[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H13634-H13635]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Upton] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Mr. UPTON addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]

[[Page H 13635]]


                  AMERICA HAS MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, at this time of Thanksgiving 
week have we much to be thankful for. In looking over the legislation 
which has been adopted by this House, we only have to look to the line-
item veto, which will cut out the pork-barrel legislation that has 
wasted so much in prior Congresses.
  We have to look just to the accountability law, sometimes called the 
Shays Act, which will force Congress to live under the laws that they 
pass for others. The prohibition of unfunded mandates. No longer will 
Congress be able to pass laws that, in fact, have local governments and 
State governments unnecessarily foot the entire bill. Now, if the 
Federal Government, through the House and the Senate and the President, 
wish the local governments to do something, the funding will have to 
follow.
  We also passed historic legislation last week with my support, and 
all the other colleagues in this body. I think it was almost unanimous 
that we passed the House rule which will ban gifts from lobbyists. 
There is no way that our constituents feel that we should have gifts 
from lobbyists and now we have legislation which will prohibit it, and 
properly so.
  But I am pleased to see tonight that we have the spirit of 
bipartisanship and we now have the President and Congress working 
together to achieve a balanced budget within 7 years. Under that 
specific language, the President and the Congress shall enact 
legislation in the first session of the 104th Congress to achieve a 
balanced budget not later than fiscal year 2002, as estimated by the 
Congressional Budget Office, and the President and the Congress agree 
that the balanced budget must protect future generations, ensure 
Medicare solvency, reform welfare, and provide adequate funding for 
Medicaid, education, agriculture, national defense, veterans, and the 
environment.

                              {time}  1900

  It further stipulates that the balanced budget shall be estimated by 
the Congressional Budget Office figures. I think it is important to 
note, Mr. Speaker, that by balancing the budget we will help all 
American families by reducing mortgage costs, reducing car payments, 
reducing tuitions costs, and as well stabilizing health care costs.
  It should also be brought out to the attention of my colleagues that 
the proposed Balanced Budget Act passed by the House for 1995 includes 
important increases from 1995 to 2002 in the following ways: The earned 
income tax credit will go from almost $19.9 billion to $25.4 billion. 
The School Lunch Program nationally would go up from $6.3 billion to 
$7.8 billion. Student loans would go up from $24.5 billion to $36.5 
billion. Medicaid will go up from $89.2 billion to $127.3 billion. 
Medicare will increase from $178.1 billion to $289.8 billion, and 
veterans' benefits will go from $36.9 billion to $41.8 billion.
  So it is a case, Mr. Speaker, of promises made, promises kept. This 
Congress is moving forward in a bipartisan fashion. And in the spirit 
of Thanksgiving, I know that each of us can do our best to remove the 
personalities from the issues and restore the fiscal responsibility of 
the country by working on policies that Republicans and Democrats can 
embrace together to bring about the fiscal responsibility to make sure 
we live within our budgets as families do, as States do, as counties 
do.
  We can work together to make sure that the vital programs of the 
Federal Government must provide, because State governments and the 
private sector do not provide them, but do so in a way that removes the 
waste, fraud, and abuse. If we do that, I know we can achieve the kinds 
of legislation and the kinds of services the American public wants and 
deserves.

                          ____________________