[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 3 (Friday, January 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S92-S96]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         A CLEAN CONTINUING RESOLUTION AND BALANCED BUDGET ACT

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, we are here tonight to talk about two 
important issues--one is the short-term outlook for the operation of 
the Federal Government, and the other is the long-term economic future 
of the Nation.
  The Senate is now considering a continuing appropriations resolution 
[CR] that will reopen the Federal Government and put our Federal 
employees back to work with pay. This CR will operate the Federal 
Government for 3 weeks through January 26 and give the congressional 
leadership and the President the opportunity to again try to agree on a 
balanced budget plan.
  This CR has a reasonable requirement that the President should now 
present a budget plan that reaches balance over 7 years using CBO 
estimates. The President committed to this goal when he signed the 
continuing resolution last November (H.J. Res. 122 Public Law 104-56), 
but he has yet to submit a balanced budget by CBO scoring.


                           chronology for bba

  Mr. President, the President submitted his fiscal year 1996 budget to 
Congress on February 6. At the same time, the new Republican Congress 
was undertaking the long overdue task of balancing the Federal budget.

[[Page S93]]

  Congress has worked for over a year now, Mr. President, to bring that 
goal to a reality. The Senate Budget Committee, which I chair, held 22 
hearings on the budget through early August.
  The Senate Budget Committee held 4 days of markup and considered 36 
amendments in fashioning the balanced budget resolution. The Senate 
debated the budget resolution for the full 50 hours over 6 days during 
which time 76 amendments were offered.
  To carry out the reconciliation instructions of the budget resolution 
to develop the Balanced Budget Act, 11 Senate committees drafted 
legislation. The reconciliation bill was considered by the Senate for 
45 hours over 3 days, during which 66 amendments were offered.
  After a conference on this significant legislation, the House and 
Senate approved the conference agreement on the Balanced Budget Act 
before Thanksgiving, and the President came back and vetoed the bill on 
December 6.


                            bba negotiations

  Mr. President, I am not one to give up on a difficult task, and the 
President's veto did not deter me. Since the veto, I have met with 
White House officials and congressional leaders to try to find common 
ground on a Balanced Budget Act.
  I am not alone in this effort. Republicans have been willing to move 
toward the President's position on many major issues. In a proposal 
Republicans made to the President, we proposed providing another: $24 
billion to medicare; $16 billion to medicaid; $12 billion to welfare-
related programs, including the EITC; and $25 billion in funding for 
education, the environment, and other domestic priorities.
  In total, Republicans offered to add back $95 billion to move toward 
meeting some of the President's concerns about the Balanced Budget Act.
  Republicans have also made it clear that all issues are on the table 
for the negotiations. We have had discussions with the White House on 
the tax cuts included in the Republican BBA.


                                medicare

  Medicare spending in the Republican Balanced Budget Act grows at an 
average rate of 7.4 percent a year over the next 7 years, that's well 
more than twice the rate of inflation. Just 2 years ago, the President 
said that if you slow the growth of Medicare to twice the rate of 
inflation, you are not cutting Medicare.
  Our Medicare savings are down from $226 billion over 7 years under 
CBO's reestimate of the BBA to $202 billion in our latest negotiations 
with the President. We would spend $1.7 trillion over the next 7 years 
on Medicare under this proposal.
  In addition, the President expressed concern about the Medicare part 
B premium, and we have offered him a compromise on that issue.
  Our goal is to make the entire Medicare Program sustainable in the 
long run, and Republicans believe our plan makes a significant start on 
this path. Under our plan, the Medicare part A trust fund would be 
solvent past the year 2017. Our plan would also slow the growth of part 
B spending to move it toward a sustainable path.
  In all of these negotiations we have indicated our willingness to 
further discuss with the President the changes we propose to make to 
the Medicare Program to ensure its solvency.


                                medicaid

  Medicaid under the Balanced Budget Act that the President vetoed, 
would grow at an average annual rate of 5.2 percent over the next 7 
years. This translates into Federal spending of $700 billion over the 
next 7 years. When you add in State spending, that doubles to $1.4 
trillion.
  I think the issue in Medicaid is not the level of savings or the 
growth rate of Medicaid spending, but how much flexibility we are going 
to give the States to innovate within their own Medicaid programs.
  The President says we are cutting Medicaid, but he ignores the fact 
that spending for Medicaid will go up each and every year under our 
budget plan.
  The President has expressed concern about the need for Medicaid 
funding to adjust for changes in population and for economic 
fluctuations. I think the President has a good point, and I think it is 
worth looking at modifications to our Medicaid plan that can meet these 
needs.


