[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               PRESIDENT HAS PROBLEM WITH BALANCED BUDGET

  (Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma. Mr. Speaker, I too, as my colleague from 
Illinois, offer condolences to the Fazio family and to the Johnson 
family.
  Mr. Speaker, on November 20 there was a continuing resolution that 
was signed that said that Congress and the President shall balance the 
budget by the year 2002, using Congressional Budget Office numbers and 
using honest numbers. That resolution expired December 15 at midnight. 
At that time, the President had not offered a balanced budget, scored 
by CBO, that would balance in 7 years.
  Mr. Speaker, that has been the problem. We have had appropriations 
that have been vetoed. We do not have a President that submitted a 
budget that would balance over the next 7 years, and that is the 
problem. What is the problem with submitting something that will 
balance? Is it that the President does not want to be accountable, the 
President does not want to discipline himself?
  We said, ``Mr. President, you don't have to agree with our numbers. 
You can disagree with our numbers. Just give us your priority, your 
numbers, and we will negotiate a settlement.''

                          ____________________