Negotiators See Budget Accord by Week’s End

WASHINGTON — White House and Senate negotiators expressed optimism Tuesday that they can reach an agreement by the end of the week on an overall budget package, and reportedly already have drafted a tentative agricultural spending plan.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) told reporters that the group hopes to send a budget plan to President Reagan for final approval before Congress adjourns for its Easter recess on Thursday. He said that it has set an April 22 target for bringing the package to the Senate floor.

Dole had warned last week that Senate Republican leaders were prepared to bring a budget resolution to the Senate floor with or without Reagan’s cooperation. But he said Tuesday that the senators no longer “have any thought that it would be without him.”

Reagan Support Sought

The GOP leaders believe that it will be much easier to get swift Senate approval of a major deficit-reduction package if Reagan publicly supports it. The White House has sharply criticized a budget proposal passed by the Senate Budget Committee because it would drastically cut Reagan’s proposed increase in defense spending while rejecting many of his domestic spending cuts.

“We’re making progress,” White House Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan said as he emerged from Tuesday’s closed-door session in Dole’s office. Budget Committee Chairman Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) said that he was “moving more toward optimism than I was 72 hours ago.”

Domenici said that the negotiators have “tentative ideas” in such difficult areas as farm policy and defense spending.