[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 184 (Saturday, November 18, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17429-S17430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE BUDGET IMPASSE

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to talk about this budget 
impasse, because there is no question that we are at a crossroads in 
our country. The impasse is over our President and this Congress and 
our differing views about what course this country should be on. The 
Congress promised the people a balanced budget, and we are producing on 
that balanced budget.
  We have sent to the President a balanced budget for the first year of 
a 7-year plan. The President promised in his campaign a balanced budget 
in 5 years, actually. But when the time came to sign the dotted line to 
make the hard choices, the President has chosen instead to demur, to 
talk about politics instead of coming down to the bottom line and 
working with Congress on a budget that is balanced. He is holding our 
Government hostage.
  Mr. President, why do we have this impasse? There are two things: The 
balanced budget which we have sent to the President and the resolution 
that would continue the operation of Government, which is why people 
are not working in our Government at full staff levels.

  We passed a resolution that would continue Government from September 
30, when the fiscal year ended, until this week. Now we are in the 
second resolution. The second resolution has the lower budget figures 
that are necessary if we are going to balance the budget.
  So when we talk about this continuing resolution, it is crucial that 
we have the lower numbers because we are in the fiscal year. We are in 
the 1996 fiscal year. We must have the lower spending numbers if we are 
going to make our 7-year goal, and that is the crucial issue here. The 
President does not want the lower spending limits because, in fact, the 
President does not want the balanced budget in 7 years.
  Now, he paid lipservice to a balanced budget in 7 years. He said 
publicly that he would agree to a balanced budget in 7 years, but he 
just will not do what is necessary to get us there, and he has 

[[Page S 17430]]
yet to send us a budget that is balanced at all, not in 10 years, not 
in 9 years, not in 8 years and not in 7 years.
  So because we have this impasse, the people of this country are 
certainly concerned. There are people who say, ``Settle it. Pox on both 
your houses, settle it.''
  I just ask people who say, ``settle it,'' do they want us to settle 
it at the cost of our future security, our future prosperity?
  Do they want us to settle it at last year's spending rates so that we 
cannot possibly meet our goal of a 7-year balanced budget? Do they want 
us to settle it regardless of the promise that we made in 1994?
  Mr. President, I ran on a platform, in 1994, of a balanced budget. I 
promised the people who voted for me, and I promised everyone whether 
they voted for me or not, that I would come up here to try to balance 
the budget, to try for a 7-year balanced budget. The President also, in 
his campaign, in 1992, promised the people that he would work for a 
balanced budget. The President made the promise, I made the promise. 
The difference is, I am keeping my promise.
  I think that is the issue here. The people have been promised for 25 
years a balanced budget in this country. But the politicians have 
always walked away from it. And the reason is, they did not have the 
guts to look at entitlements, and everybody knows entitlements are more 
than 50 percent of our budget, that they are the toughest of all things 
to work with. This Congress did something different. This Congress kept 
the promise by tackling entitlements, by saying that welfare is going 
on a budget, just like your family budget, just like your small 
business budget. Welfare is going on a budget.
  So we have produced reform of a very important former entitlement. It 
is an entitlement today, but hopefully if we can do what is right for 
the long term of this country, it will not be an entitlement. It will 
be a budget item. And we will have limitations on welfare for able-
bodied recipients for the first time in this country since we created 
the welfare system.
  So it is very important that the people understand that we did reform 
welfare, that we did take on Medicaid entitlements, that we are going 
to give it to the States so that they can do it without Federal 
strings, in a more efficient way, that we are going to save the 
Medicare system from bankruptcy, so that it will be there for our 
future generations.
  Mr. President, we are keeping a promise, and it is not an easy one. 
It would be more comfortable to just cave. Sure, I would like for 
everyone to go back to work in Government. I would like to take the 
easy way out. It would be much more comfortable. But, Mr. President, my 
constituents did not put their faith in me to take the comfortable, 
easy way out. My constituents elected me because they believed that I 
would keep my promise.
  I am not going to mortgage the long-term security of this country for 
a short-term comfort rate. I am not going to do it because the people 
elected us to represent them, and they sent a  powerful message in 
1994. They want a balanced budget and they want people who are tough 
enough to do it.

  So I did not get elected to come here and cave to the President, who 
made the same promise that I did, but is walking away from that 
promise. I am not going to walk away. I am going to stand here for a 
balanced budget in 7 years. We are doing it in a responsible way. In 
fact, a lot of people think we should do it in 5 years. But we are 
saying, no, we believe 7 years would keep the economy strong at the 
same time that we are doing what is right for the long term. So we are 
making the right decision for the short term and the right decision for 
the long term.
  Mr. President, this is a crossroads for our country. As the great 
``philosopher'' Yogi Berra once said, ``When you come to a fork in the 
road, take it.'' Well, once again, we have a choice of which road to 
take. We have the choice. Mr. President, the Congress is going to stay 
on the road that will take this country back to prosperity and 
stability. We are going to bring back what made this country strong in 
the first place. Families, the spirit of entrepreneurship, the small 
businesses, a strong national defense built this country. We won the 
cold war because we were strong, not because we were weak. And we are 
going to do what is right, Mr. President, in the short term and the 
long term. We are not going to walk away from our promises, and I wish 
the President would do the same.
  Mr. EXON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
  Mr. EXON. Mr. President, apparently, the present occupant of the 
chair wanted to make some remarks; is that correct?
  (Mrs. HUTCHISON assumed the chair.)
  Mr. INHOFE. Yes, that is correct.
  Mr. EXON. Madam President, we have been trying to go back and forth. 
As I understand it, my colleague from Oklahoma wishes to make some 
remarks. I would agree to that. I hope that the Chair will see fit to 
recognize the Senator from Nebraska after the Senator from Oklahoma has 
completed his remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair will recognize the Senator from 
Nebraska, Senator Exon, following the remarks of the Senator from 
Oklahoma.
  The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.

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