[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16969-S16970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CONFUSION ABOUT WHY WE CANNOT ACT TOGETHER

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I appreciate having the opportunity to 
listen to the Senator from Indiana talk about what we are facing in the 
next 7 hours for this country. It is a very important time.
  I was in my home State, as well as several other States, over the 
last weekend, and I talked to people. People are really confused. 
People see Congress and they see the President, and they are confused 
about why we cannot act together.
  I think it is very important that we clarify to the greatest extent 
that we can some of these issues. Let us talk about the continuing 
resolution that has been passed by the House, will be finally passed 
again in the Senate today, we hope, that in another month, a few weeks 
maybe, until December 1, anyway, call on the President to sit down with 
us and work out a budget reconciliation bill that we would hopefully 
come to terms with by December 1, so that we can, in fact, take the 
first-year step of the 7-year march to a balanced budget. That is what 
the Senator from Indiana was talking about--whether we are going to 
take that first-year step of the balanced budget. We must have the 
spending levels that we are asking for in the continuing resolution in 
order to make the 7-year balanced budget.

  If we do what the President wants, which is to continue spending at 
this year's levels, we will not meet the 7-year deadline.
  This Congress has spoken. We have passed a budget resolution that 
sets the cap on spending that is allowed if we are going to balance the 
budget. We would love to sit down with the President and talk about 
priorities, but we cannot negotiate the cap. The cap has been passed. 
We have a budget resolution on the table.
  Has the President yet submitted to this Congress a balanced budget? 
No. The President has yet to submit to Congress a budget that actually 
balances. The best he could do was a budget that had $200 billion in 
deficits. That was the very best. Never have we seen a balanced budget.
  Congress has given the President a balanced budget. Perhaps the 
President does not like the priorities that we have. That is 
legitimate. Let us sit down and talk about what we spend within the 
cap. But what the President is saying in the continuing resolution, 
which he says he will veto, is that we must continue spending at last 
year's levels, which means to the American people and to Congress that 
the President is not going to let us have the balanced budget that we 
must have this year.
  If we do not meet this year's test, we cannot do it in 7 years. The 
President first said he wanted 10 years, then 9, and then 8. At one 
point, he said he would go along with 7 years. But he never submitted a 
budget that would do it in 7 years--so Congress did. Now we are trying 
to pass a continuing resolution that will end on December 1, when we 
believe that two responsible branches of Government ought to be able to 
sit down and work out a budget reconciliation package for the American 
people that would meet the budget test.
  There are two things the President says he does not like in the 
continuing resolution. The first is he does not like the lower spending 
levels that I have just talked about that are necessary for us to have 
the 7-year balanced budget.
  The second thing he does not like is the monthly Medicare part B 
premiums, which will rise in January $7 a month in order to meet 
exactly where we are now, and that is that the Federal Government will 
put in 69 percent, and the recipient will put in 31.5 percent. That is 
where we are. Anyone who was here when we passed Medicare--I was not--
knows the Medicare part B premiums, which are the doctors' visits, were 
supposed to be shared 50-50 between the recipient and the Government. 
They are now at 69.5, Government, and 31.5, recipient. That is where we 
are now, and that is where the Congress is saying we must stay if we 
are going to keep Medicare from going bankrupt. We have to raise the 
premiums that go with the rise in costs to keep the level at 31.5 
percent.
  It would be irresponsible for the President not to sign a continuing 
resolution that allows us to put the paperwork in place to make that 
happen. The President's own Cabinet has said Medicare will start going 
into a deficit next year. The President's own Cabinet says that 
Medicare can only last with the trust fund that is built up until the 
year 2002. So we are trying to save the Medicare system by keeping the 
31.5 percent level of the recipient in the part B premiums and to slow 
the rate of growth over the next 7 years from 10 percent increase per 
year, which is 

[[Page S 16970]]
what we are looking at now, to 6.4 percent per year.

