[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 164 (Monday, October 23, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15419-S15420]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             RECONCILIATION

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, first let me congratulate my colleague 
from Texas for a very eloquent statement as well as congratulate my 
colleague from Idaho for his statement that preceded the Senator from 
Texas.
  I rise today, Mr. President, to discuss the reconciliation bill that 
we will begin debating this Wednesday. It is very clear that there will 
be nothing more important that this Congress will do than the 
particular bill that we are going to take up on Wednesday.
  In fact, there may not be anything more important in any of our 
careers here in Congress, however short or long they may be, than this 
particular bill.
  The bill that we will begin debating on Wednesday results from a 
statement made by the American people last November. It was a statement 
that was very simple, very plain and very eloquent. What the American 
people said last November was that we must make some very fundamental 
changes in the course of the direction of this Government.
  Mr. President, the American people had ample reason to speak so 
loudly last November. For example, if we look at the budgetary outlook 
contained in the report of the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlements, 
we will find a pretty grim picture.
  Here is what this Bipartisan Commission said, in essence. If we do 
not change our present course, by the year 2012 every single penny in 
the Federal budget will be consumed by entitlements and by interest on 
the national debt.
  My colleague from Texas just said that a moment ago. I again want to 
repeat it because it summarizes, I think, very well, the crisis that we 
are in. Think of it--every single penny of the entire Federal budget 
will be consumed by entitlements and by interest on the national debt.
  If, Mr. President, in the year 2012 we want Government to do anything 
at all--provide for our national defense, provide money to run the 
Army, the Navy, Air Force, Marines, run a program such as the WIC 
Program or provide any funds for higher education or primary or 
secondary education--to do any of these things, unless we change the 
course of the direction of this Government of this country, we would 
have to raise taxes because there would not be any money anywhere else 
in the budget to pay for any of these things. This, I think, gives us a 
pretty good indication of what kind of problem we have in this country.

  As we approach this problem, I think the American people demand from 
us honesty, demand from us that we use numbers that are real, because I 
believe the American people are sick and tired of phony numbers. They 
know we cannot go on trying to hide from the facts. Unless we take 
action and take action now, our children, our grandchildren, are going 
to face an even more severe reckoning; frankly, the quality of life our 
children have, and our grandchildren and their children have, will be 
different, will be lower than ours. So I believe the American people 
last November were also saying that the time for the blue smoke and 
mirrors is over.
  The reconciliation bill that we will begin to consider this Wednesday 
is an honest, forthright attempt to solve this major problem 
threatening our children's future--the problem of America's imminent 
bankruptcy. If we listen to the debate occurring on TV, in our 
newspapers, on the radio, one might conclude that we, on this side, 
have been a little too honest, maybe a little too forthright. But I do 
not think so. I do not believe that the American people expect us to do 
any less than to be forthright and to be honest.
  And one charge that has not been made--and I do not think will be 
made--is that we have taken a walk on this issue. We assuredly have 
not. This reconciliation bill that, in about 48 hours, we will begin to 
consider is a serious, detailed, fundamental attempt to change 
America's fiscal course. The patience of the American people, I 
believe, has run out--their patience with distorted figures, their 
patience with lack of candor. That is one of the reasons why we had 
such a revolutionary election, such an historic election in 1994. The 
American people want elected officials who are willing to break the 
syndrome, once and for all, of distortion. That is what I believe we 
are trying to do with this reconciliation bill. The President, on the 
other hand, has not responded to this national demand for fundamental 
change. Unfortunately, the administration's proposal does not even come 
close to meeting this challenge. It is not detailed. It is not serious. 
And it does not attempt to fundamentally change the course and the 
direction of this Government.
  Thanks to the important work of my colleague, the senior Senator from 
New Mexico, the chairman of the Budget Committee, we have details 
spelling out exactly how far short the President's plan has fallen.
  Let us look at how the President's plan claims to get to balance. Let 
us look at it.
  According to the President's plan, there will be $55 billion less in 
Medicare spending. No changes in benefits, no changes in law, it will 
just, somehow, magically appear. There will be $68 billion less in 
Medicaid spending, according to the President. Again, no changes in 
benefits, no changes in law; it will just somehow magically happen. 
There will be $85 billion less in spending on agriculture, pensions, 
and other programs. No details, no specific cuts; again, it will just 
somehow magically happen. 

[[Page S 15420]]

  The same goes for $22 billion in supposed savings in the 
discretionary account. No real changes--the cuts are just going to 
happen somehow.
  Then--please stay with me, follow this--the administration predicts, 
based upon these assumptions, assumptions that really have no basis in 
fact, that as a result of these things certain other things will occur 
that will save another $70 billion from lower interest rates; yet 
another $175 billion thanks to economic growth--lower interest rates 
and economic growth, based upon assumptions that have no basis in fact, 
that have no support, that have no specifics.
  A few years ago there was a popular song that asked, ``Do You Believe 
in Magic?'' The American people no longer believe in magic when it 
comes to the Federal budget. They believe it is time to sweep away the 
smoke and mirrors. It is time to start buckling down and making the 
tough choices.
  Sadly, the administration proposal is not even smoke and mirrors. 
There are not any mirrors in that proposal. It is all smoke. When you 
say we are going to cut $475 billion out of the budget without actually 
changing anything, without actually paying any kind of price, that does 
not even qualify as a trick. The time for that kind of falsehood, I 
think, is over. It is time for truth. It is time for decisions. And 
that is what Congress is trying to do in this historic reconciliation 
bill.
  A vote for the reconciliation package is a vote to balance the budget 
so we can start reducing the national debt and put America on a course 
toward a future we can be proud to leave our children. A vote against 
the reconciliation package, I believe, is a vote to stay the course, a 
vote to take today's staggering deficits and hand them to our children 
and our grandchildren, to give our children and our grandchildren our 
bills for them to pay.
  When the smoke clears, there is one fundamental difference between 
the President's budget proposal and our budget proposal. Under the 
President's plan, we will leave our children and our grandchildren our 
bills. Under our plan, we will balance our budget so our children and 
grandchildren will not have to pay our bills. For America, I believe it 
is a clear choice between two very distinct and different futures. That 
is why I intend to vote for this reconciliation package.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I understand the distinguished Senator 
from Minnesota [Mr. Grams] is here to speak under the order reserved in 
my name. I yield the floor so he can be recognized at this time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.

                          ____________________