THE CONGRESS
For the departments and agencies of the U.S. Government, spring comes in the fall. Late each September, bureaucratic thoughts lightly turn to next year's legislation, programs blossom, and hope springs eternal. Throughout October and well into November, the departments nurture their plans in hothouses. Then comes time for approval by the Budget Bureau and the White Houseand the petals begin to fall. The final pruning, or fatal plucking, is up to Congress.
This week departmental hands were trekking to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to go over their programs with presidential aides. Not all the proposals wereas they sayfinalized. All were subject...