[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 206 (Thursday, December 21, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15546-H15547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                BALANCE THE BUDGET BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Duncan] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, this past Friday night, ``Nightline'' had a 
special program entitled ``Mr. Longley Goes to Washington.''
  This program was about our colleague, the gentleman from Maine [Mr. 
Longley], and the very strong commitment by him and the other House 
Republican freshmen to balance our budget.
  Mr. Longley said at one point that if we do not get our fiscal house 
in order, ``we are going to have a crash that will make the Great 
Depression look like a party at the beach.''
  I thought his was a very strong but very appropriate and accurate way 
of describing the situation we are in now.
  There is hardly anyone today, on either side who disagrees with the 
goal of balancing our budget.
  We simply cannot go on like we have without causing very serious 
economic problems.
  Yet some people just pay lip service to this goal. They say, yes, we 
need to balance the budget, but--
  And it is this ``but'' that has gotten us $5 trillion into debt--so 
deeply into debt that many people think we will never get out without 
greatly inflating our money.
  I take the floor at this time, Mr. Speaker, because I am sure there 
are many people who think--well it would be good to balance the budget, 
but it really does not make that much difference to them.
  Let me try to explain why this does make a difference, and a very big 
difference to everyone, even those making minimum wage, and those 
receiving food stamps or other Federal benefits, and students, and 
everyone else.
  First, as Mr. Longley said, we could very easily have a major 
economic crash in a few years if we do not straighten this mess out.
  That may be hard to believe when the stock market is at record highs, 
but the stock market was at record highs just before the Great 
Depression of the 1930's.
  Second, times are good now for some, but they could and should be 
good for everyone.
  People making $5 or $6 an hour could and should be making two or 
three times what they are if we did not have a national debt of $5 
trillion holding us back economically.
  Third, anyone who is receiving any type of Federal check should be 
insisting that we balance this budget.
  If we don't, it won't be long at all before we will no longer be able 
to meet our obligations to veterans, Social Security recipients, 
Federal retirees, and others.
  Fourth, buried in the fine print of our last budget, and something 
that was picked up and written about by former Senator Paul Tsongas, is 
the fact that young people of today will have to pay average lifetime 
tax rates of an incredible 82 percent if we don't get things under 
control.
  If we keep going like we have been, we will absolutely destroy the 
standard of living of our children and grandchildren. They won't be 
able to buy a tenth of what we do now.
  Fifth, no one--young or old, should be misled into believing that 
balancing the budget in 7 years requires anything radical or extreme.
  All we seem to hear about are cuts--cuts--cuts. But the Washington 
Post columnist James K. Glasman called the Republican budget the ``No 
Cut Budget.''
  All we are trying to do is to slow spending increases down to about 3 
percent each year, about where inflation has been for the last 10 to 12 
years.
  Federal spending right now is almost three times what the first 
Reagan budget was--an almost 300 percent increase in 15 years.
  Almost no private businesses are spending three times what they were 
15 years ago. Very few employees in the private sector are receiving 
salaries three times higher than they were 15 years ago.
  And that brings us one more very important point, Mr. Speaker. The 
middle class is being wiped out, and the gap between the rich and the 
poor is growing rapidly.
  Why? Because of big government, that's why. Our Federal Government 
has become too big, and very few have received the benefits from this, 
at the expense of the very many.
  Federal bureaucrats have benefited, because they pay and retirement 
benefits have gone way up.
  Federal contractors have benefited, because they have been allowed to 
reap exorbitant profits, because even with exorbitant profits, they can 
still do things more cheaply and efficiently than our Federal 
bureaucracy can.
  Extremely big business has benefited because they get most of the big 
Federal contracts, most of the favorable regulatory rulings, and 
favorable tax breaks.
  Federal rules and regulations have a much greater impact and a much 
more harmful effect on small business than on large ones. In fact, big 
government has forced many small business out of existence or into 
merging with other larger companies.
  Thus, the big get bigger, and the small go by the wayside. This is 
not a conspiracy, but simply an inevitable consequence of big 
government.
  The only really fair system, Mr. Speaker, the only system where an 
average person without great capital or great political influence 
really has a chance, is a true free enterprise, free market system.
  What we have today is a free enterprise system that has been greatly 
and unfairly distorted by a big government that favors big, well-
connected companies.

[[Page H15547]]

  If we are going to save this Nation from fiscal disaster--if we are 
going to give someone without great wealth or political connections, a 
real chance, once again, we have got to get our Federal Government 
under control.
  And we do not have much time left--we must do it now, before it is 
simply too late.

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