[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 194 (Thursday, December 7, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18118-S18119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A BALANCED BUDGET

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I thank the Senator. I think all of us are 
very concerned about where we go from here, concerned about the 
President's veto of the first balanced budget proposal that could have 
succeeded in 30 years. The President cannot continue to veto the will 
of the American people who list as their top priority balancing the 
budget.
  You say why, why is that a top priority? Not simply because it is 
good government, not because it is financial and fiscal responsibility, 
but because they understand, and Wyoming families understand, as do 
others, that every day the Government fails to balance the budget, more 
money is taken from their families' futures.
  Families are thinking down the road, fortunately. They care about the 
world their children will inherit and the fact that we are ready to 
move into a new century, and they ask themselves what kind of a 
Government will we pass on to our children and our grandchildren? Will 
it be the one with the credit card maxed out? That is where we are now.
  So these families think about what is coming in the future. 
Unfortunately, the Clinton administration thinks about the next 
election. Had the President come to the snubbing post and done the 
right thing, Wyoming families would have saved money. They would have 
saved $2,404 per year--these figures were done up by the Heritage 
Foundation on a State-by-State basis--$2,400 per year on lower mortgage 
payments, over $300 a year due on State and local interest payments, 
$500 per year on lower interest payments for student loans. These are 
for average families in Wyoming.

  The State and local governments in Wyoming--we want to transfer some 
of that responsibility--would have saved $57 million over 7 years on 
lower interest rates brought about by balancing the budget.
  So the issue of balancing the budget is the most critical one. We 
have to balance the budget because of the impact it has on families and 
the benefits that come from it. The deficit is robbing our families' 
bank accounts. It must be budgeted. And anything else is the wrong 
thing to do.
  The Clinton administration has done less than the responsible thing. 
I think we have to start talking about that and not let them get by 
with going to the media and saying, ``We're protecting 

[[Page S 18119]]
this and we're protecting that. We can't do this.'' We have to balance 
the budget. And this administration has done what I think is the most 
selfish thing, and that is to play the political game at the expense of 
American families.
  The President has not done anything to bring about real change. In 
1993, we had the largest tax increase the world has ever known. But 
spending continued to go up, and we have not balanced the budget. He 
has proposed two budgets this year, neither of them balanced. Neither 
of them got any votes in this Senate. He now proposes to bring up 
another one today. We will see. But he is going to do it without CBO 
numbers, without real numbers.

  Now, people say, what is CBO? What is OMB? What is the difference? I 
can tell you what the difference is. CBO is real numbers. You can 
balance the budget, if you fool with the projections, without really 
balancing the budget. Raise the projections out here 7 years from now 
when you are no longer President and it is painless to do it in the 
meantime. It is also phony. We cannot do that.
  We see this leadership in this administration trying to patch the 
walls of a crumbling welfare state. Talking about the Great Society, we 
spent $5 trillion in these welfare programs and they have not worked. 
You cannot expect different results if you continue to do the same 
thing. You need real welfare reform. We need to guard and protect 
Medicare. And we need to think about what kind of country we want as we 
go into the 21st century. The balanced budget is the way to proceed.
  Mr. President, there are a number of principles that need to be 
followed. First of all, if we are going to have a balanced budget, we 
have to start with honest numbers. Certainly, you can argue about the 
projections, but you have to start with real numbers and be willing to 
make the changes that are necessary to make that balance. You have to 
reduce Washington spending, which is as important as balancing the 
budget. You could balance it, I suppose, by raising taxes. But we need 
to bring down spending. We have to ensure Medicare solvency. We have to 
make some changes to do that. We have to have real welfare reform. 
Welfare reform without results is not what we want. We have to change 
that. We have to put some more power in the people in the States and 
move government closer to the people, and we must do it now.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. CRAIG addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Idaho.

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