[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             LET US WORRY ABOUT THE BUDGET NOW, NOT IN 2002

  (Mr. MASCARA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. MASCARA. Mr. Speaker, as a former county commissioner and an 
accountant, I know what it means to balance a budget. I have balanced 
16 of them. I know what it means to make sure that the numbers add up 
correctly. It means sitting down and setting priorities, deciding 
whether to build bridges, build a jail, or to build new drains down 
Main Street. It means seeing if revenues equal the needed outlays, and 
it means doing something about it if they do not.
  My colleagues on the other side of the aisle would like us to believe 
that the budget can be balanced by magic. They say if we pass a 
balanced budget amendment and it goes into effect in the year 2002, 
well, we will worry about it then somehow. I say we had better worry 
about it now. We have to start laying out a roadmap that will lead us 
to the balanced budget. We must let the American people know now what 
they are in for; namely, some very tough times and very difficult 
decisions. My friends on the other side of the aisle say we just cannot 
predict what will happen in 5 years. I have been predicting for years 
as a county commissioner what will happen 20 years later.

                          ____________________