                             welfare reform

  On welfare-related programs, Republican's have added back $10 billion 
plus another $2 billion for the EITC.
  For welfare programs, as for Medicaid, the President wants to keep 
more control here in Washington; we want to give that power back to the 
States and allow them to meet the real needs of their citizens by 
designing their own welfare and Medicaid plans.


                           other budget plans

  In addition to the modified Republican BBA, the House Coalition, Blue 
Dogs Group, has offered its own balanced budget proposal, which meets 
the CBO test.
  Senate Democrats have offered their own BBA--Daschle, Simon, and 
Conrad--as has the Bipartisan Senate Group--Chafee, Breaux, and 
others--that all reach balance under CBO scoring--see attached table.
  In addition 2 days ago, Senator Moynihan offered his own balanced 
budget proposal, which would also get us to a balanced Federal budget.
  Mr. President, the only party that has not met this challenge is the 
President of the United States.
  It is now time for him to come forward, to present a balanced budget 
plan under CBO's scoring, to sign this continuing resolution to reopen 
the entire Federal Government, and join Congress in serious 
negotiations to balance the Federal budget for the Nation's future 
economic well-being.


                            fiscal dividend

  A balanced Federal budget is good for the country. In CBO's December 
update of the budget and economic outlook, CBO finds lower interest 
rates and more robust economic growth generated by a balanced budget 
yielding $282 billion in deficit reduction over and above specific 
policy savings.
  Additional deficit reduction is generated because: real GDP will grow 
0.1 percent per year faster than it would absent a balanced budget; 
corporate profits will reach 8.2 percent of GDP by 2002 compared to 7.1 
percent without balancing the budget; short-term interest rates on 
Treasury bills will drop from a 1995 level of 5.5 percent to a 2002 
level of 3.9 percent. Under the status quo, they would be 5.1 percent 
in 2002; and long-term interest rates on Treasury notes will fall from 
a 1995 level of 6.7 percent to a level of 5.5 percent. Without a 
balanced budget, the rate will remain at 6.7 percent.
  Mr. President, this is only a broad brush of the CBO update, however, 
the new assessment represents a $112 billion increase over the $170 
billion fiscal dividend included in the balanced budget resolution.
  A balanced budget is good for all Americans. It will provide lower 
interest rates for home mortgages, college loans, car loans, and so 
forth, an increase in savings rates spurring real, job-producing 
investment, increased productivity, higher standards of living, a lower 
national debt and therefore lower Government interest costs, and less 
reliance on foreign borrowing.
  It is time for Congress and the President to renew efforts to reach 
agreement on a balanced Federal budget by the year 2002 under CBO's 
scoring.
  I ask unanimous consent that two tables and an explanation of how 
American families benefit from a balanced budget be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                           CHANGES TO BALANCED BUDGET ACT OF 1995 \1\--GOP OFFER NO. 1                          
                                            [In billions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    1996      1997      1998      1999      2000      2001      2002      Total 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December BBA reestimate.........       151       159       127        97        73        34        -3  ........
Changes to BBA:                                                                                                 
    Nondefense discretionary....         4         6         5         5         5  ........  ........        25
    Medicare....................         3         6         5         4         3         3  ........        24
    Medicaid....................  ........         2         5         4         4         1  ........        16

[[Page S94]]
                                                                                                                
    Child care, social services,                                                                                
     foster care, children's                                                                                    
     SSI, family support, and                                                                                   
     child nutrition............       \3\         1         2         2         2         2         2        10
    EITC........................       \3\       \3\       \3\       \3\       \3\       \3\       \3\         2
    Technical changes \2\.......        -2         1         1         1       \3\        -1        -2        -2
    Revenues....................         6        -6       \3\        -1        -1        -2        -2        -5
      Subtotal policy changes...        12        10        18        16        14         3        -1        71
Debt service....................       \3\         1         2         3         3         4         4        17
Resulting deficits..............       164       170       146       115        90        41        -0  ........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ As reestimated by CBO, December 12, 1995.                                                                   
\2\ Corrections of drafting errors, timing changes in FCC spectrum auction, foster care, and graduate medical   
  education provisions.                                                                                         
\3\ Less than $0.5 billion.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                
Note: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Revenue increase shown as negative because it reduces the  
  deficit.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                
Prepared by SBC/HBC Majority Staff, Dec. 15, 1995. Based on CBO estimates.                                      



