[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 207 (Friday, December 22, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S19231-S19232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            JOINT STATEMENT

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, just for the information of my colleagues, 
following the meeting today at the White House, we issued a joint 
statement. I will just read the joint statement.
  We have agreed that we will issue statements from now on so we do not 
have any problem about somebody saying something that might be 
misinterpreted. And the joint statement reads:

       Today we had good meetings which built on the progress made 
     in yesterday's discussions. Staff will prepare further 
     analysis to clarify options for the budget advisory group, 
     which will then advise the principals on outstanding issues. 
     Following the meeting of the budget advisory group, the 
     principals will meet again next Friday afternoon.

  So there will be a meeting with the President and the Vice President, 
the chief of staff, Leon Panetta, and the leaders of the House and the 
Senate.
  On Thursday of next week and Wednesday of next week, staff and the 
advisory committees will meet.
  So without much elaboration, I will say, in my view, we had a good 
session, very positive. I felt people wanted to get something done. 

[[Page S19232]]

  We discussed some very difficult issues. The hard decisions have not 
been made yet, but I guess without being too specific, it is fair to 
say, at least right now, the attitude of everyone is very positive, and 
I hope that we can do what the American people want us to do, and that 
is come to some agreement which will balance the budget over the next 7 
years, using Congressional Budget Office numbers.
  If we can do that--it may be painstaking, it may interrupt holiday 
schedules for some, but it will be worth it in the long run. So I 
certainly want to thank all of my colleagues and members of our staff 
who have been working this past week and will be working next week in 
an effort to bring about a balanced budget over the next 7 years.

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