[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15091-H15092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          BALANCING THE BUDGET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Neumann] is recognized 
during morning business for 3 minutes.
  Mr. NEUMANN. Mr. Speaker, the problem we are facing today is not a 
discussion between spending priorities. The problem we are facing today 
is that the President's budget leaves the Federal checkbook $70 billion 
overdrawn. I have a chart with me that shows me where we were last week 
in terms of deficits. This bottom line is where the deficits were over 
the last week.
  You will notice in the year 2002, all of last week we had a 
Presidential proposal that left us $115 billion overdrawn. On Friday of 
last week, the President brought us a new proposal. Here is what it 
did. It took the $115 billion deficit and it reduced it to a point 
where it was a $70 billion deficit. The problem with this is that it is 
still $70 billion out of whack in the 7th year.
  Let me make this as clear as I can possibly make it. The proposal 
that we 

[[Page H15092]]
have from the President today does not, I repeat, does not, balance the 
budget in 7 years. That makes it unacceptable.
  Let me put this another way. In the 7th year of the President's 
proposal, he proposes that we spend $106 billion more of the taxpayers' 
money and he proposes that we collect $36 billion more from the 
taxpayers of this country. So he proposes that we spend $106 billion 
more in the 7th year, and he proposes we collect $36 billion more in 
taxes. That leaves us $70 billion over in the 7th year.
  Let me just finish, because this gets much better. The Republican 
plan that is currently on the table, the Republican plan on the table 
today, proposes that we spend $11.948 trillion of the American people's 
money. That is to say, $46,000 over the next 7 years for every man, 
woman and child in the United States of America, $46,000 per person. 
The President wants to spend $400 billion more than that.
  I have a problem with that, because back in my district, they think 
$46,000 a person is enough spending.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. NEUMANN. I yield to the gentleman from New York
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. I 
would just note that the CBO numbers show that the Republican budget, 
the deficit goes back up in the years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Would the 
gentleman be willing, if I might finish, given his passion for 
balancing the budget, which I respect, to say if that happens, we 
should reduce some of the deep tax cuts in that budget so that we can 
balance the budget?
  Mr. NEUMANN. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, it is very important to 
look very seriously at the budget proposal we put out of our office 
earlier this year. We put forth a plan that balanced the budget, we had 
5 years, but, OK, let us do it in 7 years as we have all agreed to in 
this House. After the 7th year, we would allow spending to increase at 
a rate 1 percent slower than the rate of new growth.
  We need to go back to the plan as proposed in our budget proposal out 
of my office earlier this year, because what that will do is require 
that we start building a surplus so we can start paying down this debt, 
so we can give this Nation to our children without this huge debt. When 
you start talking beyond 7 years, the reality is we do not have much of 
an opportunity to work out those numbers.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Wisconsin 
[Mr. Neumann] has expired.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman 
be allowed to proceed for one additional minute.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would advise Members that the time 
has been allocated.

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