[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 35 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S2097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE BAD DEBT BOXSCORE

  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, on numerous occasions I have mentioned to 
friends that evening in 1972 when I first was elected to the Senate. 
When the television networks reported that I had won the Senate race in 
North Carolina, I was stunned. Then I made several commitments to 
myself, one of them being that I would never fail to see a young 
person, or a group of young people, who wanted to see me.
  I have kept that commitment and it has proved enormously beneficial 
to me because I have been inspired by the estimated 60,000 young people 
with whom I have visited during the 23 years I have been in the Senate.
  A large percentage of them have been concerned about the Federal debt 
which recently exceeded $5 trillion. Of course, Congress is responsible 
for creating this monstrous debt which coming generations will have to 
pay.
  Mr. President, the young people and I almost always discuss the fact 
that under the U.S. Constitution, no President can spend a dime of 
Federal money that has not first been authorized and appropriated by 
both the House and Senate of the United States.
  That is why I began making these daily reports to the Senate on 
February 25, 1992. I decided that it was important that a daily record 
be made of the precise size of the Federal debt which, at the close of 
business yesterday, Wednesday, March 13, stood at 
$5,025,887,532,178.79. This amounts to $19,076.70 for every man, woman 
and child in America on a per capita basis.
  The increase in the national debt since my report yesterday--which 
identified the total Federal Debt as of close of business on Tuesday, 
March 12, 1996--shows an increase of nearly 9 billion dollars--
$8,603,940,268.76, to be exact. That 1-day increase is enough to match 
the money needed by approximately 1,275,792 students to pay their 
college tuitions for 4 years.

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