[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2210-S2212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 BUDGET OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996--MESSAGE FROM THE 
                            PRESIDENT--PM 10

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with accompanying 
papers; pursuant to the order of January 30, 1975; referred jointly to 
the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on the Budget:

To the Congress of the United States:
  The 1996 Budget, which I am transmitting to you with this message, 
builds on the Administration's strong record of economic progress 
during the past two years and seeks to create a brighter future for all 
Americans.
  When I took office two years ago, the economy was suffering from slow 
growth, inadequate investment, and very low levels of job creation. We 
moved quickly and vigorously to address these problems. Working with 
Congress in 1993, we enacted the largest deficit reduction package in 
history. We cut Federal spending by $255 billion over five years, cut 
taxes for 40 million low- and moderate-income Americans, and made 90 
percent of small business eligible for tax relief, while increasing 
income tax rates only on the wealthiest 1.2 percent of Americans. And 
while we placed a tight ``freeze'' on overall discretionary spending at 
1993 levels, 
[[Page S2211]] we shifted spending toward investments in human and 
physical capital that will help secure our future.
  As we fought for our budget and economic policies, we moved 
aggressively to open world markets for American goods and services. We 
negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and 
Mexico, concluded negotiations over the Uruguay Round of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and worked with Congress to enact 
implementing legislation for both.
  Our economic plan helped bring the deficit down from $290 billion in 
1992, to $203 billion in 1994, to a projected $193 billion this year--
providing three straight years of deficit reduction for the first time 
since Harry Truman was President. Measured as a percentage of our 
economy--that is, Gross Domestic Product [GDP]--our plan will cut the 
deficit in half.
  By reassuring the financial markets that we were serious about 
getting our fiscal house in order, our plan also lowered interest rates 
while holding inflation in check. That helped to stimulate private 
investment and exports, and sparked the creation of 5.6 million new 
jobs--more than twice the number in the previous four years.
  Now that we have brought the deficit down, we have no intention of 
turning back. My budget keeps us on the course of fiscal discipline by 
proposing $81 billion in additional deficit reduction through the year 
2000. I am proposing to save $23 billion by reinventing three Cabinet 
departments and two other major agencies, to save $2 billion by ending 
more than 130 programs altogether, and to provide better service to 
Americans by consolidating more than 270 other programs. Under my plan, 
the deficit will continue to fall as a percentage of GDP to 2.1 
percent, reaching its lowest level since 1979.
  Despite our strong economic record, however, many Americans have not 
shared in the fruits of recovery. Though these Americans are working 
harder and harder, their incomes are either stagnant or falling. The 
problem is particularly acute among those with less education or fewer 
of the skills needed to compete in an increasingly global economy. To 
build a more prosperous America, one with rising living standards for 
all Americans, we must turn our attention to those who have not 
benefited from the current recovery.
  My budget proposes to do that.


        promoting a rising standard of living for all americans

  I am proposing a Middle Class Bill of Rights, which will provide tax 
relief to middle-income Americans. The Middle Class Bill of Rights 
includes a $500 per child tax credit for middle-income families with 
children under 13, expands eligibility for Individual Retirement 
Accounts and allows families to make penalty-free withdrawals for a 
range of educational, housing, and medical needs; and offers a tax 
deduction for the costs of college, university, or vocational 
education.
 Also as part of my Middle Class Bill of Rights, I am proposing to 
revamp our confusing array of job training programs by consolidating 
some 70 of them. In my G.I. Bill for America's Workers, I propose to 
offer dislocated and low-income workers ``Skill grants'' through which 
they can make their own choices about the training they need to find 
new and better jobs.

  The G.I. Bill for America's Workers is the final element of my effort 
to improve the education and skills of Americans, enabling them to 
compete in the economy of today and tomorrow. In the last two years, we 
enacted Goals 2000 to encourage States and localities to reform their 
education systems; revamped the student loan program to make post-
secondary education affordable to more Americans; and pushed 
successfully for the School-to-Work program that enables young 
Americans to move more easily from high school to training or more 
education.
  And I am proposing to pay for this Middle Class Bill of Rights with 
specific spending cuts. In fact, I am proposing enough spending cuts to 
provide more than twice as much in budget savings--$144 billion--as the 
tax cuts will cost--$63 billion--over five years.


