[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 190 (Thursday, November 30, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S17837]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               THE BUDGET

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I will be brief. Mr. President, I rise to 
speak along the same lines as the Senator from Georgia and talk a 
little bit about our apparent budget impasse. We are told--and I read 
in the media--that political advisers to the President have urged him 
to resist negotiations, to allow an impasse to continue, to 
theoretically take the impasse to the American electorate a year from 
now. That has resulted, as far as I can tell, in very limited 
discussions so far, limited efforts on the part of the administration 
to negotiate, and no plan by the administration with respect to 
balancing the budget, protecting Medicare, or any of the other vital 
priorities in this country.
  I do not know what the President's decision will be. I do know what I 
read to be the advice he is receiving from his political counselors. I 
do not know, he may well decide to take the politically expedient 
course here, Mr. President. Before he does, I hope the President will 
consider the implications of taking the advice of the political experts 
as to what is good for next year's election and understand the 
consequences of doing that, because if an impasse continues for a year, 
if the President is responsible for there not being a balanced budget 
passed, it means a lot of very critical, I think, things for the 
American people. It means, number one, that we will not deal with the 
problem of Medicare insolvency that is staring this country in the 
face.
  As the Senator from Georgia has already indicated, we stand on the 
brink of having part A in the Medicare trust fund bankrupt in just 6 
years. If the President does not negotiate in good faith, if he plays 
the political card his advisers are recommending, then he will not 
sign, next week, the bill that would protect Medicare and keep the 
trust fund solvent.
  If the President continues the impasse, if the advisers, the 
political folks at the White House, are successful, it will also mean, 
I believe, very detrimental things for our economy. We have been very 
fortunate in recent weeks, as we have seen the stock market go up and 
interest rates go down. There is a very clear reason for that, and the 
analysts on Wall Street and elsewhere in this country all say the same 
thing. They say that the economy and the markets are reacting to the 
belief that we will have significant deficit reduction when this budget 
process is over.
  Mr. President, if they conclude that the President prefers an impasse 
for political reasons, then I think the robust stock market and the 
lower interest rates will be short-lived. Then the President will have 
to explain why interest rates are going back up again and why the 
market is going down.
  But most important, if the President heeds the advice of the 
political counselors, instead of doing what is right for this country, 
the impact will be felt greatest by the families of America, because if 
we fail to take advantage of this unique opportunity we have right now, 
Mr. President, to bring the budget under control and to put us on a 
path toward balance, what it means for the families, as the Senator 
from Georgia just indicated, is very, very considerable.
  It means continuing interest rates at levels beyond what they need to 
be. It means people paying more for their mortgage, more for their car 
payment, more for their student loans than they need to make. It means 
Washington continuing to make more money and keeping it here and making 
decisions for the families of America that they ought to make 
themselves.
  Mr. President, I hope when the President returns from his trip to 
Europe that he will reject the opinion of the political advisers, 
reject the notion of allowing a long impasse to continue, reject the 
notion of refusing to negotiate upfront in good faith and with his own 
plan, and instead come to the table, begin the discussions that I think 
are necessary for us to bring about the kind of balanced budget that we 
have passed here in the Senate and the Congress and for the American 
people, the first balanced budget in a quarter of a century.
  I hope that the President decides that the political advisers are not 
what matters and that next year's election is not what matters, but it 
is the future of this country, the future of our children that matter.
  If he does, he will join the Republicans in seeking to balance the 
budget, seeking to end the impasse, and most importantly, seeking to 
protect future generations.
  I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The assistant 
legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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