[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 31 (Friday, March 18, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 18, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ON THE BUDGET--FISCAL YEAR 1995

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                               speech of

                         HON. RONALD D. COLEMAN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 11, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H. Con. Res. 218) 
     setting forth the congressional budget for the U.S. 
     Government for the fiscal years 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 
     1999:

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 218, the fiscal year 1995 budget resolution, as 
passed by the Budget Committee. Last year the President offered and the 
Congress passed the largest deficit reduction package in the history of 
the United States. Today we have the opportunity to pass the second 
step in President Clinton's economic plan.
  Mr. Chairman, many will rise today in opposition to the committee 
version. They will deny the great strides the economy is making under 
President Clinton's guidance. My home State of Texas has been a 
beneficiary of President Clinton's economic policy, as evident by the 
over 139,000 new jobs created in Texas last year.
  Others will tout their budget alternatives as being more profamily 
and ask what the administration has done for the family. To them, I 
will say this: The Clinton plan provided a real profamily tax break by 
expanding the earned income tax credit for moderate-income families. 
This enabled those who need their money most, the working parents, to 
keep their money in their pocketbooks and out of the government 
coffers. In Texas, over 1.4 million people are now eligible for the tax 
credit. Over 48,000 families in my congressional district are eligible 
to receive this tax credit.
  In light of the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement 
and its expected impact on the Southwest border region, I am encouraged 
by the Budget Committee's inclusion of the full amount of President 
Clinton's priority investment of $300 million to enhance infrastructure 
and environmental protection in this region. I applaud the Committee's 
commitment to border infrastructure projects in the area of water and 
wastewater for colonias, initiation of the Commission for Environmental 
Cooperation, Border Environmental Cooperation Commission, and the North 
American Development Bank, surface transportation projects and health 
care projects.
  This budget continues the fiscal restraint mandated in last year's 5-
year deficit reduction package. It is a fair and reasonable measure and 
shows that we are serious about our resolve to reduce the deficit 
without diminishing our ability to fulfill our responsibilities to the 
American people. I urge my colleagues to reject all substitutes and to 
vote for the committee version.

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