[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 183 (Friday, November 17, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H13284-H13285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         BUDGET RECONCILIATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, the budget bill we just passed gives a 
hand and a handout to the well-connected and well-off and uses a fist 
and brute force against the poor and many of those who work in America.
  It provides for drastic and extreme changes in the lives of our 
citizens, and it does so through a process that was not open--a process 
that evolved in the dark shadows of smoke-filled, back rooms.
  The Republicans would have us accept that Secret Report so that they 
can glide to a balanced budget in 7 years--But, ``to balance'' means 
``to equalize''. And, we will not equalize, when we give a $245 billion 
tax break to the wealthy while Student loans are cut, nutrition and 
child care are compromised, farm programs are thrown out the window, 
spending for needed housing programs is reduced, and Medicare and 
Medicaid are slashed.
  We can and we should balance the budget. But, we do not need a budget 
that is a war without bullets.
  The issue is not about balancing the budget--it is about balancing 
our priorities.
  I voted for a 7-year balanced budget plan offered in the coalition 
alternative budget. But, as we glide towards a balanced budget, we 
should not slide through the cracks and crevices of Congress, creating 
a clandestine, trillion dollar spending package that helps the rich 
among us and hurts the rest among us.
  All Americans are created equal. We must not forget that fundamental 
premise of our Government as we shape a basic budget for the United 
States.
  Let's give a hand to all Americans, a handout to those who need it 
and use a fist on real enemies. Americans who earn $28,000 dollars or 
less a year are no different than those who earn $100,000 dollars a 
year.
  Why can't we balance the budget by giving some tax relief to the low 
earners and taking back some tax relief from the high earners. That is 
what balancing means.
  Why can't we balance the budget by helping our senior citizens, who 
have labored a lifetime, instead of helping those who already have 
money to get more money--that is what balancing means.
  The Republicans have established in this Congress--a record that 
supports the wealthy and neglects those most in need.
  This budget plan--a plan that takes from the poor and gives to the 
rich will succeed, if we do nothing.
  They want to spend money on the wealthy and call it an investment, 
while taking money from school children, pregnant women, infants, 
farmers, the poor, students and seniors and call it savings.
  Our priorities seem out of order.
  They have gone too far in cutting school lunches--They have gone too 
far in shutting off heating assistance for senior citizens--They have 
gone too far in eliminating scholarships and in cutting loans for 
college students--They have gone too far in eliminating summer jobs--
and, they have gone too far in denying baby formula to infants.
  Huddled beneath the dim street lamps, in the counties and towns and 
cities of this state, and across the Nation, are people who are 
outside.
  They are the sick, the frail, the disabled, the poor, the weak, the 
old, our children--the least among us. This Budget Reconciliation Bill 
will keep them on the outside. And, toiling on the farms and in the 
factories and in small and medium sized businesses, are the people who 
are also outside--outside of the bounty of this Nation, despite their 
hard work. This Budget Reconciliation Bill will keep them on the 
outside.
  I urge my colleagues both Democrats and Republicans who want to give 
a hand to the majority of our citizens--to the poor and to average, 
hard-working, taxpaying Americans--and who want to find a fist to crush 
this unrevealed conference report for a select few--I urge you to join 
me in supporting the President's veto of this report.
  This Reconciliation Bill is a war without bullets because--while 
there are no weapons nor bloodshed--it does the same kind of harm to 
the lives of millions of Americans.

[[Page H 13285]]

  This Reconciliation Bill is a war without Bullets because--while 
there are no war torn streets and bombs echoing in the air--it will, if 
it stands, leave a stinging scar on the hearts and in the minds of our 
citizens.
  Let's pass a budget reconciliation bill that serves all of our 
citizens.

                              {time}  2215

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. CLAYTON. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask the gentlewoman in the 
wake of her statement that the tax breaks are allegedly going to the 
wealthy if the gentlewoman considers 80 percent of American families 
wealthy?
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join with me, 
Republicans and Democrats, when we get a chance to support the 
President when he vetoes this because this is a bad budget for 
Americans.

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