[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           CHEAP SHOT AT CBO

  (Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, relevant to the President 
vetoing the only balanced budget in a generation for reasons that do 
not hold water Americans should note an editorial entitled ``Cheap 
Shot'' in yesterday's Washington Post.

       Senator Minority Leader Tom Daschle has recklessly 
     attacked--without foundation and for the cheapest of 
     political reasons--one of the most valuable institutions in 
     the government. His problem is with the Congressional Budget 
     Office. It was set up in 1974 to fill a void by providing 
     Congress with dispassionate, nonpartisan analysis on which to 
     base budget decisions. It has steadily done so . . . and in 
     the process greatly strengthened Congress as an institution 
     while elevating the annual debate.
       Maybe someday it will fall from that high standard. That 
     day is not yet. But Mr. Daschle is disappointed by one of 
     CBO's current positions . . . he is free, of course, to say 
     he disagrees . . . what he chose to do instead . . . was 
     smear the agency.
       The remarks he made undercut the very process whose 
     integrity he pretended to protect. They did leave a stain, 
     but not on CBO.

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