[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 12, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6188]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  WE NEED TO PASS A RESPONSIBLE BUDGET

  (Mr. LINDER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, it is interesting that the people who are 
complaining about cuts to Medicare are offering no program to save it. 
The President's own trustees on the Medicare trust fund said it will go 
bankrupt a year ago by the year 2002, and I will say it will be 
bankrupt in 5 years, and no program from this side is trying to protect 
it.
  This budget we are about to vote on is going to give us a $5 billion 
surplus in the year 2002 to begin the downpayment on our 
grandchildren's debt, an immoral debt, I might add, that we left them 
after 30 years voting ourselves wonderful government programs and just 
choosing not to pay for them. This budget is going to preserve and 
protect Medicare for our Nation's elderly for many years, but not 
enough yet until the baby-boomers come, and we are going to have to 
still deal with that. It is also going to give some tax relief for 
families with children up to $100,000 in income $500-per-child tax 
credit. These are for middle-class American families. All this baloney 
about the wealthy, but there are not capital gains cuts in this budget. 
These are for middle-class families, $500 per child tax relief.
  It is time to pass a responsible budget that comes to balance.

                          ____________________