[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 21, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S136-S137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           DISAPPOINTMENT WITH INTRODUCTION OF SUPERFUND BILL

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Madam President, while I am on the floor, I want to 
express some disappointment at the introduction today by my friend and 
colleague, Senator Chafee, of a comprehensive bill amending our Federal 
hazardous waste cleanup law, better known as Superfund.
  This bill was introduced without consultation with any of the 
Democrats or with the administration. My staff, and those of the 
ranking member on the Environment and Public Works Committee, did not 
see a copy of this bill until late this morning. If we are to make 
reforms to Superfund this year--and it was hoped we would do it last 
year and the year before--it is critical that we work together in a 
bipartisan manner.
  Today's bill introduction is not a positive first step toward that 
bipartisanship. Enacting any Superfund legislation this year is going 
to require Members of both parties in the House of Representatives and 
in the Senate to work together. It will also require all of us to work 
with the President and EPA Administrator Carol Browner.
  In addition, Madam President, it would require us to appreciate that 
times have changed since the debate over Superfund reauthorization 
began in the late 1980's. The administration has made wide-ranging 
administrative proposals that have made a real difference, and this is 
not the same Superfund program of years past.
  We have learned a lot. We have improved its processing. We have 
reduced the possibility of heavy litigation costs. I want to be clear, 
I support changes to Superfund that would speed cleanups, reduce 
litigation, increase equity, save money, and protect the health and 
environment of those who live near Superfund sites. But, Madam 
President, it is important to do this right. We should not be shifting 
costs from polluters to taxpayers, and the President has made it very 
clear that he will not abide by that either.
  So, Madam President, I hope that the Senate Environment and Public 
Works Committee will closely examine the administrative reforms already 
undertaken before moving forward on changes to the Superfund program. I 
hold this up as an example of what is in here, introduced this morning 
without consultation. This is not a way to get ourselves a bipartisan 
kickoff to this very important reauthorization program.
  I look forward, as I have for many years, to working with our 
distinguished colleague, Senator Chafee, and Senator Bob Smith from New 
Hampshire and others, to find common ground. I want to reauthorize 
Superfund, but I would like to do it in a way that is fair to taxpayers 
and in a way that is going to work.
  I yield back the time on the Democrats' side reserved. How much time 
is left?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Time is controlled by the minority. There is 5 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. I yield back the time at this point that I have not 
used and reserve for our side the remaining minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. FORD. Madam President, the distinguished Senator from Wyoming 
wishes to speak, and I don't want to get in his way, but I will need 
more than 5 minutes, so I will wait until others are through so I can 
get my time on the floor in addition to the 5 minutes. So I alert the 
Chair to that. Thank you.
  Mr. ENZI addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise in support of Senate Joint Resolution 
1, the balanced budget amendment. I specifically chose the balanced 
budget bmendment as the focus of my first statement in this hallowed 
Chamber. I chose it because the need for a balanced budget is the most 
important issue facing all of America today. Without a balanced budget, 
our children will be saddled with a mountain of debt. Our children and 
grandchildren will be left with no hope of fulfilling their dreams and 
aspirations. Our Nation will be weakened and vulnerable.
  I know how to balance a budget. I'm an accountant. I have balanced 
budgets as a family man, a shoe store owner, a mayor, and a legislator. 
You and I know how easy it is to spend money. We know it's easier to 
say ``yes'' to programs than ``no.'' There is a constituency for every 
single program. But I have had to say ``no.'' We have a duty and a 
responsibility to our communities, our families and our children to 
live within our means. Right now we are spending more money than we are 
taking in. Overspending is a prescription for disaster. Almost any 
school child understands that if you spend more than your take in--you 
go broke.
  Because of the Federal Government's ability to print money, we can 
easily feel there are no spending limits. How can we pay the bills of a 
nation when we reach the point where interest payments on our debt 
exceed all the revenue? That scenario is possible. We are now on that 
course. Without restraint, that could happen even at an impossible 100 
percent tax rate on the citizens of this great Nation. Governments go 
broke when they cannot afford the interest.
  The Federal Government must learn to live within its means. If we 
were not saddled with such enormous debt, we would have additional 
revenues to invest in the people and we could reduce the tax burden for 
every working man and woman in this country. Many States have a 
constitutional provision to balance the budget. Those States balance 
their budgets. It is time for us to require ourselves to balance the 
budget just as they now require the States to do.
  History shows we cannot balance the budget with willpower alone. It 
is time to look at the hard, cold facts. We now have a $5.2 trillion 
dollar Federal debt. The deficit looms so large. Many Americans voted 
for candidates based on their stand on this single issue. A balanced 
budget amendment was the key to voter confidence. Failure to support 
this issue will diminish that confidence and could lead to the defeat 
of other candidates in 2 years.
  The balance budget amendment would help end the frustrating impasse 
between Congress and the President by requiring that we agree on a 
budget that is balanced. A constitutional requirement will remove from 
debate the variable of how long it will take to balance the budget. The 
argument about whether we should balance it at all will be removed from 
the discussion. All Americans know that we have to work within the 
parameters of fiscal sanity. The balanced budget amendment will focus 
our effort and our attention.
  We have not had a balanced Federal budget since 1969. This fact alone 
illustrates the difficulty of balancing a budget without an amendment. 
By failing to balance the budget, we are giving in to the whims of the 
moment. Without a balanced budget we abandon the ideals of self-
control, discipline, and hard work. When we do not balance a budget, we 
lead by the example of selfishness, recklessness and folly. We condone 
living beyond our means.

