[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        BALANCED BUDGET WILL RETURN FISCAL SANITY TO WASHINGTON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Colorado [Mr. McInnis] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I think it is particularly important not to 
lose track of the overall focus of what we have got to do with the 
Government in Washington, DC. That is, we have got to bring fiscal 
sanity back to this city. Right now this government is adding to the 
debt at a rate of $30 million an hour. Thirty million an hour goes out 
more than comes in. The answer is not in additional taxes.
  I just heard the previous speaker say we are holding the children of 
this country hostage, or innocent people hostage. Hostage? We are 
holding this entire country hostage and the next generation hostage to 
a deficit that has got to become controlled. There is not a family in 
America that runs their budget like this budget has been run for 40 
years.
  Sure, we have had 20 days of discomfort up here. But this country has 
had 40 years of discomfort. You cannot continue to use this 
congressional voting card, which is the most unused credit card in the 
history of this country, you cannot continue to accumulate deficit 
after deficit after deficit.
  There are going to be some adjustments. There are changes that need 
to be made. Anytime we take business as usual in Washington, DC. and 
change it and make it more sane and make it more common sense, it is 
going to cause a disruption. Do not let that disruption divert 
attention away from a balanced budget. Our country needs one.
  I think it is fair to address some of the hardships that some Federal 
employees are facing as a result of their pay being delayed. They are 
all going to be paid. Let there be no question about that. They will be 
paid. The question is the delay. And are there hardships? Certainly 
there are going to be some hardships.
  Let me tell the Members what we did in Colorado. On New Year's Day, a 
local banker by the name of Bob Young, Robert Young with Alpine Banks 
called me at my home, and we talked and fine-tuned a program. His bank, 
the day after New Year's Day, announced that all Federal employees 
could go to the Alpine banking system in Colorado and draw interest-
free an amount equal to the net amount of their last paycheck, so they 
will not miss any payments. Alpine Banks is committed to do this during 
this period of shutdown. Since then we have gotten banks in Pueblo, CO, 
the Minnequa Bank, and a bank in Durango, CO, the Burns Bank, and we 
have been in contact with many other banks to also join this program.
  We want to work with those people. We want to help them with these 
hardships. But the minute we put this Government back to business as 
usual, we take the pressure off the Speaker of the House, we take the 
pressure off the President of the Senate and we take the pressure off 
the President of the United States to negotiate an agreement.
  The only reason these people are negotiating right now is because of 
the pressure that society is putting on them, partially because the 
Government is closed down, but more importantly because this Government 
continues to spend without control.
  Finally, let me say this. I have heard a lot of speakers on the other 
side of the aisle criticizing our attempt for a balanced budget. I hope 
some of the Members speak as strongly about Hazel O'Leary's 
disappearance of several hundred thousand dollars. They have an 
opportunity to come to some of these committee hearings and ask Hazel 
O'Leary:
  How come you spent $500,000 to charter a private jet to go overseas? 
How come you have an advance team of 31 people? How come you have a 
film crew follow you all around the world?
  There is a lot of waste in this budget. Use your time today that you 
are devoting to attacking the Republican Party, take that time and take 
a look at the waste that we have got in our budget. We can work on this 
as a team.
  I am optimistic we can get an agreement. But let me say, the most 
crucial thing we can do in this generation is to hand the next 
generation a balanced budget. I urge each and every one of you to join 
us as a team and give America the biggest present they could have, and 
that is a balanced budget for the next generation.

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