          creating opportunity and encouraging responsibility

  By itself, the Federal Government cannot rebuild America's 
communities. What it can do is give communities some of the tools and 
resources to address their problems in their own way. My national 
service program provides incentives for Americans of all ages to 
volunteer their services in local communities across the country, and 
earn money for their own education. The budget proposes to invest more 
in our urban centers as well as in rural areas, and to continue our 
efforts to build stronger government-to-government relations with 
American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. And I will work with Congress 
to enact comprehensive welfare reform that embodies the principles of 
work and responsibility for abled-bodied recipients, while protecting 
their children.
  My Administration has worked with State and local law enforcement 
agencies to help retake the streets from the criminals and drug dealers 
who, in far too many places, now control them. Congress enacted my 
crime bill last year, finally answering the cries of Americans after 
too many years of debate and gridlock. We pushed successfully for the 
``three strikes and you're out'' rule for violent criminals, and we are 
making significant progress on my promise to put 100,000 more police on 
the street. Congress also passed the long-overdue Brady Bill, which 
provides for background checks that will keep guns out of the hands of 
criminals. In this budget, I am proposing new funds with which States 
and localities can hire more police, build more space in prisons and 
boot camps, invest in prevention programs for first-time offenders, and 
provide drug treatment for many more drug users.
  My Administration inherited deep-seated problems with the immigration 
system, and we have gone a long way toward addressing them. This budget 
proposes the strongest efforts yet, including funds for over 1,000 new 
Border Patrol agents, inspectors, and support staff. While working to 
fulfill the Federal Government's responsibility to secure our borders 
against illegal immigration, the budget also proposes funds to assist 
States that are unduly burdened with the health, education, and prison-
related costs associated with illegal immigrants.
  We must redouble our efforts to protect the environment. My 
Administration has sought more innovative, effective approaches to do 
so, and this budget would build upon them. In particular, I am 
proposing to work more with State and local governments, businesses, 
and environmental groups on collaborative efforts, while seeking more 
funds for high-priority programs.
  Because investments in science and technology pay off in higher 
productivity and living standards down the road, I am seeking 
significant new funding for the Advanced Technology Program at the 
Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
NASA's New Technology Investments, the Defense Department's Technology 
Reinvestment Project, biomedical research at the National Institutes of 
Health, and research and development at the National Science 
Foundation. I am also seeking to strengthen
 our coordinated efforts through the Administration's National Science 
and Technology Council and to improve the payment system for federally-
sponsored research at colleges and universities.

  I remain committed to comprehensive health care reform. The problems 
that prompted me to send Congress the Health Security Act in November 
1993 have not gone away. Health care costs have continued to soar for 
individuals, businesses, and all levels of government. More Americans 
are losing their health coverage each year, and many others are staying 
in jobs only out of fear of losing their own coverage. I am asking 
Congress to work with me on a bipartisan basis, to take the first steps 
toward guaranteeing health care coverage to every American while 
containing costs.


            projecting american leadership around the world

  We have begun the post-Cold War era and welcome one of its most 
significant fruits--the continuing efforts of Russia and the newly-
independent states to move toward democracy and economic freedom. We 
propose to continue our support for this fundamental change that 
clearly serves the Nation's long-term interests.
  My proposals for international affairs also promote and defend this 
Nation's vital interests in Central Europe, the 
[[Page S2212]] Middle East, and Asia. The budget supports the important 
role we play in fostering our historic peace process in the Middle 
East.
  With the global economy offering the prospect of new markets for 
American goods, we are redoubling our efforts to promote an open 
trading system in Asia, as well as in Latin America and the rest of the 
globe. I am, for instance, proposing increased funding for our trade 
promotion agencies, such as the Export-Import Bank, which strengthen 
our trade position. I am also asking for continued support for the 
bilateral and multilateral assistance to less-developed nations that 
can prevent humanitarian crises, as well as support for a strong 
American response to these crises.
  Our military strength works in synergy with our foreign policy. Our 
forces defend our interests, deterring potential adversaries and 
reassuring our friends. My Defense Funding Initiative, a $25 billion 
increase in defense spending over the next six years, marks the third 
time that I have raised defense spending above my initial funding plan 
in order to support and maintain the most capable military force in the 
world. I am determined to ensure a high level of readiness of U.S. 
military forces, to continue to improve the pay and quality of life for 
the men and women who serve, and to ensure that our forces are 
modernized with new systems that will be available near the end of the 
century.


                         making government work

  None of our efforts can fully succeed unless we make Government work 
for all Americans. We have made great progress with the National 
Performance Review (NPR), which I established early in the 
Administration and which Vice President Gore has so ably run at my 
direction.
  Specifically, departments and agencies across the Government have 
made substantial progress on each of the NPR's four themes: putting 
customers first, empowering employees to get results, cutting red tape, 
and cutting back to basics. The departments and agencies have 
established customer service standards and streamlined their 
operations. They also are working with my Office of Management and 
Budget to focus more on ``performance''--what Federal programs actually 
accomplish. And they are doing all this while we are cutting the 
Federal workforce by 272,900 positions, bringing it to its smallest 
size since John Kennedy was President.
  We also greatly improved the Federal regulatory system, opening it up 
more to public scrutiny. We plan to build upon our efforts, to make 
sure that we are protecting the public while not unduly burdening any 
one industry or group. We also overhauled the Federal procurement 
system, cutting mountains of red tape and enabling the Government to 
buy high-quality goods and services at lower cost.
  Despite such progress, however, we are only beginning our efforts. I 
recently announced a major restructuring of the Departments of Housing 
and Urban Development, Energy, and Transportation, the General Services 
Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management. The budget 
contains details of these restructurings and our related proposals that 
affect hundreds of other programs.
  In the coming months, the Vice President will lead Phase II of our 
crusade to reinvent Government--an effort to identify other agencies 
and programs to restructure or terminate, to sort out responsibilities 
among the Federal, State, and local levels of government, and to choose 
functions better performed by the private sector.


                               Conclusion

  Our agenda is working. By cutting the budget deficit, investing in 
our people, and opening world markets, we have begun to lay the 
foundation for a strong economy for years to come. And by reinventing 
the Federal Government, cutting red tape and layers of management, we 
have begun to make Government more responsive to the American people.
  This budget seeks to build upon those efforts. It seeks to spread the 
benefits of our economic recovery to more Americans and give them the 
tools to build a brighter future for themselves. It also seeks to 
continue our reinvention efforts--to eliminate or restructure agencies 
and programs, and to better sort out responsibilities among the 
Federal, State, and local levels of government.
  These proposals will help us to create a stronger economy and more 
effective Government. I will ask for Congress's help in these efforts.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, February 6, 1995.

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