[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17499-S17500]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A BUDGET TO BE THANKFUL FOR

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, the past few days have been historic ones in 
Washington, DC. As we approach Thanksgiving, I believe our children and 
our grandchildren will have a lot to be thankful for. They may not 
understand it. Maybe their parents will not understand it, maybe their 
grandparents will not understand it, but I do believe we have provided 
the leadership the American people have been waiting for, the 
leadership to do the most important thing we could ever do: pass a 
balanced budget for the first time in a generation.
  While President Clinton says he opposes our budget, last night the 
Republican majority reached an agreement with the White House, with the 
President and congressional Democrats to enact legislation before the 
end of this year to balance the budget by the year 2002 using honest 
economic estimates of the Congressional Budget Office, a balanced 
budget in 7 years. That is what this discussion has been all about. We 
have never lost sight, on our side of the aisle, of our principles. We 
are fighting for America's future. Some may not appreciate it, some may 
not understand it, but that is what the battle is all about.
  We would like to make budget deficits a thing of the past. And make 
no mistake about it, this is all about America's future, all about 
generations yet to come. This may be our--maybe not last, but one of 
our best opportunities to make fundamental change in the way we do 
business, the way the Government does business, so that our children 
will inherit something. Maybe they can inherit a dream rather than 
crushing debt.
  I think we owe all Americans an economy with lower interest rates so 
more people can buy a car, farm machinery, take out a college loan, or 
realize a lifetime dream of maybe buying a home. Believe me, if you 
look at the numbers--not my numbers but numbers from experts in the 
field--if, in fact, we have a balanced budget over 7 years, the markets 
will respond, interest rates will fall. It is like a tax cut. For every 
American it is like a big tax cut. If you pay less interest when you 
buy a car, buy a home, student loan, it is just as much money in your 
pocket as a tax cut would be.

  So, for the hard-working Americans, we owe it to them to do what we 
should do. We owe it to America's seniors to save Medicare from 
bankruptcy, just as we saved Social Security from bankruptcy in 1983 in 
a bipartisan way. President Reagan, a Republican, Tip O'Neill, 
Democratic Speaker of the House, and Howard Baker, Republican leader of 
the Senate, put together a commission--and I was honored to be on the 
commission with the likes of Claude Pepper of Florida, the champion of 
senior citizens, and many others--and, in a bipartisan way, we rescued 
Social Security from bankruptcy in 1983.
  I think we owe it to American families to give them back more of 
their 

[[Page S 17500]]
own money--their money. I have repeated this story many times. We have 
a $500-per-child tax credit in the Republican plan. The President has 
$300 under a little different conditions. I met a man in Jacksonville, 
FL, who told me he had 10 children--10. He said, ``Ten times 500 is 
$5,000.'' And he said, ``Senator, I can spend that money better for my 
children than you or anybody else in Washington, DC.'' That is what the 
tax credit is all about.
  About 70 percent, nearly 80 percent of our total tax cuts go to 
families with children, or reduce the marriage penalty, or go to other 
areas we believe are family related. We also owe it to families who are 
trapped in the welfare system to create a new system based on work and 
hope and opportunity.
  We believe we have a good plan--I think the Senate bill which passed, 
as I recall 87 to 12, it would have been 88 to 12 but Senator Hatfield 
was unavoidably absent that day--and we are going to change welfare as 
we know it. It is going to be helpful to those who must rely on 
welfare.
  We are going to send it back to the States. I just finished talking 
to the Republican Governors, by satellite, in New Hampshire. They are 
excited about the prospect. Let them make the decisions. They are 
excited about welfare reform. They are excited about returning Medicaid 
to the States.
  I think, finally, we owe it to the American people just to keep our 
word and keep our promise. I know there is not a lot of precedent for 
it. They may not be used to it. But these things were promised the 
American people in 1994, and they are being delivered in 1995.
  We cannot do everything in 1 year. When you have had 40 years going 
the other direction of a bigger central government, more spending, more 
taxes, it may take more than one session of Congress to turn it all 
around. But this is the beginning. This is only the beginning, but it 
is a start of the process.
  We have been told that we can do it in 7 years. Those are the 
estimates of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which, I 
might add, have been, I think, right 14 out of 16 times when you 
compare the projections of the Congressional Budget Office and the 
Office of Management and Budget in the White House. That would be under 
Presidents of both parties. That is not intended to be criticism.
  So, I thank all my colleagues, and I thank Senator Daschle, 
obviously, and others on the Democratic side, for coming together on an 
agreement. We can all say who won or who lost, but I think the bottom 
line is Federal employees are back at work. They are going to be paid. 
They are not going to suffer any loss of pay.
  If we do what we should do between now and December 15, it will not 
make any difference who won and who lost. I think we won. We did not 
blink. We have a 7-year balanced budget using CBO estimates. But that 
may not be important. The important thing is, if we do what we should 
do working together, the big winners will be the American people. The 
children will not understand it, and the grandchildren, but will 
understand it 5 or 10 or 15 years from now when they are looking for 
work, or want to get married, or want to buy a car, or want to go to 
college.
  If we have turned the country in the right direction--right now I 
think 70 percent of the American people say we are going in the wrong 
direction--if we downsize the Government, and if we reconnect the 
values of this Government of ours with the average American out there, 
and if we regain our place as the leader of the international 
community, then I believe that we are off to a good start.
  Everybody can take credit--Republicans, Democrats, the President, 
whoever. And it would be deserved. If we do the wrong thing, then I 
believe the American people will rebel. They will say, ``Well, business 
as usual. They talk a good game but it never happens.''
  So I am excited today about the direction. I am excited about the 
agreement. I believe the House will pass the agreement we sent over 
last night, and I hope unanimously without much discussion. Then I 
would assume a week from today we will start the serious negotiations. 
We will be working with all of our colleagues on this side, and 
certainly I know Senator Daschle will work with his colleagues on the 
other side for input. We have also invited the Republican Governors to 
give us input which I think is very important.
  So I want to thank my colleagues for their cooperation and wish them 
a well deserved and happy Thanksgiving.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, will the able Senator yield?
  Mr. DOLE. I am happy to yield.

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