[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 41 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2670]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS ON THE BUDGET

  (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I think we should sort of start 
with positive news, and the good news is that the President gave us a 
budget that balances in 7 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I was trying to remember what was happening just 2 years 
ago, what the Democrats, what the liberals, what the tax and spend 
people were saying. I looked up in the Committee on the Budget records 
of what Leon Panetta said. He said that we are heading toward down as 
low as a $70 billion deficit, or overspending, by the year 2003, and 
that is where we should be.
  The good news is that we have changed the debate in Washington. Now 
everybody is saying yes, we need a balanced budget. It is the right 
thing to do for the economy. It is the right thing to do as far as our 
kids and our grandkids. I think it is interesting to note in the 
President's budget that he has $234 billion more taxes than the 
Republican proposal. He has $357 billion more spending than the 
Republican proposal. It tends to be tax and spend. It is balanced. 
Although President Clinton often says there is not a government program 
for every problem, he has incorporated most government Washington 
solutions in his budget.

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