                            SEVEN-YEAR DEFICIT REDUCTION ALTERNATIVES--CBO ESTIMATES                            
                             [Deficit impact, 7-year totals, in billions of dollars]                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                BBA 1                                    Senate        Senate   
                                BBA I (HR   modified (12/ Clinton (12/    Coalition     Democrats    bipartisan 
                                  2491)        15/95)        15/95)      (12/19/95)    (12/20/05)    (12/21/95) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Discretionary:                                                                                                  
    Freeze..................          -258          -258          -258          -258          -258          -258
    Additional..............          -151          -126            -1           -69           -39           -10
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Subtotal discretionary          -409          -384          -259          -327          -297          -268
                             ===================================================================================
Mandatory:                                                                                                      
    Medicare \1\............          -226          -201           -97          -157           -90          -154
    Medicaid................          -133          -116           -38           -85           -51           -62
    Welfare programs \2\....           -87           -78           -38           -38           -44           -58
    Other mandatory:                                                                                            
        Farm................            -5            -5            -2            -4  ............            NA
        Student loans.......            -5            -5            -4  ............  ............            NA
        Civil Service \3\...           -10           -10            -2  ............           -10            NA
        Spectrum............           -15           -15           -21           -21           -21            NA
        Veterans............            -7            -7            -4            -5            -7            NA
        CPI change..........  ............  ............  ............           -29           -12           -63
        GME/health care.....            14            14            26  ............  ............  ............
        Other...............           -12           -12            -1           -18            -3           -52
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Subtotal other..           -39           -39            -8           -77           -52          -115
                             ===================================================================================
            Subtotal                                                                                            
             mandatory......          -484          -434          -176          -357          -237          -389
Revenues \4\, \5\...........           222           217            70           -60           -56            58
Debt service................           -80           -63           -47           -99           -69           -62
                             ===================================================================================
      Total.................          -750          -663          -412          -843          -659          -661
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Coalition budget medicare savings include $127.3 billion in outlay reductions and $25.4 billion in revenue  
  increases.                                                                                                    
\2\ Excludes EITC revenues. BBA I Modified shows preliminary CBO cost estimate of the conference agreement on   
  H.R. 4. Clin * * * include medicaid impact (no estimate available).                                           
\3\ BBA I Modified and Senate Democrat include $3.5 billion in revenue increases.                               
\4\ Includes EITC revenues for all plans. Excludes BBA I Modified and Senate Democrat civil service revenues.   
  Excludes Coali * * * Includes Coaltion welfare reform revenues ($5.7 billion). Includes increased revenues    
  from CPI change for Coalition ($21 bil * * * ($7 billion) and Senate Bipartisan ($47 billion).                
\5\ Clinton includes proposal to ``trigger-off'' tax cuts if balanced budget targets are not being met. JCT     
  estimates savings of $29 b * * * $45 billion.                                                                 
Note: Pereliminary CBO estimates--subject to change. Revenue reduction shown as positive because it increases   
  the deficit. Details may not add to totals due to rounding. NA indicates not available or no agreement.       
                                                                                                                
Prepared by SBC Majority Staff, Jan. 5, 1996.                                                                   

          how american families benefit from a balanced budget

       Balancing the budget will provide direct and tangible 
     benefits for American families--benefits they will be able to 
     feel in their pocketbooks.
       Economists agree that balancing the federal budget will 
     lead to: Higher standards of living; Faster real economic 
     growth; Drop in interest rates, including those that families 
     pay on home for home mortgages, car loans, and student loans; 
     An increase in savings rates, spurring real, job-producing 
     investment; An increase in productivity; Lower national debt, 
     therefore lower government interest costs; and Less reliance 
     on foreign borrowing (more American ownership of assets).

