[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 186 (Monday, November 20, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE BIPARTISAN BUDGET AGREEMENT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I applaud the bipartisan budget agreement 
that was reached yesterday between President Clinton and the 
congressional leaders in both parties because it ends the longest 
Government shutdown in our history, and it sets the stage for 
bipartisan negotiations to achieve a balanced budget by 2002, something 
that in the debate most people forget. The vast majority of Republicans 
and Democrats want that balanced budget.
  So it is truly a bipartisan compromise in the best sense of both of 
those words. It puts away partisan politics. It uses common sense to 
reach shared values. It commits Congress and the President to the 
worthy goal of a balanced budget in 7 years while also committing us to 
achieve a balance with compassion--not just ``hard, cold, numbers 
crunching,'' as the expression goes. We are past, I hope, the political 
posturing and the finger pointing.
  Thanks to those Government employees who will keep the Government 
working during the time of the negotiations in the coming weeks as the 
Congress and the President build on this temporary agreement. It is not 
going to be easy. But we have to succeed.
  I suggest three principles of common sense and reason to make these 
negotiations work.
  First, scale back the $245 billion in tax cuts in the Republican 
budget plan. I learned many years ago that the best way to get out of a 
hole is to stop digging. Past Presidents and Congresses have spent our 
country into a $5 trillion debt. With this kind of huge debt we cannot 
afford $245 billion more in tax cuts. We ought to be spending that 
money to get us out of debt --not create more debt.
  Second, plow back the savings from scaled-back tax cuts that will 
lower the reductions in Medicare and Medicaid. Keep our commitment to 
the current generation of Medicare recipients, and preserve the system 
for future generations. Also keep the Medicaid safety net in place for 
our most needy citizens. If we scale back those tax cuts, we can avoid 
unnecessary cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.
  Third, invest in our future; provide adequate funding for education 
and nutrition programs for our children. It only makes sense that we 
give the next generation every chance to succeed in today's demanding 
economy, an economy far more demanding than when I was a child. We also 
have to maintain our environmental protection to preserve our natural 
resources for future generations.
  If we use these three principles, I believe Democrats and Republicans 
can resolve our differences, and make our Government work to achieve a 
fair balanced budget.
  We have to understand, Mr. President, that all of us are in this 
together, and that each one of us is going to have to cast votes that 
will be unpopular. It will be unpopular for Democrats or unpopular for 
Republicans. We have to take steps that may be unpopular at the moment 
but that are for the good of the future.
  We are not going to pass a Gingrich budget. We are not going to pass 
a Dole budget, or a Daschle budget, or a Clinton budget, or a Leahy 
budget. But we can pass parts of each that will make a better budget 
for this country. But think of the long-term gains. Think about what we 
want in the future. Think of our children. My children are going to 
live most of their lives in the next century. That is probably true of 
many of them. Let us think of them and have a policy for our country.

  We have been guided by policy through pollsters. Instead, let us be 
guided by legislation through leadership. It would be a refreshing 
change in this country. Just ignore the polls of the day.
  It seems that we come in here and somebody sneezes or gives a speech, 
and there is a poll of the hour. There is a poll that says the 
President is ahead at this moment, the Congress is behind; 3 hours 
later the Congress will be ahead and the President will be behind, and 
we seem to try to adjust to that.
  I do not think the American people are impressed by that. I think the 
American people would be impressed if the polls said what we are doing 
is what we think is best in moving forward. If we do that, we are going 
to have the kind of budget we want.
  I was 1 of 11 who voted against Reaganomics back in the 1980's. With 
the deficits and the huge increase in our national debt built up during 
that time, we are now spending $1 billion a weekday in interest, $1 
billion a weekday in interest on what we did then. I remember the polls 
were 10 to 1 against my vote. But I think it is like some of the votes 
on Vietnam at one time; a lot of people wish they could go back and do 
it over again.
  We have to find a way. I voted for the plan of the senior Senator 
from North Dakota [Mr. Conrad]. I voted for a lot of things in that 
plan that are going to be unpopular back in Vermont, but they bring us 
to a balanced budget.
  Let us assume that we all want that balanced budget, and we do. But 
we also have to invest in our future. We also have to make sure our 
education opportunities are there for our children. We have to make 
sure we do those things that create jobs, that allow us to lower the 
enormous trade deficit.
  The enormous trade deficit in this country is hurting us more than 
our deficit in our Federal budget because it is owed to people outside 
of this country exclusively, and the more that deficit builds up the 
more our jobs flee the United States and go to the Pacific basin and go 
to Europe and go to other parts of the world.
  Let us improve our ability to compete with the rest of the world in 
our education, in our financing, and all these other things so that we 
create the jobs here and we start exporting far more and the money 
comes back into this country. That would not only lower our trade 
deficit but it would, more importantly, put hundreds of thousands, 
millions of Americans back to work in good, productive jobs. Bring 
those jobs back into the United States. Use the productivity and the 
genius of our Nation but make sure our investment is in keeping that 
genius and that productivity in education, in health and nutrition.
  Mr. President, I think now is the time for us to step back, applaud 
the good motives of people in both parties and of the President, but 
let us close the door on the pollsters setting policy. Let us use our 
own leadership to pass legislation that is good for this country.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. COCHRAN addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If the Senator will suspend just one moment, I 
failed to read the previous order.

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