[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 170 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S16349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A HISTORIC BUDGET RECONCILIATION BILL

  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, last Friday night, or early Saturday 
morning, this Senate passed a historic budget reconciliation bill that 
said to our country: We heard you. We heard you. We believe you. And we 
are, with every effort, attempting to reduce an ever-growing Federal 
Government that has consumed an increasingly larger part of the gross 
domestic product of this country, progressively enslaving the taxpayer 
to a higher and higher portion of the gross work of that taxpayer.
  Now, it is interesting that today is Halloween, and guess what is 
happening out there? The Democrats are, once again, yelling ``Trick or 
treat, America.'' They are saying, ``Boo,'' to Americans. Once again, 
they are trying to frighten, or use the tactic of fear in driving the 
American public in a direction that they have said so clearly for so 
long that they do not want to go.
  What did we hear in the debates of last week and over the weekend, as 
members of the other side were speaking in opposition to the action 
that the Congress spoke to? They are saying that Republicans are 
ghouls, goblins, monsters, vampires, demons, and werewolves, as it 
relates to the care and concern of the people of this country. They are 
saying that we want to take seniors' health care away, that we want to 
attack low-income and working people, that we want to kick students out 
of college and kick poor people out on the streets, that we want to 
dirty the water and cause the air to be unbreathable and, of course, to 
let people die in industrial accidents.
  How could the average American really believe that anybody who seeks 
public service in this country to formulate public policy would want to 
do any of those things? Well, I suspect you might slip a little of that 
by during Halloween and talk about the scariness, talk about the pranks 
and the tricks that are being played out there.
  Let me tell you, it is not Halloween. It never will be Halloween. It 
should never be Halloween. What is it? It is the harvest season of the 
last election; that is what it is. The Republican Party heard so loudly 
and so clearly what the American people were saying, and we are 
responding. The budget resolution of last Friday evening spoke about 
harvesting the economic security for seniors by providing for a 
Medicare program that has long-term stability, so they cannot be 
frightened or scared into thinking that their security is in jeopardy. 
It is about the harvest of more jobs by creating a productive economy, 
by controlling debt and deficit structure in this country that, by 
every economist's projection, is costing us anywhere from 2 to 2.5 
percent growth in the domestic product of this country, which spells 
lack of opportunity or less opportunity for our young people. That is 
the harvest season of what the Republican Party is attempting to do, 
what this budget resolution is all about, and the work that will go on 
in the next several weeks before we put that on the desk of the 
President for his consideration.
  What does it say in the end? It does not say, ``Boo''; it does not 
say, ``Trick or treat''; it says to the American people that there will 
be a higher standard of living for all, that the expectation, in a 
generational sense, will continue to be there for a better, more 
productive lifestyle in our country, because we had a Government that 
did not get in our way, that did not strangle the great ingenuity, 
humanity, and the energy of this country. That is what we are saying on 
this Halloween day--no trick or treat and no boos.
  I am always so saddened when the other side attempts to use a 
cultural battle or attempts to frighten people in their effort to 
convince them that their policy is better than the ones we put forth. 
Let us debate it on its merits. Let the American people objectively 
decide what is best for them and then send that to us in the message 
that they did so clearly last November.
  At this time, let me yield to my colleague from Wyoming to speak to 
this issue.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming is recognized.

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