[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 4, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E8-E9]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                            THE 1995 AGENDA

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
report for Wednesday, November 30, 1994, into the Congressional Record.
                            The 1995 Agenda

       There is a deep, free-flowing discontent in the country 
     today. It is difficult to pin down, but it seems to be a fear 
     of the future--a sense of insecurity about jobs, health care, 
     pensions, and the future of the family. Americans are anxious 
     about their future and their children's future in the rapidly 
     changing economy. They are also disgusted with the 
     performance of government. Hoosiers say to me over and over 
     again that government should not try to rescue every one, 
     that government should get off their backs, that they do not 
     want to see their money spent on expanding programs when they 
     are not getting 
     [[Page E9]] enough bang for the buck now. In short, they want 
     less welfare, less taxes, less spending, and, most of all, 
     less government. They want to shake up Washington.


                            Agenda for 1995

       Although they oppose a big and intrusive government, 
     Americans still have a long list of problems they want 
     addressed. They want us to fix the economy, and for most of 
     them that means boosting their incomes. They still want the 
     health care system reformed. Americans are very concerned 
     about the cost of health care and fear losing their 
     insurance. They like the idea of universal coverage, and 
     certainly want more control of health care costs. They do not 
     want government control over health care decisions. They do 
     not like the stresses put on the family, and want a more 
     effective fight against crime.
       Americans want the size and cost of government reduced. 
     They do not favor a passive government, but rather a 
     government that helps them solve problems without overtaxing 
     or overregulating. They feel that government does not benefit 
     them, but benefits somebody else. They want a government that 
     belongs to them. They surely want a reduction in taxes and 
     serious welfare reform. Welfare reform outdistances even a 
     tax cut for the middle class or health care as the top 
     legislative priority of Americans. They want to end welfare 
     dependency, but not end support for people struggling to be 
     self-sufficient. Americans also want us to clean up politics. 
     They do not approve of the way Congress operates and they 
     think most Members have become disconnected from the lives of 
     ordinary Americans.
       The agenda for the next Congress will likely revolve around 
     several themes. First, shrink government. We need to sort out 
     what is the reasonable role of government, what can be 
     accomplished by government and what cannot, and what policy 
     areas could be passed on to the states and private sector 
     from a decentralized federal government. My hope is that in 
     the next few years we can move toward decentralization and 
     smaller institutions. Second, restore confidence in 
     government. Several reforms are needed, including ethics 
     reform, campaign finance and lobbying reform, and addressing 
     the problem of negative campaigning. Policymakers need to 
     govern from the center, and adopt a moderate, centrist 
     approach to issues. Third, fix the economy. We need to build 
     on recent successes in reducing the deficit, and pass a line-
     item veto and a balanced budget amendment. We should pass a 
     middle-income tax cut, provided we can find a way to pay for 
     it and not add to the national debt. I worry about each side 
     trying to up the tax cut proposal of the other side, with the 
     result of a huge increase in the deficit. Fourth, improve 
     personal security. We need to continue our efforts against 
     crime, and work on scaled back health care reform and welfare 
     reform. There is significant momentum for cutting back the 
     welfare system, restructuring it, making it cost less. Fifth, 
     bolster national defense. We need to shore up our national 
     defense and improve readiness, and adopt a position of 
     selective engagement--not being the policeman of the world 
     but intervening only when it is clearly in our national 
     interest.
                   Difficulty of Governing in America

       America has become a much harder place to govern than in 
     the past. It has become larger, more diverse, more crowded. I 
     am impressed with how the public's demand for services 
     collides with government's eroding ability to respond. In 
     many respects our political circuits today are overloaded, 
     and it is difficult for elected officials to address obvious 
     national problems in a deliberate, thoughtful, and thorough 
     way. Interest groups clamor for more attention and more 
     benefits and then defend them vigorously. With the clash of 
     interest groups and ideologies, developing a consensus and 
     putting together coalitions to pass legislation has become 
     increasingly difficult.
       The public debate has become much more polarized. Interest 
     groups are very effective at manipulating the voter. They 
     understand that nothing rouses the faithful like a negative 
     message denouncing the other side as evil incarnate. 
     Polarized rhetoric and extreme positions arouse the faithful, 
     and stimulate membership and contributions. At the same time, 
     the news media seem to believe that the road to the truth 
     lies in finding two extremes and letting them clash. They 
     like to transform every discussion into a debate. They do not 
     want a commentator interested in context, complexity, or 
     moderation--despite the fact that most Americans are not on 
     the extremes but in the center.
       I am also impressed with how little confidence people have 
     in the institutions of government. Press, television, talk 
     radio, and politicians themselves enthusiastically join in 
     undermining confidence in government today. I wonder how far 
     this erosion in confidence can go and still have a 
     functioning democracy.


                               Conclusion

       Americans are demanding wholesale changes in Washington. 
     They are perturbed by complex and disturbing trends of 
     economic hardship, crime, the decline of the family and 
     family values, and the erosion of the American dream. They 
     are taking a long, hard, skeptical look at the condition of 
     their government, and they do not like what they see--too 
     much wasteful spending, too much bureaucracy, too much 
     intrusion into their lives, too little in the way of results.
       Policymakers must sort out what government can still 
     usefully do and what it cannot do. We must prove to Americans 
     that their institutions of government can still achieve 
     something and are worth preserving. We need to be advocates 
     of good sense and effective, unapologetic government but also 
     a government that understands its limits. We also need to be 
     more honest with Americans, letting them know that they 
     cannot have benefits without paying the cost of them.
     

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