[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY:
  S. 1290. A bill to reduce the deficit; to the Committee on the 
Budget.


                           budget legislation

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I introduce a ``Budget Buster Bill'' 
that strips more than $90 billion from the budget and cuts 40 programs 
which I consider to be pointless, wasteful, antiquated, or just plain 
silly.
  Our priority is people not ``pork'' or special interests, and this 
proposal recognizes the need to cut while at the same time 
understanding the need to invest in those things that bring this Nation 
its greatest return.
  I know that the budget debate is philosophically driven, and that 
there are diametrically opposed positions on the legitimate role of 
government. But no matter where one falls on the political spectrum, it 
behooves us to point to specific savings that cross philosophical lines 
which can and should be made.
  We came to our senses last week, and in a display of commonsense 
bipartisanship, we overwhelmingly passed an amendment that cut the mink 
subsidy. There are other similar programs that we should cut, and this 
bill cuts them.
  It cuts $11 billion for the space station. It cuts $10 billion from 
defense spending. It saves $360 million by reducing the number of 
political appointees in the Federal Government; and it cuts 37 other 
programs.
  I know that this bill, in and of itself, won't balance the budget, 
but it is one Senator's commonsense effort to answer the question, ``if 
you really want to cut the budget, what would you cut and how would you 
do it?''
  Mr. President, there is no magic in this bill, but there is a healthy 
dose of common sense that seems to be sorely lacking in the 
ideologically driven budget debate that is speaking to the activist 
extremes and ignoring the silent middle.
  Despite the fact that a huge portion of the public has said they 
don't like the way we do business; despite the fact that we talk about 
change but rarely accomplish it; despite the fact that we claim to want 
bipartisanship and avoid politics as usual, Congress and the President 
together are willfully moving down a road that is guaranteed to leave 
most Americans questioning the degree to which people here are in 
touch.
  I find that a profoundly disturbing direction, and I find it contrary 
to all of the things that people are asking us to try to do. People 
want us to behave like adults down here. They want an assurance that 
critical services are not going to be made the poker chips of political 
gamesmanship.
  The point is that there are some basic needs that this country faces 
and, to the best of my knowledge, most Americans think about having a 
job and raising their paychecks sufficiently that they have quality of 
life to be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
  And most people think that the real concerns they express about 
making sure their kids have the best education in the world, and that 
they can walk through a neighborhood that is safe to get to a school 
that is safe when they get there.
  People are concerned about the quality of the education that they're 
going to get in that school. And yet, the debate in this country has 
been dominated by the return of a contribution to a campaign from a 
Republican gay person; the symbolic issue of English as our national 
language--which it is and ought to be; a constitutional amendment to 
protect the flag. These truly are not the paramount concerns of 
Americans but more of the traditional symbols of politics that are 
beginning to make people question the entire political process.
  Americans want to know if we're going to do the job. And the job we 
were sent here to do is to produce a budget by the end of this month.
  Rather than truly working on that budget, we are engaged in a charade 
where we're going to pass a continuing resolution and a series of 
appropriation bills without a true legislative effort but with one 
party ordained to march in lock step to refuse any legislative 
proposals that might improve it.
  I believe that is an unacceptable way to do business and an avoidance 
of our responsibility.
  Frankly, it is time we put the interests of the Nation first, get off 
the partisan track, and put America back on track.
  Mr. President, this is a debate about economic fairness. It is about 
what we believe in and what we stand for as a nation. It's about the 
creation and preservation of jobs. It's a debate not about class 
warfare--rich against poor--but about the working class and how we can 
legislate in their interests for their future.
  It's a debate about commitment to family, about realistic tax policy, 
about access to education, and investments in our future.
  It's about addressing the three deficits we face that I have 
mentioned many times on this floor: the fiscal deficit, the investment 
deficit, and the spiritual deficit.
  I believe that this debate is fundamentally about how we can grow as 
an economy, a nation, and a people, and about what the proper role and 
size of the Federal Government should be.
  For my part, any consensus on the budget must recognize four 
principles: First that we will not compromise our commitment to 
education, to jobs, to working families, and to senior citizens 
struggling to make ends meet; that we will not dis-invest in our 
economic, social, and cultural infrastructure; that we will not dis-
invest in necessary technologies and science; and that we will not cut 
taxes unless and until we say to working Americans that there will be 
an increase in the minimum wage.
  I believe the cuts I am proposing and the bipartisan, commonsense 
direction in which they take us is in our best interest.
                                 ______