[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H604]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CUTTING THE FEDERAL BUDGET

  (Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, my Democrat colleagues make 
a strange argument against the balanced budget amendment. They say do 
not pass it because if we do, we will have to cut spending.
  The corollary of that is that they think it is wise to continue to 
increase the deficit $100 to $300 billion every year for the next 
decade.
  Two, this year the estimates are down, but Members know a well as I 
do it is only a couple of years until they zoom up to $400 billion a 
year.
  Yes, a balanced budget amendment will mean that we will have to cut 
spending, and to he extent that we do it honestly by downsizing 
agencies, by raising the retirement age so that Federal employees 
retire when the rest of the world retires, by means testing Medicare 
premiums, by doing sensible, realistic, honest changes in Federal 
public policy, to that extent, you bet we will be able to protect 
Social Security, health care security for our seniors, and those 
programs critical to the American people.


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