[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H780-H781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            PRESIDENT SHOULD PUT HIS PEN WHERE HIS MOUTH IS

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, last night the President's speech was 
somewhat like the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated; thrilling, 
exciting, but full of dreams and fantasy. It was a golden oldies 
collection of Bill Clinton's greatest hits, lines, and slogans from 
1992. Welfare reform, a middle-class tax cut, and, of course, balancing 
the budget. In fact, I thought he was running in the New Hampshire 
primary, but facts deal harshly with fiction.
  The rhetoric of the candidate has dissolved into the reality of a 
President. We sent him welfare reform; he vetoed it. We sent him a 
middle-class tax cut; he vetoed it. We sent him a balanced budget, and 
he vetoed that. The hot air from last night's speech explained why even 
3 feet of snow quickly melts in Washington, DC.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say to the President: Mr. President, put your 
pen where your mouth is. Sign some of the legislation that you talked 
about last night, and then let us get this country moving again.

[[Page H781]]


                PRESIDENT TRIES TO BRING NATION TOGETHER

  (Ms. McKINNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, last night President Clinton reached out 
to the Republican leadership, asking them to join him in balancing the 
budget, and to leave the policy fights until the election.
  However, the GOP is so obsessed with giving a tax cut to their 
wealthy contributors that they cannot agree with the President's 
proposal to balance the budget in 7 years using CBO numbers.
  Mr. Speaker, this just proves that the Republican budget is just the 
vehicle by which they deliver their tax breaks to Wall Street. The 
President has kept his side of the bargain by introducing a budget 
which balances in 7 years using CBO numbers. Where is the Republican 
commitment to protecting Medicare, Medicaid, education, and the 
environment?
  Unfortunately for the American people, it is just not there. Thank 
you, President Clinton, for trying to bring our Nation together.

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