The Cabinet, by majority vote, today approved Finance Minister Yigal Hurwitz’s IL 405 billion austerity budget for the new fiscal year beginning April I. Three ministers dissented because of Hurwitz’s declared intention to slash social services and housing.
Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin, Minister of Social Betterment Yisrael Katz and Absorption and Housing Minister David Levy said they would continue to fight for the retention of these services. The IL 405 billion represents a framework within which the Treasury will have to bargain with individual ministries over their respective budgets.
Premier Menachem Begin announced after the six-hour session that Project Renewal, home building and child welfare payments would not be cut. Hurwitz had planned to prune IL 2 billion from child welfare. He said tonight that he would have to find those funds elsewhere. (By David Landau)
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