[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S912-S913]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A BALANCED BUDGET

  Mr. GORTON. Madam President, it seems to me in the last 24 to 48 
hours, we have taken one or two steps forward in our quest for a truly 
balanced budget, a balanced budget that will pay great dividends to 
future generations of America in lower interest rates, better jobs, and 
higher incomes. And at the same time, at least one major step backward. 
That major step backwards, of course, is what the President of the 
United States has submitted as a budget for fiscal year 1997. This 
yellow booklet really should not carry that title because it obviously 
does not meet the requirements of a budget submission under the law. To 
the extent that it does give an outline of the President's priorities, 
however, it is clearly a status quo document. All of the difficult 
decisions, the heavy lifting, is left until after the completion of 

[[Page S913]]
the term of the President who will be elected this fall.
  So, while it does not represent a step forward on the part of the 
President, it also, one must confess, does not represent a step 
backward either. It consolidates the modest gains that were attained 
through five separate budget submissions on the part of the President 
for the current year. The overwhelmingly significant step forward, 
however, was the work by the National Governors Conference, which now 
unanimously has reached a detailed statement of principle on both 
Medicaid and welfare reform, one that has been agreed to by both 
Republican and Democrat Governors across the country, one that raises 
the very real possibility of breaking the budget deadlock in which we 
find ourselves at the present time. I cannot possibly be too laudatory 
of the tremendously difficult task that the Governors have undertaken 
and the great degree of success they have reached.
  Madam President, we need a balanced budget for our children and for 
our grandchildren. We need reforms in Medicare and Medicaid for our 
seniors and for others who are less fortunate and cannot afford to pay 
for health care services themselves. We need welfare reform for all 
Americans for a more just and equitable system. And we need tax cuts 
for hard-working American families. All of these remain our goal. But 
two of the most difficult now are the beneficiaries of intervention on 
the part of the National Conference of Governors in such a way that the 
entire logjam may now possibly be broken and that, before the end of 
the current continuing resolution on March 15, there is the very real 
possibility of a wonderfully genuine move toward a budget that will 
lead to a very real balance by the year 2002 without gimmicks and 
without postponing all of the hard questions for 4 more years.
  The final element in this equation was the report yesterday that the 
Medicare part A trust fund is going bankrupt much more rapidly than we 
had thought during our debate during the course of the last year. 
Instead of being in the black last year, it was in the red, 1 year 
earlier than was predicted just last April. That fact makes more urgent 
the reform of Medicare and the Medicare trust fund so that this trust 
fund will be there after the turn of the century for all of those over 
the age of 65 who depend on it. It causes to be even more modest in the 
long term the reforms in Medicare that were included in the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1995, regrettably vetoed by the President, and makes more 
urgent a set of reforms that will protect Medicare for our seniors in 
the future and will more equitably distribute the burden for paying for 
Medicare among all of our citizens--both those working and those 
retiring.
  So, all in all, in spite of the President's refusal to recognize 
these new facts in this so-called budget document, I believe that this 
week represents real progress toward an honest balanced budget, a 
budget that will be good for all Americans, that will lessen the burden 
of debt on future generations and increase their opportunities, their 
jobs, and their income.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 7 
minutes as if in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. Grassley pertaining to the introduction of S. 
1560 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I yield the floor. Madam President, I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Gorton). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from North Carolina is recognized.
  MR. HELMS. I thank the Chair.
  (The remarks of Mr. Helms pertaining to the introduction of S. 1562 
are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills 
and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, 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. DOLE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Hutchison. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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