  Now, in the private sector, health care costs are rising at 4 to 5 
percent. So it would seem that a 6.4 percent growth would be a 
responsible approach for Medicare growth. And that is what we are 
doing. We are not cutting Medicare spending; we are increasing Medicare 
spending at a rate of 6.4 percent per year.
  The President is not being responsible when he says he will veto a 
continuing resolution because the Medicare part B premium is going to 
increase $7 per month to keep it at the 31.5 percent, and because he 
does not want to have the lower level of spending so we can meet our 
budget resolution goal for this year, so that we can have the balanced 
budget. The President cannot have it both ways. The President cannot go 
out and say, ``You cannot cut spending, you cannot balance the budget; 
I would like to see a balanced budget, but I am not going to give you 
one.'' He cannot keep having it both ways.
  The people of this country are not stupid. The people of this country 
understand that we are looking at a $5 trillion deficit, debt in this 
country--$5 trillion. I would venture to say that no one ever thought 
we would reach the level of $5 trillion. But we have.
  The American people know that everyone is going to have to pitch in. 
Our lifestyles are not the same as they used to be. No one's is. In 
1975, a family of four spent 33 percent of their annual income on the 
necessities of transportation, housing, and utilities. In 1995, that 
level is 46 percent. So people are not stupid. They know that even if 
they are making a little more money, they are not living at the same 
level they were. They know that. So they know that we are all going to 
pitch in, that we are all going to do our part to make sure that we do 
have a balanced budget in 7 years because our elderly want their 
grandchildren to have a Medicare system. Our elderly want their 
grandchildren to get jobs in the future. They want a sound economy. 
They want low interest rates. They want this country to be the country 
they had the opportunity to grow up in. That is what they want for 
their children.
  Mr. President, that is what Congress is trying to give to the elderly 
and to the working middle-class taxpayers of our country.
  Let us talk about the debt ceiling. The President has already vetoed 
the debt ceiling. This is what Congress tried to do. We were trying to 
extend the debt level and raise it to December 12, a temporary lifting 
of the debt ceiling, once again, so that we would be able to get the 
budget reconciliation in place, so that we would have the first year 
set out with the spending caps to go to the 7-year balanced budget. We 
believe it is a responsible approach to lift that debt ceiling.

  We also provide that there will be no borrowing from trust funds. We 
provide that habeas corpus reform will take place. We provide for 
regulatory reform to get the onerous restrictions off of our small 
businesses in this country so they will be able to compete in the 
international marketplace so they will be able to create the new jobs 
that will get our economy going again.
  We do ask for the commitment to the 7-year balanced budget so we will 
not have to talk about whether it is 10, or 9, or 8, or 7 in the 
future, but everyone will realize and acknowledge and commit to the 7-
year balanced budget.
  Now, Mr. President, our congressional leaders have said that we will 
negotiate on this debt limit raising. I think we should. I think the 
President can have his way on some of these issues. I think Congress 
would be willing to give.
  Mr. President, it is very important that we not give on the bottom 
line, that we must have a temporary raising of the debt ceiling so that 
we can responsibly do the budget reconciliation. It would give us the 
final budget for this fiscal year so that we will not have to argue 
anymore about how much we are going to spend and so that the markets in 
this country will know that our commitment is good.
  Once we prove to the marketplace, to our international allies and 
people who are buying our debt, once we show that we have the will to 
balance the budget, this economy is going to strengthen.
  The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has said that 
very thing--that once the commitment is shown, our economy will 
strengthen. Interest rates will remain steady and low. We will not be 
looking at runaway inflation, and we will start creating jobs in this 
country once again--not just service-sector jobs but real jobs; jobs 
where we can compete in the international marketplace, and we will not 
have to have our businesses opening corporations and manufacturing 
operations overseas because they cannot afford to do business here.
  Mr. President, that is what we are talking about. I hope for the 
American people and for all of us that we and our leaders can come to 
terms. We do not want a Government shutdown. The last thing we want is 
to default on our debt. There must be some meetings. There must be some 
give.
  Mr. President, we are here to do our part.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from Kentucky.
  Mr. FORD. I thank the Chair. I will not be very long. I know my 
friend from Washington has a statement he would like to make.

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