[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 10 (Thursday, January 25, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 STATE OF THE UNION ANALYSIS ON TARGET

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, the pregame analysis about Tuesday 
night's State of the Union Address was completely on target. All the 
pundits and talking heads agreed that President Clinton would come to 
Capitol Hill and make a centrist-sounding, middle-of-the-road, warm and 
fuzzy speech. This time the pundits got it right. The President was his 
usual split-the-difference self: not too liberal, not too conservative.
  But there are things that even he missed. Like reality. He said that 
the era of big government was over. Well, he is right. But not because 
of anything Bill Clinton has done. In fact, the President has become 
big government's little buddy. Just this month he vetoed the first 
major overhaul of the welfare state in a generation. And last year he 
vetoed the first balanced budget to reach a President's desk since 
1969.
  Mr. Speaker, if this truly is the end of big government, it is only 
because Republicans in Congress have had the courage to stop Washington 
liberalism and say ``no'' to Washington spending.

                          ____________________