[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4150-H4151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           H.R. 1215 WILL RESULT IN A BALANCED BUDGET BY 2002

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bilbray). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Martini] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that when H.R. 1215 
comes to the floor, the tax relief bill this week, it will now contain 
language that clearly states that the tax cut provisions in the bill 
can only become law as part of legislation that will result in a 
balanced budget by the year 2002. This provision certainly strengthens 
the bill and clarifies and reinforces our party's commitment to 
balancing the budget as well as providing tax relief to the American 
people. I intend to support the rule and H.R. 1215 and urge the support 
of all of the Members of the House.
  As a freshman this year, this past fall I also ran on a platform 
committed to reducing the deficit, reducing the size of the Federal 
Government and, ultimately, balancing the budget, and I think that 
point of view was shared by the majority of the Members of this House.
  Looking at the bill, H.R. 1215, in anticipation of this upcoming vote 
this week, as originally reported from the committee, it did not 
contain, in my opinion and in the opinion of several others who have 
worked very hard in the past week to bring this language to the bill, 
my colleagues, the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle] and the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Upton]. In reviewing that bill it would 
appear to us it did not contain the type of safeguards that deficit 
reduction would not take place to passage at the cost of the promised 
tax cuts.
  As a freshman going through one rescission bill in the past, a month 
here as a Member of the House, I quickly began to realize that, faced 
with the tough decisions, how difficult it is to bring a majority to 
reducing the size of government, to making government more cost 
effective and to bringing about the deficits that we so direly need to 
balance the budget.
  We certainly have a responsibility to the American people to take the 
additional step of tying the tax cuts directly to the passage of budget 
reconciliation legislation that will balance the budget by the year 
2002.
  I am pleased to say, as well, our leadership has agreed this 
requirement in this language should be included in the tax bill that we 
will be voting on this week. I would like to take a moment just to 
briefly explain what the three provisions of this language are.
  First and foremost, it assures us that there will not be any 
implementation of a tax package that we vote on this 
[[Page H4151]] week unless and until this House later this year puts 
into place a balanced budget or a budget that reflects that we will 
reach a balance in the year 2002. It further provides, No. 2, a 
mechanism by which we can focus on that process each year from now 
until the year 2002, and in the event we do not reach those deficit 
reductions anticipated for each year, each Budget Committee of the 
respective Houses of Congress would report to the Congress of policies 
and recommendations to get us back on to that glide path, but, most 
importantly, Congress would then have to incorporate those policies and 
recommendations in that year's annual budget resolution. So there is 
some teeth to this provision that will force the Members in Congress, 
as a body, to each year look at the glide path to reaching a balanced 
budget by the year 2002 and to take the necessary actions to 
incorporate those provisions into that year's annual budget resolution.
  The third part of this, I think, is important because to ensure the 
responsibility for balancing the budget, as is articulated by all of us 
here, including the executive branch, that process should be shared by 
both the legislative and the executive branches, and the third part of 
the language that will be included in the tax bill will require the 
executive branch annually to submit, in addition to his proposed, to 
the executive's proposed, balanced--proposed budget each year, should 
it not be balanced, the executive branch will be required by this 
language, as well, to come up with an alternative budget that will 
reflect how he would or she would envision reaching a balanced budget 
by the year 2002.
  In closing Mr. Speaker, we strongly believe that these provisions 
strengthen and improve H.R. 1215. In my opinion they will lessen the 
prospect that each Member of Congress, when faced with the tough 
deficit reduction decisions that we will have to make later on in this 
year, that each Member of Congress will not blink in the bright lights 
of those decisions, but rather will go forward in making those 
decisions, understanding that, in addition to the good fiscal policies 
that this bill will now reflect, there will also be a vested interest 
in the American people to obtain the much needed tax relief that they 
so rightly deserve. We will make tough spending cut decisions before 
tax cuts go into effect with this language included in the bill.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, this provision is good policy and is fully 
consistent and supportive of the Contract with America in providing the 
necessary tax relief that the American people so rightly deserve. We 
will support the rule and the bill and recommend its support by other 
Members of Congress.

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