[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15265-H15266]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE SPIRIT OF GIVING, AND THE DIFFICULTY IN MAKING TOUGH BUDGET 
                               DECISIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coble). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Smith] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, it is a season to be very 
conscious of giving and what we can do for other people. It seems to me 
that the President and some of the Democrats feel they are gaining 
politically by calling Republicans mean-spirited in their efforts to 
whether we are going to reduce the growth of Government and end up with 
a balanced budget. It is easy for the President, I think, and some of 
the Democrats to say they want a balanced budget, but it is hard to 
come up with the specific cuts and reductions in growth that are 
necessary to achieve that balanced budget.
  If we are going to give a present, it seems very, very important that 
we start considering the tremendous obligations that we are putting on 
our kids and our grandkids by spending the money today to satisfy what 
we consider our today's problems with money they have not even earned 
yet, so we are obligating them to pay our today's bills. I think all of 
us, collectively, must believe that their problems are going to be as 
difficult and as great as our problems today, if not greater.
  It seems to me that there are two things that are going to have to 
happen before we can break this budget impasse: First, the President is 
going to 

[[Page H15266]]
have to stop playing politics, and doing what is right for the future 
of our country. I think that is sort of what he is doing. He sees his 
poll numbers gaining by saying, ``No, I am not going to allow these 
cuts.''
  I think here is the other second option, that the American people 
spend some really tough, hard studying time learning about the budget 
of the U.S. Government, and what it is really doing to their future, 
what it is doing to their future standard of living, what it is doing 
to their obligation they are going to have when they start paying off 
this debt.
  Mr. Speaker, it has been politically damaging to many Republicans to 
go home, because the PR battle has probably, there has been greater 
success on the part of the Democrats in saying that, ``Look, 
Republicans are taking away school lunches, they are going to put poor 
people out on the streets,'' and so when we go home, it is politically 
damaging.
  Let me tell you, Democrats, Mr. President, if we do not succeed this 
go-around in achieving a balanced budget and start living within our 
means, my guess is there are not going to be politicians willing to 
even try it again for the next 15 or 20 years. It is not easy. On the 
other hand, it is so easy for the President and some of the Democrats 
to say, ``Look at these mean-spirited Republicans as they try cutting 
this program and cutting that program and reducing the growth in this 
other program.'' It is not politically easy to reduce the growth in 
Government.
  The bottom line is this: We either do it now, or we are going to wait 
until the baby boomers start retiring, around 2011 to 2019. Then we are 
going to have to do it. If we wait that long to make these decisions, 
those decisions are going to be drastic.
  Let me just give you one example that sort of puts it in perspective, 
the difficulty of making these decisions. If it was easy, we would have 
made the decisions a long time ago. If you go back to after World War 
II, there were 45 people working for every 1 Social Security retiree 
recipient. Today there are three people working for every one retiree. 
People are living longer. The ratio of those working to those retired 
is becoming greater, and therefore, more difficult to charge more to 
those working in taxes to pay for some of the benefits of those that 
are retired. We have increased the FICA tax 29 times in the last 21 
years, in either the rate or the base, so we continue to tax those that 
are working more and more to pay for our overspending.
  The interest on the national debt this last year was $320 billion, 
the interest on the total debt, subject to the debt limit. That is the 
largest expenditure of the Federal Government. We cannot go on, Mr. 
Speaker, we cannot continue to overspend and run this country deeper 
and deeper into debt, and jeopardize the success, the economic success 
of the future.
  Mr. Greenspan, our top banker in this country, came to our Committee 
on the Budget. He said: ``Look, if you guys and gals do it in Congress, 
if you balance the budget, interest rates will be going down 1\1/2\ to 
2 percent.'' Such a dramatic increase in the economy.
  Let us do it now. Let us stick to our guns, if we have to stay here 
every day. I am hoping I am going to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas 
with my family. Other than that, I say, let us stay here every day, 
negotiate, get this done, have a budget that balances, and gives our 
kids and our grandkids a good Christmas present.

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