[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 176 (Wednesday, November 8, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H11908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REPUBLICANS ARE FAINT-HEARTED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Smith] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans are faint-
hearted. You know, we talk about balancing a budget. We are in the 
throes now of trying to say in 7 years we will balance the budget of 
the United States. That means we are going to quit borrowing money from 
what our kids and our grandkids have not even earned yet.
  Here is why Republicans are faint-hearted. Number one, we are talking 
7 years to do it.
  Number two, after we finish this 7 years and brag that we have a 
balanced budget, Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the people of America know 
that we are still borrowing, in the year 2002, $100 billion from the 
Social Security Trust Fund and the other trust funds, and yet we see 
people apologizing.
  Mr. Speaker, did you know that out of the 7 years, this first year is 
the easiest spending cut year? And you hear the whining and moaning 
about the big spending cuts this first year. How do you think we are 
going to go for the fifth year and sixth year and seventh year if we 
cannot get through this first year?
  We have been calling the President of the United States and saying, 
``Look, at least agree to balancing this budget in 7 years, even if we 
continue to borrow $100 billion a year from the trust funds.'' He 
suggested that maybe 10 years is okay, but yet the budget that he sent 
to Congress, the budget he sent to Congress does not even balance ever. 
It continues to overspend $200 billion a year into infinity.
  Guess, guess how much taxes a child born today is going to pay just 
to cover his or her share of interest on the public debt if we do not 
end up balancing the budget. $180,000, that is what, $187,000. That is 
what is going to be deducted from their paycheck.
  There is a generation gap. You know, we have environmental checks. We 
should have a generation gap check for legislation that this body 
passes.
  How many more burdens do we want to put on our kids and our 
grandkids? And it is not just the $4.9 trillion that we have in 
overspending. Look what we are doing in Medicare. In Medicare, we have 
now said that we are going to have an unfunded liability, and actuary 
debt, that amounts to another $5 trillion; social security, we have 
made promises over what we are going to be bringing in in the FICA tax. 
There is another $3.2 trillion.
  Our obligation, now unfunded, to civil service retirees is another 
half a trillion. Guess what we just did in the last few years? We 
promised every private pension fund in the country that the Federal 
Government would make it whole.
  Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentleman, it is time that we start getting 
tough. It is time we stopped apologizing and started living within our 
budget.

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