[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1733-S1734]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PATH TO A BUDGET PACKAGE

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, there will be much discussion about what 
will be in the budget package this year. The President will present his 
list of program terminations, reforms, and money saving proposals. The 
Congress working with Governors, State and local officials, and many 
others will start work on a fiscal blueprint for the country's future. 
And newspapers every day for the next few weeks will be filled with 
stories about various money saving ideas that are under consideration.
  I want to describe the decision-making process that will be going on 
over the next few months. I also want to tell you why these budget 
proposals are under consideration in the first place, and how they fit 
into the bigger picture--the future prosperity of our country. Most 
important, keep in mind that these are only preliminary proposals and 
final decisions won't be made until a great deal of fact finding has 
been done.
  The United States currently has $4.8 trillion in outstanding debt. 
Just paying the interest on the debt takes 14 cents out of every dollar 
Americans are paying in Federal income taxes. Every man, woman, and 
child's share of the national debt is more than $18,000. Current 
estimates show our annual deficit increasing every year, growing from 
$175 billion this year to over $250 billion in the year 2000. We are 
mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's future.
  This premise was eloquently stated by Laurence Tribe
   of Harvard Law School:

       Given the centrality in our revolutionary origins of the 
     precept that there should be no taxation without 
     representation, it seems especially fitting in principle that 
     we cannot spend our children's legacy.

  Deficit spending and adding to the national debt cannot go on. 
Governments are no different than families. We all know friends who 
have let their personal finances get out of hand. Some of us have 
experienced it ourselves. At some point the out-of-control spending 
catches up and the credit cards have to be cut up or the family goes 
bankrupt.
  When governments let their deficit spending get out of control, 
citizens suffer. The economy produces fewer and lower paying jobs. This 
relationship between our Nation's spending 
[[Page S1734]] habits and their impact on our economy's ability to 
create good jobs gives every American an important stake in putting our 
fiscal house in order.
  To achieve this goal, every Federal program and expenditure, except 
Social Security, is being evaluated in a bottom-up and top-down review. 
During the next few months Congress will be considering how to best 
reduce the size of the Federal Government and implement fiscal policies 
that will create a strong economy and good jobs. There are hundreds of 
proposals that are under consideration. Some are sound, others less so. 
Some are fair, others are not.
  One of the best fiscal policies for a prosperous future is a balanced 
budget. A balanced budget constitutional amendment requires the Federal 
Government to spend $1.1 trillion less than it is currently projected 
to spend over the next 7 years, and yet total Federal spending will 
still increase every year. In the year 2002--if we reach balance--the 
Federal Government will expend $1.9 trillion; this year the Federal 
Government will expend $1.5 trillion.
  Part of the task is to establish the appropriate metes and bounds of 
the Federal Government. We need to determine how and on what programs 
the Government in Washington should be spending our taxpayers' money. 
There will be a philosophical discussion about the role of the Federal 
Government in our daily lives. Important questions will be answered. 
How can taxpayer dollars best and most efficiently be spent? How can we 
make programs work better and save money? Are there better ways to 
provide Government services? Are there lessons Congress could learn 
from State and local governments? Could the private sector do a better 
job in providing those services that are not quintessential government 
functions?
  There is a feeling that the Government in Washington has been trying 
to micromanage everyone's lives. And while the Federal Government has 
been attempting to run everyone else's business, there is a sense that 
no one has been adequately managing the Government in Washington. 
Reversing this trend is part of putting our fiscal house in order by 
developing this year's budget plan.
  It would be more consistent with our Founding Fathers' vision of a 
limited Federal Government with enumerated powers if the Federal 
Government did less.
  Our country would be a better country if some services were provided 
by the State and local governments instead of the Federal Government. I 
believe the Federal Government should enter into a new partnership with 
the States so that the Federal Government imposes fewer strings, fewer 
rules, and fewer regulations. In addition to achieving more sensible 
Government, this new Federal-State and local government partnership 
could provide the same level of service with fewer taxpayers' dollars. 
If the strings attached to Federal funding were cut, fewer Federal 
dollars would be needed to do the same job and
 fewer taxes being paid by hard working families. This is a win-win-win 
solution.

  In New Mexico, the Governor and I are eager to forge this new 
partnership so that government, at all levels, sets the right 
priorities.
  We already know what some of the priorities are; improving crime 
prevention, detection, and prosecution; preserving the national 
laboratories; and, making sure New Mexico's military bases maximize 
their contribution to our national defense.
  If the future means lower taxes and less Washington-dictated 
Government, this evaluation needs to take place. This is what will be 
going on in the Senate Budget Committee.
  On the first day of the new Congress, the Senate cut the size of 
congressional committee budgets by 15 percent. We are going to lead by 
example. We are also going to proceed with caution and compassion. I 
want you to know that throughout this process, it is my intention for 
everyone to be treated fairly. In making the Federal Government more 
responsive to its citizens, we must keep in mind the neediest among us. 
We are a great nation founded on the notion of equal opportunity. 
Unfortunately, too many of our programs create unintended dependency 
traps. Part of this Congress' work program is to provide more 
intelligent programs that provide choices and restore opportunity.
  I hope the budget we produce will reflect the priorities of the 
American people, forge a new partnership with the States, meet the 
requirements of the balanced budget constitutional amendment, and most 
important, put into law responsible fiscal policies that will let the 
economy create good paying jobs and a brighter future for our children 
and grandchildren.

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