[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4703-S4704]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE PRESIDENT'S BUDGET CUTS

  Mr. DOLE. Madam President, President Clinton won big headlines today 
with his proposal to cut $13 billion from four Government agencies over 
the next 5 years. I have learned recently maybe $8 billion of that is 
already in the President's budget, so I am not certain what the figure 
really is. But we certainly welcome the President's interest in 
trimming Government spending. The Washington Post even suggested today 
that the President's interest may be related to last November's 
election results. Certainly we hope he is hearing the message.
  The President now has a real opportunity to get on the spending-cuts 
bandwagon tomorrow because the Senate will consider more than $13 
billion in spending cuts and the American people will not have to wait 
5 years to see the savings. These are cuts in this fiscal year. This is 
$13 billion the Government will not be able to spend during the next 6 
months, not the next 5 years.
  The American people want more than tinkering around the edges; they 
want dramatic results and want better use of their tax dollars, 
starting now.
  The American people sent a loud and clear message to Washington last 
November: Rein in the Federal Government, reduce the size of Government 
and cut spending. We are prepared to provide the leadership once again 
to turn that message into action. We hope the President will join us in 
this effort to give the American people real spending cuts.
  I hope the President will take a look at the supplemental 
appropriation bill, send us a letter supporting those cuts, and then he 
will really be on record for real cuts this year, not 5 years down the 
road, particularly if $8 billion of the $13 billion he talks about is 
already in the President's budget.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Will the Senator yield 1 minute?
  Mr. DOLE. I will be happy to yield 2 or 3 or 5 minutes to the Senator 
from New Mexico.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, first, I want to compliment the 
Republican leader for his adroitness here. He quickly caught the fact 
that the President is making a big to-do about almost nothing today. 
First of all, it is my understanding that of this $13 billion, $8 
billion of it is in the President's budget.
  Everybody knows that budget does not cut anything. So what really 
happened is he cuts a little bit there and increases things elsewhere. 
So, of this big package, alleged big package of $13 billion, $8 billion 
is in the President's budget. It was already there and we knew about 
it. What did we say about that budget? We said that budget put up the 
white flag of surrender against deficits. So, certainly, this activity 
of cutting $13 billion is no big victory. It is still a white flag of 
surrender.
  I would go beyond our distinguished leader and say we are going to 
look forward to the President's support when we produce a budget 
resolution that gets us a balanced budget by the year 2002, in 7 years. 
That is what the American people want. They do not want an announcement 
that a little piece of Federal Government is being changed and 
everybody in America is supposed to think we are really getting the 
deficit under control. We are not getting the deficit under control. It 
will be with us at $200 to $250 billion a year for as far as the eye 
can see and our children will be burdened with it beyond anything we 
ever imagined. This announcement will not do very much to alleviate 
that burden on them or on this country.
  Mr. GREGG. Will the Senator from New Mexico yield for a question?
  Mr. DOMENICI. I will be pleased to yield.
  Mr. GREGG. Madam President, I say to the chairman of the Budget 
Committee, as I understand it, my quick calculation is that the $13 
billion of cuts which the President is proposing over 5 years 
represents one-twentieth of 1 percent of the spending that is going to 
occur over that 5-year period. Whereas the bill that we are bringing 
forward tomorrow, under Senator Dole's leadership and under Senator 
Packwood's leadership, represents a real $13 billion in cuts--
ironically, the same number. It is going to occur this year, 
immediately. Is that correct?
   [[Page S4704]] Mr. DOMENICI. That is correct. As a matter of fact, 
the $13 billion is about 3 percent of the appropriated accounts, 
whereas the dollar number the President has in his of just the 
appropriated accounts over the next 5 to 7 years is far less than half 
a percent --of just the appropriated accounts--perhaps as low as a 
quarter of a percent. I have not done the arithmetic, but almost 
unnoticeable in the cuts and restraints and reductions that we are 
going to have to make.
  Mr. GREGG. So, if the Senator will yield for an additional question, 
Madam President, if you wish to undertake real budget savings, what you 
should be doing is supporting the rescission package that is coming 
forward and then work with the President to take the $13 billion of 
additional cuts and maybe raise it up to a level that is a real 
reduction in spending so we move toward a balanced budget over 5 years?
  Mr. DOMENICI. Madam President, the Senator is absolutely correct. Let 
me be precise. The President is trying to make a case for deficit 
reduction. He is talking about $13 billion in reductions over the next 
5 years.
  What the President really ought to be doing is to be saying loud and 
clear: ``I compliment the House and Senate for a rescission package, 
and I hope you send it to me quickly.'' And he ought to be saying, ``I 
will sign it,'' because it will accomplish in 6 months as much savings 
as he pledges in 5 years.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, I certainly do not intend to get into a 
debate with the very learned chairman of the Budget Committee, but I 
think, in fairness to the White House, you have to give him credit for 
what he is doing. It may not be all that everyone wants, but I think 
the fact that the Federal payroll has been cut by some 150,000 people 
since he has been President, and this will be the third year in a row 
that we have had a decline in the deficit, the first time in some 50 
years this has happened--we all know he has significant problems with 
the deficit.
  In the balanced budget amendment that they established were three 
things. They established, No. 1, that we have a problem with the 
deficit; No. 2, we have to do something about it; and, No. 3, we need 
to do it and not burden Social Security.
  I am not going to get into a long debate with my friend from New 
Mexico other than to say I think we have to give the President credit 
for having taken a number of steps that are important in the overall 
need to balance the budget. It is not going to be done in one fell 
swoop. It is going to be a series of small things that add up to 
something big. And the work that the President and the Vice President 
did yesterday--and the Vice President was given another 60-odd days to 
report to the President on some other things --needs to be done. Let us 
give them credit for making good-faith efforts to solve the crisis and 
the problems that face this country.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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