[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 84 (Friday, May 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7023-S7024]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    DEBATE ON THE BUDGET RESOLUTION

  Mr. EXON. Madam President, I thank the Chair and I thank my friend 
and colleague, the chairman of the Budget Committee.
  Just 2 or 3 minutes of closing remarks. I would agree.
  I would agree with my friend and colleague from New Mexico that 
during debate on the Senate floor there may have been some 
overstatements of the facts by Senators on this side of the aisle.
  I was here today, though, and I heard several statements on the 
Republican [[Page S7024]] side of the aisle that I interpreted also as 
overstatements. We do get carried away sometimes in debate.
  This Senator, both in the Budget Committee and on the floor of the 
Senate, has tried to make a case as I saw it in a responsible, honest 
manner.
  I just want to say, once again, that I spoke a few moments ago about 
one of the greatest overstatements that I keep hearing on the floor of 
the Senate on this matter, despite the fact that the Democrats have not 
offered an amendment and as far as I know will not during this debate 
that violates the very principles that the Senator from New Mexico 
emphasized was part and parcel of the budget, to protect the kids of 
the future, to eliminate the ever skyrocketing deficit and grossly 
increasing national debt.
  But, once again, I feel, when somebody on this side of the aisle or 
somebody on that side of the aisle gets up and says something about 
overstatements by someone on the other side, they better be careful 
that they are not throwing rocks at their own glass houses.
  My friend from New Mexico went right after one of the very basic 
tenets of the remarks that I made, I think in a reasonable fashion, 
just before we went into the closing procedures, and that was that I 
have heard the statement, certainly an overstatement, once again, from 
the chairman of the Budget Committee that the Democrats want to take 
this money and spend it. Well, I think that is a good buzzword and I 
think the Republicans have researched that well in their extensive 
polling.
  I want it clearly understood that this deficit hawk, this 
conservative Democrat, is not for spending in the context that the 
Republicans continue to use during this debate, accusing the Democrats 
of spending when we are not spending. We are reducing the hits. We are 
reducing the significant reductions in hits in a whole series of 
programs that even the Republicans concede are very heavy and very 
difficult.
  I simply say, Madam President, once again, I hope that we can 
continue a legitimate debate on Monday, to debate the legitimate issues 
in proper form and with proper respect for all Members of the Senate 
that I have great respect for, but I recognize that all of us, from 
time to time, make some overstatements.
  I just hope, because every time I hear the Republicans talking about 
spending, I wish that they would better define that word. We are not 
spending money. We are trying to alleviate what we think are more 
onerous cuts in budgets of the most needy of our citizens, especially 
our senior citizens, and especially our young people who were relying 
on Government loans to get their education. We will continue the debate 
on Monday next.
  I yield the floor.

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