                             Home mortgages

       Mortgage rates will drop from 8.2 percent, to 5.5 percent 
     (according to the National Association of Realtors using 
     projections by DRI/McGraw-Hill).
       A family buying a home in 1995 with a $100,000 loan and 
     refinancing in 2002, when the budget is balanced, will save 
     $2,576 a year.
       A family who buys a home in 2002 will save $2,162 a year 
     because of the lower interest rates. Over the 30-year life of 
     the mortgage, the savings will total $64,860.
       The value of existing home will grow by about 8 percent.
       Household net worth will expand by $1.1 Trillion. The 
     increased home values will not make homes less affordable 
     because financing costs for a home will decline by 15 
     percent.
       Demand for homes will increase. Families will ``trade up'' 
     so existing home sales will rise by 11 percent by 2002. 
     Construction will increase as new housing starts grow by 
     65,000 units.

                               Auto loans

       Car loan payments decline by $180 annually, for a total 
     savings of $900 for a typical loan (assuming a 2-percentage 
     point drop in interest rates on a five year, $15,000 auto 
     loan at 9.75 percent).

                             College loans

       College loan payments will drop by $216 annually, for a 
     total of $2,617 for a typical loan (assuming an $11,000 loan 
     paid over 10 years starting at 8 percent).
       Savings for these three loans total $2,558 annually (Car--
     $180, Student--$216, Mortgage--$2,162).

                             Interest rates

       Federal funds rate lowered from baseline estimate of 5.2 
     percent in 2002 to 3.5 percent in that year. Thirty year 
     treasury bond rates reduced from 7.2 percent to 4.5 percent 
     in 2002.

                             National debt

       In the current services baseline, outstanding national debt 
     rises to $7.5 trillion by 2002, with an annual debt servicing 
     cost of $290 billion. Budget Resolution would reduce total 
     debt to $6.5 trillion in 2002, with a debt service cost of 
     $182 billion. The savings in interest does half the work of 
     balancing the budget, which means the Congress only has to do 
     the other half.

                              The economy

       Inflation is essentially unchanged. Real gross Domestic 
     Product will increase relative to baseline by almost $100 
     billion per year by 2005. Balancing the budget by 2002 has a 
     positive impact on the overall economy and the housing 
     market. Eliminating deficits allows interest rates to decline 
     and redirects the economy from government spending and 
     consumption toward savings and private investment.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, the hour is late. Much has been 
accomplished today.
  I want to extend my congratulations to the distinguished majority 
leader, Senator Dole. The day before yesterday, all was not so pleasant 
for there were many who were second-guessing our majority leader who 
used the phrase ``enough is enough,'' and proceeded to send to the 
House a targeted appropriations bill which broke the ice and which 
brings us here tonight.
  As I see it, we are now given 21 days without the problem of the 
Federal Government workers being out of work and unpaid--21 days, if 
the President of the United States will submit his first balanced 
budget using the Congressional Budget Office estimates. If he does 
that, all of Government will be 

[[Page S95]]
open for 21 days, which means for the next 3 weeks congressional 
leaders from both sides--the executive branch, the President, and 
others--can meet day and night if they like, as long and as hard as 
they want to work, and Government will be open. The people of the 
United States can focus on what we are doing in our efforts to get a 
balanced budget instead of on the current problems which, day by day, 
grow worse for many innocent people, including many Federal workers who 
are hostage to this crisis.
  I personally believe, as one who is in the middle of all of these 
negotiations, that we can accomplish much more with the pressure of 
day-to-day problems of our Government being part closed, part 
furloughed and part working behind us. I believe we have an opportunity 
to use our good judgment to see if we can really come to an agreement 
with the Executive Branch and the Democrats on a balanced budget.
  Mr. President, I have outlined the history of how we got to where we 
are tonight. I want to summarize a little bit of it.
  First of all, after months of work, scores of hearings, scores upon 
scores of amendments on the floor of the Senate, both on a resolution 
and on a bill, we sent the President a balanced budget. He vetoed it. 
The full impact of what happened on that ominous day of veto was lost 
because we were already in the crisis of Government being half 
shutdown, half furloughed, and the attention of the American people 
taken away from that by the more daily crisis of our Government in 
crisis, our day-to-day Government operations in crisis. But when that 
budget was vetoed, we worked very hard to get the people back to work, 
and we passed a continuing resolution.
  That continuing resolution we thought said that the President would 
produce a balanced budget using the Congressional Budget Office 
conservative numbers. But the President and his people construed it 
differently, and construed it to mean that finally and ultimately when 
we were all finished we would use the Congressional Budget Office. In 
that resolution, the Democratic leaders and the President said there is 
another part to it--that continuing resolution, that short 
appropriations for the continuation of Government--there is another 
portion of it that says you have to look at, or take another look at, 
education, the environment, Medicaid, Medicare, and myriad things 
amounting to about 10 specific items.

