[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H4162-H4163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            THE FIRST STEP ON THE ROAD TO A BALANCED BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Baker] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, I was very much interested in 
the previous speaker's remarks until at the end he became shrill and 
partisan as usual, and I have to say that we believe that you have to 
balance your approach toward balancing the budget just like you have to 
take incremental steps, and that is why the Contract with America did 
not say we are going to balance the budget first time you make us a 
majority because we knew that is impossible. We talked about the year 
2002 and how we were going to work and take that first step on the road 
of a thousand miles to balance the budget. The problem is not that we 
can cut, because the gentleman had it absolutely right. He said we 
cannot have just tax cuts for the rich, we cannot have just that, and 
we do not want to denigrate this debate over who is going to have the 
biggest tax cut for the American people, and then in the next breath he 
said, ``But we can't cut discretionary spending either because there is 
not enough money in discretionary spending to balance the budget.''
  So how was he going to balance the budget?
  Mr. Speaker, the answer is, ``You're going to do both. You're going 
to slow down the growth rate of government spending from its 6 to 10 
percent rate and get it down closer to the 6 percent growth in income 
that this Nation has each year, even during the recession.''
  ``Do you think, if you went to the American people,'' I ask you, 
``and said, `Do you think your Federal taxes are just about right? Are 
they too high or are they too low?' ''; what would the American people 
say to you, Representatives?
  The answer is they would say they are too high.
  In 1950 this Federal Government took 5 percent of Americans' income. 
In 1970 this government took 16 percent of Americans' income. In 1990 
we are taking 24 percent of the average American's income. So we are 
paying today, at the 1970 level, an average family, if we could pay at 
the 1970 level, the average family would have $4,000 more to spend.
  At the same time we are running up a huge debt because we have not 
even slowed down in our spending, and the debt, which is today over $4 
trillion, will leap to about $6 trillion by the year 2000, and by 2010, 
which is historically when the baby boomers all run from one side of 
the boat to the other, from the paying side on the Social Security, 
from the taxpaying side, to the retirement side and the drawing of 
Social Security. We will have a national debt each year of $6.7 
trillion. Debt is going to consume America.
  How do we get out of this debt? The answer is we are going to reduce 
taxes, and we are going to reduce taxes on the producers, even 
business, and the reason is that is where you create jobs, that is 
where you put people to work and create taxpayers to bring more revenue 
to this Federal Government. If we could increase this Federal 
Government's revenue by 1 percent a year, we would balance the budget 
about 4 years sooner than the 2002 than we are going to be able to 
balance it through cuts and through the small tax decreases we are 
going to have in capital gains.
  The budget deficit is projected by the Clinton administration to 
continue growing into the future without a solution. Interest on the 
debt today is some several hundred billion dollars. But between 1995 
and 2006 we are going to pay $3.9 trillion in interest. That is money 
we could have spent on our children. That is money we could have spent 
on problems that we have today--80 percent of the Americans want a 
balanced budget, and this gentleman says, ``You can't cut your way 
out.''
  My answer is, ``You've got to grow your way out.'' Americans will pay 
a lot just in interest on the debt that builds up their entire lives. 
In 1974, Americans paid a hundred fifteen thousand in their lifetime in 
interest on the national debt. This year, 1995, a child born today, 
will pay $187,000 in interest on the national debt.
  I yield to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Owens].
                              {time}  1930

  Mr. OWENS. Is the gentleman aware of the fact that during the last 12 
years, beginning with Ronald Reagan that debt accelerated greatly? 
Jimmy Carter, when he left office, left a national debt of less than 
$100 billion.
  It rose to almost $400 billion under President Reagan, who counseled 
that lower taxes would mean increased revenue. It never happened, and 
the deficit exploded.
  [[Page H4163]] Mr. BAKER of California. The correct answer is when 
Jimmy Carter left there was $1 trillion worth of national debt and now 
there are $4 trillion, but your point is well taken.
  Pick the President you like the least. Over the last 26 years we have 
had how many Presidents? Seven. So I would pick out Jimmy Carter who 
was playing on the tennis court, and you would pick Ronald Reagan who 
you say would sleep through all the Cabinet meetings. Then you take 
Bill Clinton who despite all the rhetoric on cutting the budget is 
going to add a trillion dollars. Pick the President you want.
  Mr. OWENS. What amount of debt was accumulated under each President?
  Mr. BAKER of California. Pick the President you want. This Congress 
for 40 years has had its foot stuck on the accelerator. We appropriate, 
we spend. Heal thyself.

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