[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 179 (Monday, November 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S16970-S16971]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PREMEDITATED TRAIN WRECK

  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, I am intrigued by the statements that have 
been made on the Senate floor recently in the last few moments, as if 
this is a budget that has gone to the President.
  This is no budget that has gone to the President. It is a continuing 
resolution that keeps Government running at a certain level, and a debt 
ceiling that will allow us to secure the funds to do that.
  The point keeps being made that the President will not do this. Well, 
the President has not received a clean continuing resolution. There are 
add-ons. The President has not received a clean debt ceiling increase. 
There are add-ons.
  Mr. President, just go back to April of this year. This is a 
premeditated--a premeditated--train wreck.
  In April, the Republican leadership said this would happen. They 
wanted it to happen so they could talk about it. They want to put the 
President on the spot. I do not think any us would sit in the Oval 
Office and allow Medicare to go up 25 percent.
  That was an issue last week in several of the campaigns--I know it 
was in my State--Medicare.
  We talk about statements by the commission on Medicare. Last year 
when they gave us a report, it was not quite as good as it was this 
year. This year they said Medicare would be solvent for an additional 
year. We have more employment, more money going into Medicare.
  Somehow or another we are being blamed for inefficiency of the 
majority party. The inefficiency of the majority party is that they 
have not done their work on time. October 1 was the deadline for the 
appropriations bills to be on the President's desk. Here it is, 
November 13, 6 weeks later, and we only have two or three at the White 
House--6 weeks late. So the majority has been inefficient in getting 
the appropriations bills to the President.
  This would eliminate the continuing resolution. All we need would be 
a debt ceiling so we would not have two bills on the President's desk.
  All we are asking, Mr. President, is that we not tie other items to a 
continuing resolution, increasing Medicare by 25 percent. Increasing 
Medicare by 25 percent--we are talking about the average income in my 
State of those on Medicare about $15,000. Add another $150 a year on to 
that household?
  I do not believe there is anyone here, if they were President, who 
would sign a continuing resolution that binds the President's hands, or 
a debt ceiling that binds the President's hands.
  One thing you do not hear, you increase the debt ceiling, and after 
it reaches that, it is reduced. The debt ceiling is less at the time it 
expires than they are making it now. Why? So if we do good work, have 
good income, which we think we are going to, we have reduced the 
deficit 3 consecutive years--exactly what we said we would do in 1993.
  If we get the appropriations bills out of the House and the Senate 
and to the President's desk, if we just give him a clean debt ceiling 
and a clean continuing resolution, we can sit down and work. There will 
be no problem. 

[[Page S 16971]]

  The premeditated train wreck that was announced last April is 
occurring. There is not anything unknown about this. ``We are going to 
do it. The President is going to do it our way or no way.''
  I have been around here a little while and I have heard that before. 
I believe the best interests of this country are to give us a clean 
debt ceiling, give us a clean continuing resolution, and then we can 
work out the legislative problems after that.
  I think we would find that things would move a lot faster than trying 
to tear up the country and to tear up the financial stability of this 
great Nation of ours.
  I hope we can get a clean debt ceiling, a clean continuing 
resolution, and that the majority would do their work and give us the 
appropriations bills so the President would have an opportunity to sign 
those, and we can continue with the things all of us want to, and that 
is work towards a balanced budget.
  I yield the floor.

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