[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 88 (Thursday, May 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1129-E1130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      RESCISSION BILL VETO THREAT

                                 ______


                            HON. RON PACKARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 24, 1995
  Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Speaker, despite his rhetoric, the President 
obviously cares nothing about balancing the budget. He leaves a 
conspicuous open seat at the budget cutting [[Page E1130]] table. After 
4 months of silence and no apparent plan of his own to balance the 
budget, he has issued a completely irresponsible veto threat. Should he 
win the veto battle, any chance at a early start on deficit reduction 
this year will be eliminated.
  What is more unconscionable than his lack of action on the issue, is 
his timing. He is attempting desperately to reassert the relevancy of 
his presidency by playing politics with the rescissions bill. This 
politicizing threatens to jeopardize the expeditious funding of 
emergency disaster aid to the victims in California and Oklahoma. The 
$7.2 billion in emergency appropriations are paid for by cutting 
wasteful spending elsewhere in the budget. And we did not add more to 
the taxpayers tab, something virtually unheard of in Washington.
  The reasoning for his veto threat is pork in the bill, yet this bill 
slashes $16.4 billion in spending by eliminating unauthorized programs, 
consolidating duplicative programs, cutting unspent funds piling up 
from one year to the next and eliminating funding for wasteful, 
ineffective programs. Where's the pork? This bill eliminates funding 
from legislation signed by the President himself. The pork he says we 
failed to target is the pork he sanctioned.
  The President seems to have forgotten the will of the American 
people. Last November, the citizens of this country voted for change. 
His lack of attention to the budget and spending cuts continues the 
status quo and dims the future of our children.


                          ____________________