[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 172 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            WHY WE ARE HERE

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, with all of the speculation 
about whether the President will sign or veto the Congress' plan to 
balance the budget in 7 years, we need to remember why we need to 
balance the budget. A child born today must pay $187,000 during her 
lifetime just to pay for the interest on the almost $5 trillion 
national debt.
  That is before paying for any government services--Social Security or 
Medicare for her parents and grandparents--or national defense for 
herself.
  We have to balance the budget for our children's future. We have 
spent over $5 trillion in Federal welfare programs since 1965 and 
Americans have concluded that the current welfare system perpetuates 
dependency and offers no hope for a better future.
  We have to reform welfare because it is what Franklin Delano 
Roosevelt described as ``a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.''
  While American families sent 2 percent of their income in taxes to 
Washington in 1950--today they send almost one-quarter.
  That is why we must provide tax relief to families.
  Without reform, Medicare will be bankrupt in 7 years with no legal 
authority to pay hospital bills for seniors.
  These are the stakes.
  Americans sent us to Washington to fix these problems.
  I hope the President chooses to sign the only budget plan that will 
address these problems.

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