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Over broiled steak for three, and a hamburger for Dole, the quartet got down to business. Dole ran down the items that must be decided: size of the overall revenue cut, number of years over which the cuts should be spread, proposals for more rapid depreciation of plant and equipment for business, reduction of the "marriage penalty" against working couples. Long, a master of backroom consensus on tax bills, noted that there was already a general agreement on many of these items in the Senate committee. "Bob Dole and I are on the same track," he said to the House pair. Then he turned to Dole and said: "You and Danny ought to get together." Conable, too, has dreamed of a Dole-Rostenkowski tax bill to resolve the heated issue in a bipartisan manner. Said he to Rostenkowski: "The ball is in your court." Rostenkowski smiled and said: "I have to talk to Jim Wright." Dole picked up the $20 tab. Next time, he said, it would be the Democratic chairman's turn to play host.
The White House, meanwhile, was pursuing another approach, one that had been successful in the budget battle. On Wednesday, Baker and Treasury Secretary Donald Regan held a well-publicized meeting with four members of the Conservative Democratic Forum, also known as the Boll Weevils because it comprises mainly Southern Democrats. This group had undercut Democratic Budget Committee Chairman Jim Jones by supporting the President's spending cuts. The Administration hoped that their visit might at least lead Rostenkowski to suspect that he too might be sandbagged.
But the Boll Weevils refused to make any commitments. They told Baker and Regan that there was no consensus among Democratic conservatives and that they were hoping to support any compromise their party leadership could devise. So the Administration used Boll Weevil leaders to relay to Rostenkowski a "shopping list" of negotiable items. Among possible concessions: the first year cut could be reduced to 5% and delayed until October. Regan called Conable to say the meeting seemed a success. He had high hopes for the four Democrats. Said he: "They'll go for '5-10-10' and a couple of other little things."
Rostenkowski was also pleased, both by the expressions of loyalty from his party conservatives and by the negotiating points they relayed. He met Thursday morning with Secretary Regan to begin the complex task of discussing details. Meanwhile, Majority Leader Wright had lunch with Presidential Counsellor Edwin Meese at the White House and also talked to Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker and Republican Paul Laxalt of Nevada.