[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONSISTENCY IN LEADERSHIP

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, from time to time, in the mail we get a 
letter, an observation, or a communication from a constituent that we 
think is particularly on target. I would like to share that a little 
bit this morning. It has to do with consistency in leadership and with 
where we are going in this country. The President has talked in the 
last couple of days about the consistency of his administration. Of 
course, I think there is great question about that. If we are to move 
forward to make the changes that most of us want to make, that I think 
most Americans want to make, we have to have some consistency in 
policy.

  The President came to Washington based on a campaign of change, based 
on a promise of change, based on a promise of a new Democrat. He said 
more recently that the era of big government is over. The fact is that 
there has not been much consistency. The fact is that there was a great 
deal of talk about reforming of welfare which is certainly high on the 
agenda of most people. Most people want to continue to be able to help 
people who need help, but in a program that helps people back into a 
position to help themselves. Yet this Senate passed a bill on welfare, 
I think 85 positive votes, that was vetoed by the President who says he 
wanted to change welfare as we know it.
  The balanced budget--I suspect the prime issue of this entire 
congressional session--it took four budgets to come up with a balanced 
budget, despite the President saying he was for a balanced budget when 
he ran, and would do it in 5 years. It took four budgets to do it in 7 
years, and then, frankly, not a real budget.
  Most everyone who studies the issue knows that if you are going to 
change the financial direction that this country has taken, if you want 
to be responsible for finances, that there has to be a significant 
change in the budget, that you cannot tinker around the edges.
  The President and his staff, and Mr. Panetta, whom I worked with in 
the House, and I always thought was responsible--almost as if you push 
a button, we protect Medicaid, protect the environment, have an 
investment in education. The fact is that over a period of several 
years you cannot do that; there is no money to do that unless you do 
something about entitlements. That is a fact.
  So to say we are going to balance the budget and we are going to 
protect Medicare, Medicaid, the environment, invest in education, it is 
impossible to do, unless, of course, you raise taxes considerably.
  Mr. President, these are the things raised about consistency. I want 
to read the letter from Linda Russell of Rawlins, WY.

     President Bill Clinton,
     White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: I sent you a wire to just get the 
     budget balanced and quit ``posturing'' and playing politics.
       You wrote a very nice letter back--but I am very concerned 
     that you don't understand what the people of this USA want 
     and need. You say we must ``maintain our values--protecting 
     Medicare, Medicaid, and the environment''. Certainly no one 
     would disagree that these are excellent GOALS--but they are 
     NOT our base VALUES. Our base values would be fiscal 
     responsibility, keeping a military strength sufficient to 
     protect us, and staying out of the faces of people who are 
     perfectly capable of handling the GOALS you mention far 
     better than the Washington DC political establishment.
       I attended the White House Conference on Small Business and 
     heard you address the group on how you felt regulations 
     should be reduced and the budget balanced and the tax burden 
     lessened. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SUPPORT OF THOSE IDEAS since 
     that meeting??
       May I respectfully suggest that you let the power revert to 
     the people by going with the block grants so that we can take 
     care of our neighbors with our tax money and not waste 90% of 
     it paying a huge bureaucracy in ``DC'' to tell us how to do 
     it. TRUST US--we are neither stupid nor insensitive. If you 
     have any wish at all to be reelected, it would be well to 
     give us the respect we are due--and stop taking more and more 
     money via taxes to support some liberal agenda.
       Mr. President--listen again to your own inaugural address 
     to the nation, which I thought very impressive--and WALK YOUR 
     TALK??
           Sincerely,
                                                    Linda Russell,
                                                      Rawlins, WY.

  Mr. President, I think her expression ``and walk your talk'' is an 
expression from someone who represents a good deal of the thought in my 
State in Wyoming. I think many of us believe that this is the direction 
we should take, make the changes that we came here to make--less 
government, less cost, less regulation, move the responsibilities to 
communities, to States, and frankly to individuals.
  I had the opportunity last evening to meet with a group of students 
from Washington and Lee High School in Arlington, VA, who were inducted 
into the Honor Society. We talked to some of them about the concepts of 
freedom and about the responsibility in leadership that goes with 
freedom. I was really pleased at the receptiveness they had to the 
notion that if you are going to be free and responsible and have a 
Government where we participate and we govern ourselves, then you have 
to be responsible and take some leadership positions to do that.
  Mr. President, that is sort of what it is all about and what this 
letter is about.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the President's response 
to Linda Russell's wire be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                              The White House,

                                 Washington, DC, December 6, 1995.
     Ms. Linda Russell,
     Rawlins, WY.
       Dear Linda: Thank you for sharing your views. It's 
     important for me to know how you feel about the challenges 
     facing our nation.
       I believe that we must balance the budget, but we must do 
     it in a way that is good for our economy and that maintains 
     our values--protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and the 
     environment, and continuing our investment in education. And 
     we have to do it without raising taxes on working families.
       In the weeks ahead we will continue our bipartisan efforts 
     to find common ground on balancing the budget, and I hope you 
     will stay involved.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Bill Clinton.

  Mr. THOMAS. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, are we in morning business?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I will take the floor in morning business 
to speak about a concern that has been global.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Hawaii is recognized.

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