  Mr. President, again, Republicans--and I was one that took the lead--
did not want to give up on the balanced budget that was vetoed. So what 
we did was to ask the Congressional Budget Office at the particular 
time of year that they are supposed to look again at budgets to take 
another look.
  Mr. President, they said the balanced budget has done such a good job 
that there is actually a surplus of $135 billion that you did not 
expect you were going to have because of changing economics and 
estimates. In response to that continuing resolution, we made another 
offer to the President of the United States. It got lost in the myriad 
of noises because the Government was in chaos.
  What did we do with that? We took that $135 billion surplus and said, 
``Mr. President, we take you at your word. You want us to change some 
of our balanced budget, and we changed it, Mr. President.'' In fact, we 
put in sufficient money to take care of the education concerns of the 
President, and that should no longer be an issue. It is still being 
touted, but we have already submitted an offer that puts back the money 
for education, for the environment, and for other appropriated 
accounts. We already did that. We put back $5 billion in outlays in the 
year 1996, which is more than has been sought for those particular 
programs and others. And then, Mr. President, we said, let us look back 
through our proposals and use some of that $135 billion to change the 
situation where it would move more in the direction of the President.
  We put $25 billion into Medicare, $16 billion into Medicaid, $12 
billion into related welfare programs, including EITC, $25 billion was 
the funding for education and environment, and other domestic programs. 
What was left of that $135 billion we put on the deficit, and we said, 
here is a new proposal.
  Again, there are not 10 people that know that occurred, but it did 
occur. So we did relate totally and respond totally to our commitment 
under the continuing resolution that we would do better in these areas 
and at the same time have a balanced budget.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question, a 
serious question?
  Mr. DOMENICI. Sure. I am only going to be 5 more minutes. Is that 
your question?
  Mr. FORD. No. It is my understanding that when you related to figures 
that you reduced the amount of reduction using $135 billion, that the 
White House on December 15th moved toward your figures--moved toward 
your figures on discretionary, moved toward your figures on Medicare, 
moved towards your figures on Medicaid, did not move toward your 
figures on earned income tax credit--you did come down $12 billion on 
that over the 7 years. I kind of thought that both sides were beginning 
to work together.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I am not arguing about whether we did or did not.
  Mr. FORD. I am not arguing with you either. But I want to be clear. I 
worked Saturday. I worked Sunday. I put in what I thought were long, 
hard days, and we moved toward you. And I congratulate you, you were 
moving toward us. I just thought we were on the right track rather than 
getting into the mess that Senator Hatfield and others think we are in 
as it relates to appropriations bills.
  Am I correct in my statement?
  Mr. DOMENICI. No, the Senator is not correct.
  Mr. FORD. What is wrong with it then, if I might ask?
  Mr. DOMENICI. Whatever you submitted--and I do not have the numbers 
here, but the one missing part of it was you never got to a balanced 
budget. Whatever you submitted, you did not get to a balanced budget.
  Mr. FORD. The Senator does not have one now either unless you use 
Social Security.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Wait a minute now. I am not going to yield any longer. 
I yielded for a question.
  Mr. FORD. That will be fine. But you are out here saying a lot of 
things.
  Mr. DOMENICI. No, I am not.
  Mr. FORD. I apologize; the Senator is saying a lot of things that I 
disagree with.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Fine.
  Mr. FORD. I do not want to leave it without having some opportunity 
to defend our side of the aisle.
  Mr. DOMENICI. To my knowledge, the Senate will be open here for a few 
more minutes.
  Mr. FORD. I am going to take time.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I welcome the Senator's remarks. I really do. I just 
want to finish my thoughts because I wanted to get to a very simple 
point, that we have modified our proposal and we are still in balance 
under that proposal. And as my friend, Senator Gorton, who occupies the 
Chair now, clearly said, not only did we resubmit another balanced 
budget using the Congressional Budget Office, but the blue dogs in the 
House--that is a group of Democrats--have submitted one that gets to 
balance. A group of Senators, 20 in number, 10 from each side, has 
submitted the framework for one that is in balance using the 
Congressional Budget Office. Senator Moynihan within the last 3 days 
has submitted one. And frankly, I think the House did us all a service 
when they sent us a continuing resolution that will open all of 
Government if just one simple thing is done, and that is if the 
President will join this litany of different institutions within our 
framework that have produced a balanced budget using CBO. If he will 
join us, then all of Government is opened and funded at reasonably good 
levels for 21 days from today.
  Now, having said that, I wish to make sure that everybody understands 
I am not trying to say everything my way. I will state it as I view it 
and the Democrats can state it as they want to. But when they submitted 
a counterproposal, they did not move an inch on Medicare, an inch on 
Medicaid, in December from their June proposal.

