[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 9 (Friday, February 4, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     GOOD NEWS ON THE DEFICIT FRONT

  Mr. EXON. Mr. President, a few remarks are in order to clear the 
politically polluted air regarding the state of our present mushrooming 
economy and the impact of the deficit reduction bill that passed 
Congress last year by the narrowest of margins.
  In both Houses of Congress, lest we forget, it was a strictly 
partisan vote with the minority in lock step opposition without 
equivocation or reservation.
  Not a single Republican voted in favor in the House or Senate. It was 
a remarkable if not unprecedented show of party discipline. Reasoning 
together was clearly discarded in favor of a vote that the minority 
clearly calculated would so wound the President and majority that they 
could win congressional control in the 1994 elections and the 
Presidency in 1996.
  A week ago, Dr. Reischauer, the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office, a nonpartisan organization by choice and design, presented that 
Agency's economic and budget outlook for the next 5 years. There was a 
considerable amount of good economic news in that report. Those of us 
who not only talked about, but bit the bullet and did something about 
deficit reduction should be pleased. It was not easy politically. 
Nothing that requires courage usually is.
  To quote from Dr. Reischauer,

       The deficit picture is significantly brighter than it 
     appeared one year ago when the Congressional Budget Office 
     predicted that the deficit would soar above $350 billion by 
     fiscal year 1998. CBO now predicts that the Federal budget 
     deficit will fall from $223 billion in the current fiscal 
     year to below $170 billion in 1996, then creep up to around 
     $200 billion in 1999.

  The outyear return to rising deficits would occur unless we can get 
soaring health care costs under control. Maybe, just maybe, we can 
muster at least a one vote majority to address that problem also.
  The CBO findings are good news indeed. In 1 year, the CBO has reduced 
its projected deficits by over $670 billion for the period of 1993 to 
1998. That represents a downward reduction in the total deficit over 
that period of time by nearly a third, the largest downward re-estimate 
in CBO's deficit projections in budget history.
  The outlook over the next 10 years has improved considerably as well. 
Last year at this time we were being told that our deficit in 2003 
would be an astronomical $650 billion. Now, that number has been 
reduced to $324 billion, a 50-percent reduction in size. That is, of 
course, still too high but a 50-percent drop is not bad for 1 year's 
work.

  And, what does Dr. Reischauer say is the single most important event 
that caused those projections to come down so dramatically--the Omnibus 
Reconciliation Act of 1993. Over two-thirds of the projected reduction 
can be attributed to that single bill and much of the remainder, which 
is in part due to our improving economy, is indirectly related to that 
bill and the signal it sent that Congress was finally getting serious 
about our budgetary problems.
  Many Republicans in Congress and other bombastic opponents of the 
deficit reduction bill now claim President Clinton should be given no 
credit whatsoever for the turn around. They say it should be credited 
to President Bush and his policies. What would they be saying if we 
were now in a recession? Blame George?
  Several months ago, we were hearing a loud drumbeat from the other 
side of the aisle that our deficit reduction bill simply was not going 
to work and would be ruinous to the economy and jobs. Speech after 
speech was delivered and time and time again we heard the same dire 
prediction. A minority member of the Senate Budget Committee said, 
``The American people should know unequivocally this plan does not 
reduce our long-term deficit.'' Another Republican colleague charged, 
``There is no deficit reduction in this bill.''
  Another of my Republican colleagues even went so far as to say that 
if the bill did indeed slash the deficit that he would be, and I am 
quoting; I emphasize that, the ``First Senator to stand up and put 
President Clinton's bust on Mount Rushmore.'' Well, we are waiting. In 
the meantime, it looks like it might be prudent to appoint a commission 
to decide where the bust would be placed. I would object to them taking 
down Thomas Jefferson, the only Democrat of the foursome.
  Well, the early returns are in, and I acknowledge that they are 
indeed early returns, but the naysayers have been proven suspect if not 
dead wrong. Our deficits are going down and they are going down 
dramatically. We are not out of the woods yet, but we are surely on the 
right path. Progress definitely is being made.
  Anyone who has been watching the news lately must also be very 
pleased with the reports regarding the state of our economy. It is 
clear that we are steadily recovering from our recent recession, 
because of Bill Clinton, or, as some would have it, in spite of him.
  Existing housing sales last year were at their highest level ever. 
Interest rates are low and have remained low throughout his 
administration. Mortgage interest rates hit a 25-year low. Our economy 
has been surging, yet our core inflation rate is the best it has been 
in two decades. Our stock markets are at record high levels and have 
steadily increased throughout the year. Many of our wealthiest citizens 
have made far more on their stock portfolios than they will ever have 
to pay due to our higher income tax rates. But of course they want it 
both ways.

