[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1115
                       STRUGGLING OVER THE BUDGET

  (Mr. TIAHRT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. TIAHRT. Mr. Speaker, today is December 7 and we remember that 
this is Pearl Harbor day. It was the beginning of the World War II 
struggle in the Pacific. Today we are starting another struggle over 
the budget. The President's budget is now available. It is hot off the 
presses, and I am very optimistic. I hope it is as close to the 7-year 
Republican plan as the President's Medicare plan is to the Republican 
Medicare plan.
  According to James Glassman of the Washington Post, the expenditures 
in the President's Medicare plan in 2002 is within 2 percentage points 
of the Republican plan, 1.6 percent, actually. I am sure all of us have 
heard about the massive $270 billion cuts to Medicare. Well, the 
President's plan is within 2 percentage points.
  Mr. Speaker, let us get to the truth of the matter. After all, 
telling the truth is one of the Ten Commandments. We should move beyond 
this cheap talk. If the President's plan is that close, 1.6 percent, 
then maybe we can reach an agreement on the 7-year balanced budget 
plan. Then we will do what the American public wants, what the Congress 
wants, we will do the right thing and balance the budget in 7 years.

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