  That is the statement that I will stand by, and if the Senator can 
dig up a budget and say that that is not the case, then I will be glad 
to revoke this.
  Now, I am here because I still believe the American people should 
know that this is not a mere philosophical difference between Democrats 
and Republicans. This is an issue of whether we 

[[Page S96]]
want to make America a better place in the future by balancing our 
budget sooner rather than later. It is a question of whether we want 
interest rates to come down and stay down, save millions and millions 
of dollars for average Americans in houses they buy and mortgage, in 
cars they buy and mortgage, in school tuition where they borrow money, 
in every aspect of America's life, to make it easier and better and 
make America grow stronger through the private-sector growth that a 
balanced budget will permit us to accomplish.
  That is what this whole debate is about. And frankly, tonight I am 
grateful to our leader, Senator Dole, to Speaker Newt Gingrich, who 
apparently had to argue loud and strong in the House to get these 
resolutions passed and get them to us here tonight, to rid us of the 
confusion of a half-open, half-closed American Government. I believe we 
have a real chance.
  I do not know how close we are, Mr. President, and to those who are 
listening, I do not know how close we are to getting a balanced budget, 
but I tell you, everybody has to give. Everybody has to give. And I 
believe we are prepared to give. I will state once again that we 
already put $95 billion more on the spending side into the budget that 
the President vetoed--that is over 7 years--in areas that the President 
was concerned about. That has already been done as another marker of 
our good faith, of our movement in the direction that we have been 
asked to move in. Now, in the next week, 10 days, we will see if there 
is additional movement both ways. I hope there is.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. WARNER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gorton). The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, before the distinguished Senator from New 
Mexico leaves the floor, I would like to express my views, and I think 
I express them for Senators on both sides of the aisle, not only to the 
Senator but the Senator from Nebraska, the ranking member on the 
committee, Senator Exon, for their leadership in this crisis. I have 
been privileged to be in a number of meetings with the Senator, the 
majority leader, the Speaker of the House, and others, Mr. Kasich, his 
counterpart in the House, and I wish to commend the Senator.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the Senator very much.
  Mr. WARNER. When the history of this unusual chapter in the 206-year 
life of the Senate, indeed, the Congress is written, there will be a 
prominent place for the Senator despite his humility.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the Senator.
  Mr. FORD. Mr. President, may I join in. I do not want to leave the 
impression that I do not feel the same way about the Senator from New 
Mexico that the Senator from Virginia feels toward him----
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the Senator.
  Mr. FORD. Personally, his effort, the long hours and how hard he 
works. It is just like the distinguished Senator in the chair has 
indicated: We have a difference, and we need to let everything else go 
on while we settle that difference. And I thought--and I still 
sincerely believe it--that there was an offer to move toward you. The 
Senator says no. I say yes. And that seems to be the budget problem 
here.
  But I do want people to know I like him personally. He is my friend. 
He works hard, and we are very close to being together. So I did not 
want the Senator to leave and the people viewing to think we had 
anything personal.
  Mr. DOMENICI. I thank the Senator.
  Mr. FORD. It was just a disagreement on how we are going to get to 
the balanced budget. I thank the Chair and the Senator for giving me an 
opportunity.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I say to the Senator, the feeling is 
mutual. I thank the Senator for his kind words, and I extend the same 
to him. Thank you very much.
  Mr. WARNER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. I also wish to include Congressman Armey, who was in most 
of the meetings in which I joined.

                          ____________________