  At this time, it has been nearly a year since President Clinton 
announced his ambitious recovery plan. It is now nearly 6 months since 
Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the deficit 
reduction bill, after we in the Congress made several appropriate and 
significant changes. We did the right thing for the good of our 
country, our children, and grandchildren and history will so record.
  During that entire process, we heard prediction after prediction that 
we were leading this Nation to economic ruin. The deficit reduction 
bill was going to be a disaster that according to one Republican 
Senator would ``Put this Nation into a recession.'' The bill was a jobs 
killer that would put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work.
  According to another Republican Senator, who should have known 
better, our budget plans were about to ``Put hundreds of thousands and 
ultimately millions of our fellow citizens out of work'' and would 
``Devastate the economy.'' The deficit reduction bill would ``Crush 
small businesses and family farms denying us the jobs our people need. 
* * *'' And, finally, this Senator called the deficit reduction bill 
``A one way ticket to a recession.''
  A leading Republican claimed that the ``Democratic plan that is about 
to pass will end up sacrificing jobs, economic growth, adequate deficit 
reduction, and most importantly sacrificing the trust of the American 
people.''
  They were all wrong on all counts if results to date mean anything. 
During this last year, our economy created more jobs than it did during 
the entire 4 years that preceded it. Our gross domestic product in the 
fourth quarter of 1993 rose at its highest level since 1987. Our 
deficit went down and future deficits are going down. The outyear 
deficits will also continue this downward trend if we can stop 
escalating health care costs.
  When I decided to support that bill last summer, I knew it was not 
perfect. But, it was an important first step toward fiscal 
responsibility. To those who claimed otherwise and who brought out 
excuse after excuse as to why they could not join in taking that step, 
I ask that they take a look at the CBO's economic and budget outlook.
  Having taken that important step, however, it is important that we 
remember that we have far to go. Even under CBO's encouraging new 
projections, absent changes in our health care delivery system, our 
deficits level off after a few years and begin to increase at the turn 
of the century. I have long maintained that we need to adopt a plan, a 
glide path if you will, that gradually reduces our deficits until our 
budget is balanced. We are not yet at that point.
  I have not bought into the series of 5 year balanced budget plans 
that imagined such an unreasonable miracle in such a comparatively 
short timeframe, given the magnitude of the problem. I said that then 
and I say it again, ``Given the magnitude of the problem, we still have 
a long ways to go.''
  To solve our long-term deficit problems, we must look toward 
entitlement reform, especially toward means testing and a look at more 
appropriate COLA's for higher income recipients. Here again, though, 
this must be a careful, measured, and gradual approach. We should begin 
by stressing a glide path to a balanced budget. Those who envision 
slashing entitlement spending by amounts necessary to accomplish the 
goal in 5 years are doomed to failure. Patience and resoluteness should 
be the watchwords.
  In closing, Mr. President, let me say that we have made much progress 
in a relatively short period of time. The recent good news, however, 
should not be used as an excuse to neglect those budgetary problems 
which remain. We cannot forget that our national debt continues to grow 
and interest payments on the same will continue to consume far too much 
of our overall budget. We are finally on the right track but we cannot 
afford to stop. We can and must make further spending cuts, work 
together in focusing on spending discipline. The hawks and the doves, 
the liberals and the conservatives, the Democrats and the Republicans 
will continue their philosophical differences. That is the way it 
should be. That is democracy. But the coming together and all sharing 
credit for the accomplishment is the only way it will happen.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

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