A wide range of bills newly introduced in Congress would cut Social Security taxes, free billions of dollars for the nation's highways and cash in on the thaw in East-West relations by cutting Pentagon programs. Many of the bills introduced as lawmakers returned to work Tuesday after their winter recess would address the massive federal budget deficit and the gimmicks used to disguise the government's red ink. Also introduced were bills that would raise the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet status and allow women to serve in combat. The largest political storm has already formed over Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan's proposal to cut Social Security taxes. Moynihan was derided by the White House earlier this month when he announced the plan, which he formally introduced Tuesday. He would roll back Social Security payroll tax rate from the 7.65 percent it reached Jan. 1 to the previous 7.51 percent. That would save workers $7 billion this year and $55 billion in fiscal 1991. ``We must end the shameful practice of using Social Security revenues to finance budget deficits,'' said Moynihan, D-N.Y. The surplus in Social Security reserves is counted in the budget, making the deficit appear smaller than it actually is. The surpluses are the result of efforts to build up reserves for the Baby Boom generation when it ages and will dwindle after the turn of the century. But the Bush administration calls the move part of a Democratic plot to raise other taxes. Sen. Ernest F. Hollings, D-S.C., meanwhile, rolled various tax proposals _ including his perennial call for a national sales tax _ into a Tax Reform and Competiveness Act. The legislation embraces some of President Bush's proposal to lower the capital gains tax and includes Moynihan's Social Security proposal and a plan by Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, to restore the tax deduction for Individual Retirement Accounts. This is the fifth straight year Hollings has introduced legislation for a value added tax, as the sales tax is known. On another budget front, Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., introduced legislation he said would release more than $10.5 billion in highway money being held in the federal Highway Trust Fund. The money represents the accumulated difference between revenues _ larely from the 9-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax _ and federal highway authorizations. Critics say the money is deliberately underspent to keep the deficit low and provide a cheap source for government borrowing. ``Over the last decade the federal government has used the money collected by the federal gas tax as a deficit-reduction gimmick,'' Bryan said. Legislation to elevate the Environmental Protection Agency to Cabinet level status was introduced in the House and Senate, with supporters saying they hoped a bill could clear Congress within several months. Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee, said the EPA needs more clout and higher visibility because of the importance of environmental issues in the next decade. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Alan Cranston, D-Calif., moved to translate changes in the Soviet Bloc into less military spending, introducing legislation to cancel the B-1 stealth bomber program after the 15 bombers now in production are built. ``Recent events have made the argument against the B-2 even stronger,'' said Leahy. He said taxpayers would save $40 billion as a result. Rep. Patricia Schroeder, D-Colo., introduced a bill she has been touting since the U.S. invasion of Panama last month that would remove existing prohibitions on women serving in combat. Cranston, under investigation for his role in the scandal over the failed Lincoln Savings and Loan, introduced legislation that would allow the 23,000 holders of worthless junk bonds sold through Lincoln to sue federal regulators for approving the sale. Cranston is one of five senators under an ethics inquiry for receiving contributions from Lincoln owner Charles Keating Jr. and intervening with federal regulators on Keating's behalf. A bill introduced by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., would bar senators from taking honoraria and limit outside earned income to 15 percent of salary. The measure would bring Senate rules in line with those approved by the House last year. Sens. Dennis DeConcini, D-Ariz., and Gordon J. Humphrey, R-N.H., introduced a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit senators and members of the House to 12 years in office. Humphrey said the amendment would ``go a long way toward restoring a truly representative Congress.'' In other legislation Tuesday: _Reps. Silvio Conte, R-Mass., and Joseph Brennan, D-Maine, introduced separate bills to raise low-income energy assistance subsidies after a cold snap and low inventories sent heating oil costs skyrocketing 50 percent last month. _Banks and thrifts that launder drug money would lose their charters under a bill introduced by Rep. Frank Annunzio, D-Ill, chairman of the House Banking financial institutions subcommittee. _And Rep. James Trafficant, D-Ohio, introduced a bill to repeal the 1985 Gramm-Rudman deficit reduction law, calling the law ``that turkey that should be shot down.''
