Jimmy Carter delivered his State of the Union address, he met at the White House with the House Democratic leaders. He went around the table, asking each for his views on the fiscal 1980 budget. The last to be called on was House Speaker Tip O'Neill. "Mr. Speaker," said the President, "I save you for last. I've got to get my marching orders from you." O'Neill said he had spent more than 40 years fighting for social programs for the poor, and he added: "I didn't become Speaker to strip them." Replied the...
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