GRAMM THROWS DOWN THE GAUNTLET

Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.)threatened to block his own party's budget if it does not cut taxes for families and investors. "This is a defining moment for our party and for our country, and I will cut no deals with America's future," Gramm told a United States Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting in St. Louis. "If they negotiatea budget with no family tax cuts and no incentives for growth, I will stop it cold." Gramm, who failed to gain support for a tax-cut package similar to the $350 billion House package, noted that Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole,his arch rival for the Republican nomination,had failed to speak in favor of the Gramm proposal and supported it only after it was clear it would lose.