[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 DISTORTED APPROACH TO PUBLIC POLICY

  Mr. THOMAS. I rise to join my friend from Idaho to talk a little bit 
about what is happening. It is an appropriate day. I was in Wyoming 
this weekend and saw some of the ads that were clothed in masks and 
costumes, seeking to portray something that I think is not inherent in 
what we are doing here. It concerns me a great deal, not only because 
it represents a different point of view, but, more importantly, it 
represents a distorted approach to developing public policy.
  If, indeed, in this country we believe that public policy should be 
developed by all of us participating, then those of us who 
participate--and that is all of us in this country--should have some 
facts upon which to base that public policy. So I want to talk a little 
bit about what I think the White House has been doing for some time and 
what our friends on the other side of the aisle have been doing, which 
has increased over this weekend, and that is to really distort what it 
is we are seeking to do.
  Those who oppose a balanced budget have been using this mask-and-
costume approach to characterize this reconciliation bill that passed 
last week. Instead of having leadership to deal with what the issues 
are, there has been this use of words and, I believe, distortion, to 
scare people into what the impacts of this will be. This has been a 
marketing scheme that has been going on for some time, that has been 
devised, I guess, by various kinds of groups in the country, to find 
those words that have impact and to cause people to be frightened into 
thinking that a balanced budget will throw this country into turmoil, 
that saving and strengthening Medicare will result in turning out the 
elderly without health care, that reforming welfare will throw the poor 
into the street without support, and that allowing middle-class 
Americans to retain some of their own money will be a disaster.
  Mr. President, I am concerned about how we govern ourselves, and that 
is what this country is all about. That is what democracy is about. 
That is why people in Greybull, WY, can participate, as well as people 
in New York City, in governance. In order to do that, there has to be a 
basis of facts. There are differences and different views, and that is 
perfectly legitimate. That is what it is all about. There were young 
people in my office last week who said: I do not understand why there 
is this controversy going on, or why this debate is going on. Why do we 
not just do what is good for America?
  If we all agreed on what is good for America, there would be no 
debate. I suggested to them that if they went back to their senior 
class in Cheyenne and raised these questions, there would not be 
unanimity there. There are different views, and they come into play 
here. There are those who have quite a liberal, populist philosophy 
that more government is better and more taxes is better. I respect 
that. I do not agree with it, nor do I think the voters agreed with it 
in the last election. That is what it is all about.
  Rather than having a campaign of fear, mistrust, and 
misunderstanding, we need to have a campaign of facts and then decide 
on it. What is the purpose of what we did? It is certainly to respond 
to voters--that is what government is about--to balance the budget, 
which is the responsible thing to do; to reform welfare, and that is 
the responsible thing to do.
  Mr. President, I hope that we do begin to talk about the facts and 
that we do, from both the White House and from our friends on the other 
side of the aisle, have a clear debate of which way to go, but do it 
based on the facts and based on different views, based on leadership, 
direction, and based on what I think the voters have told us in the 
past.

  Mr. President, I yield back my time.
  Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I now would like to recognize Mr. Grams of 
Minnesota.

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