[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18927-S18928]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PRESIDENT CLINTON'S EXTREMISM ON THE BUDGET

 Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I wish to express my opposition 
to the 

[[Page S18928]]
extremist scare tactics being used by President Clinton and his 
administration. Day after day, the American people are subjected to a 
steady stream of disinformation about the economic realities which 
confront this country.
  The Clinton administration has raised the standard on Washington 
doublespeak to a new all time high. It is unfortunate that President 
Clinton refuses to offer our Nation leadership at this decisive moment 
in our Nation's history. Instead, the only thing he offers is more 
fear, more taxes, more spending and more debt.
  Let's look at the facts. On the balanced budget, what has the 
Congress done? The Congress has passed a plan for balancing the budget 
in 7 years using honest and real numbers. What did President Clinton 
do? He cooked the books and offered four budgets none of which are 
balanced. Furthermore, he vetoed the only honest balanced budget plan 
offered this year.
  Looking at the facts and not at the harsh rhetoric of the Clinton 
administration, it should be clear to all Americans that Congress has 
accepted responsibility for the budget and the President has gone 
AWOL--absent without leadership. Instead of offering a serious plan, he 
offers the American people fear and unending deficit spending. The 
facts speak for themselves and they speak louder than the 
disinformation spread at White House press conferences.
  Let's look at some more facts. We are in the fourth day of a partial 
Government shutdown. What has the Congress done? Congress sent three 
spending bills to the President which would have kept open the 
Departments of Veterans Affairs, HUD, Commerce, Justice, State, and 
Interior. What did President Clinton do? He vetoed two of these bills 
and says he intends to veto the third. He had the power to prevent the 
shutdown of these agencies and to keep Federal workers on the job. 
Instead, with the stroke of a pen he sent thousands of Federal workers 
home.
  That wasn't enough for this President. He also threw in some fear-
mongering for good measure. The administration fired-up its 
disinformation machine and unleashed a tirade of doomsday rhetoric 
against those spending bills. The facts speak for themselves. The 
Congress did its job and passed appropriations bills which responsibly 
reduced government spending and which would have kept most agencies 
open. But, President Clinton wasn't interested in that. He was looking 
for a photo opportunity. He vetoed funding bills and closed down parts 
of the Government. He should be held and will be held accountable for 
this shutdown.
  Let's look at some more facts. The President's Medicare trustees 
informed the administration earlier this year that Medicare is on the 
verge of certain bankruptcy. What did Congress do? We passed a plan to 
rescue Medicare from bankruptcy and preserve it so that it will be 
there for all Americans when they retire. What did President Clinton 
do? At first, he turned a blind eye toward the problem--as if by 
ignoring Medicare the problem would go away. Then he engaged in a well 
orchestrated campaign to frighten America's senior citizens about 
congressional efforts to save Medicare.
  Since President Clinton has no serious Medicare plan to offer, he 
instead offers fear instead. This display of self-serving political 
opportunism has no match in Washington. Such desperate and dishonest 
tactics should be and will be rejected by all Americans who are serious 
about integrity in government because the facts simply don't support 
the President's rhetoric. The Medicare reform plan passed by Congress, 
in reality, provides for greater spending increases than the socialized 
health care plan offered by Mrs. Clinton just last year.
  The President is knowingly misleading the American people about 
Medicare. He should stop his campaign to frighten our senior citizens 
and he should get serious about saving Medicare.
  When you look at the budget, the Government shutdown, and Medicare--
the facts simply don't support the President's false rhetoric. In 
reality, this crisis has been engineered by the President to bolster 
his reelection campaign. After being viewed as irrelevant for so long, 
the President has now identified himself with something he believes in 
passionately. He is passionate about deficit spending. He is passionate 
about the preserving the status quo which heaps trillions of dollars of 
debt on our children and grandchildren.
  I hope that he will abandon his extremist scare tactics and get 
serious about balancing the budget. So far, he has stone-walled 
congressional negotiators. He has refused to offer a balanced budget 
plan using honest numbers. He prefers to cook the books as a way to 
balance the budget. Such policies will not lead to a balanced budget. 
They never have and they never will. President Clinton has chosen the 
path of certain failure. Congress will not follow him down that dead-
end road.
  I believe that we need another vote on the balanced budget amendment. 
I can think of no better Christmas present for America. I believe that 
the American people sent a clear message to Congress in 1994. They 
demanded that Washington put its financial house in order. Another vote 
on the balanced budget amendment will show who is serious about 
achieving this necessary goal for our children and grandchildren.
  Sadly, President Clinton worked hard to defeat the balanced budget 
amendment earlier this year. The Nation is now entirely focused on this 
all important issue. Let's bring up the constitutional amendment for 
another vote before the end of the year. Then the American people will 
know who is committed to a balanced budget. They will also know who to 
blame if the budget is not balanced. They will know who to blame if our 
future is mortgaged beyond our ability to comprehend.
  I support the balanced budget amendment and I support the legislation 
passed by Congress to balanced the budget in 7 years using honest 
numbers. Unfortunately, the President oppose both. And, no amount of 
extremist rhetoric from the White House can hide that fact.

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