[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 91 (Thursday, July 14, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 14, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     GOOD NEWS ON DEFICIT REDUCTION

  (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this week the House of 
Representatives passed the 13th of 13 appropriations bills, on budget 
and on time, and the Office of Management and Budget released its 
midsession review on the economy. This review contains good news for 
those who care about deficit reduction and about the health of this 
economy. The 5-year budget plan passed last year will produce $692 
billion in deficit reduction, and it achieves $135 billion in deficit 
reduction in 1995 alone. As a percentage of the gross domestic product, 
the 1995 deficit will be 2.4 percent. That is less than half of the 4.9 
percent of 1992, and it is the lowest level of any year since before 
Ronald Reagan's budget-busting Presidency.
  The 218 Members who voted for last year's budget deserve credit for 
getting past the posturing on deficit reduction and making responsible 
budgeting a reality again. The economy continues to respond well, 
showing once again how far off base the prophets of doom and gloom have 
been. Unemployment is down, and we have created 3.5 million private 
sector jobs since January of last year. That is twice as many as were 
created in the previous 4 years combined.
  Mr. Speaker, those 13 appropriations bills contain some good news, 
too, showing the importance of not only spending less but also spending 
what we do spend in a more intelligent and targeted fashion that pays 
off for this economy in the future.
  We have come a long way, Mr. Speaker, but we have a great deal more 
to do, particularly in the area of health care reform. Health care 
costs still threaten to undo the progress we have made on the deficit. 
In the coming weeks, we have got to pass a reform bill that covers all 
Americans and gets those costs under control.

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