[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
                    IT IS TIME TO BALANCE THE BUDGET

  (Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, this week the House will debate 
H.R. 2491, the fiscal year 1996 budget reconciliation. For the first 
time in a generation, Congress will pass a balanced budget. By the year 
2002, the deficit will be zero and we will be on our way to paying down 
the national debt.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the right thing to do. For the first time in 25 
years, Congress has run out of excuses for not doing the right thing 
for America's future. Previous Congresses totally avoided the most 
basic financial responsibilities. They squandered billions on 
frivolous, ineffective, and repetitive bureaucracies. They repeatedly 
raised taxes, making it appear that the problem was the American 
people's problem and not their own. Americans paid 37 percent of their 
income in Federal taxes in 1995. Today their total is over 40 percent 
with Federal, State, and local taxes combined.
  Last November, the American people said ``enough.'' Republicans 
campaigned on a promise to balance the budget, and we will keep that 
promise. No excuses. No gimmicks. It is time to balance the budget.

                          ____________________