  Those opposed to a balanced budget amendment fear it would result in 
drastic cuts to programs they deem necessary. That is a very 
shortsighted view of the world. Only by balancing the Federal budget, 
however, can we guarantee long-term security to any Federal program, 
including Social Security. By balancing the budget, we do a great 
service for all Americans. We especially serve those living on fixed 
income retirement programs. When we pass and the States ratify this 
amendment, everyone will benefit. Interest rates will decrease. 
Inflation will be held in check. Business will have true growth. Jobs 
will increase.
  We need to pass this amendment with no gimmickry, no smoke and no 
mirrors. Any proposal to exempt Social Security would rule out the 
possibility

[[Page S137]]

of a true balanced budget. Any exemption of Social Security plays games 
with the future. We need to deal with the facts. Making Social Security 
exempt from this process would simply allow unlimited spending. An 
exemption would give the false pretense that we have a balanced budget.
  Getting our entitlement programs in good working order is essential. 
Finger pointing about who wants to cut entitlements are simply 
diversions. Sleights of hand over who wants to save entitlement 
programs are all political ploys. Don't let politics confuse the issue 
and stall the passage of this amendment.
  The economic future of America's families depends on what we do now. 
My family is very important to me. I know your families are important 
to you as well. Every day that passes without a balanced budget hurts. 
The responsibility of the debt falls on the shoulders of our children 
and our grandchildren. Will we leave them a legacy of colossal debt 
totaling more than $5.2 trillion? That incredible debt will burden 
generations to come. Our kids and grandkids will have an enormous tax 
burden. They will inherit an economy so weak and a debt so large there 
will be no hope of them ever paying it off.
  When I was going to grade school, we spent a lot of time on the 
enormousness of a million dollars. I've always been fascinated with 
Carl Sagan's emphasis of the difference between a million and a 
billion. Now we roll a trillion off our tongues with great ease; $5.2 
trillion. This is the cruelest of all legacies.
  That debt we are incurring for our kids amounts to taxation without 
representation. We mounted a revolution over that before. Our Founding 
Fathers would be embarrassed. We should imitate our forefathers in 
fulfilling our duty to our children and to our children's children. We 
must save them from the bondage of insurmountable taxes. If the 
balanced budget amendment fails, we lose. Future generations lose as 
well.
  It is time to heed the words of Thomas Jefferson, ``I place economy 
among the first and important virtues, and public debt as the greatest 
of dangers to be feared.'' President Jefferson knew the economic and 
moral importance of not owing anything to anyone. He also knew that a 
large public debt could make the United States a slave to other 
countries and foreign interests.
  Defeat is the real national danger on our horizon. The national 
security of the United States is threatened by the immense debt. We, as 
a nation, will be unable to protect ourselves against our enemies, 
foreign and domestic. And, we will be unable to protect Americans--
their jobs and their families. We cannot leave ourselves exposed to 
economic collapse. A world relies on us to get our economic house in 
order. If we--you and I--continue the practice of overspending, history 
will harshly judge us.
  We will say, ``We have met the enemy--and it is us.'' America has the 
best form of government on Earth. Now it requires responsibility from 
its leaders and citizens. The time for leadership is now. The time for 
the balanced budget amendment is now.
  The American people demand an end to runaway spending. We need to 
show the American people that we are responsible. This bill will prove 
restraint by constitutionally limiting the ability to spend taxpayer 
dollars. Let us not fail them or ourselves.
  We have the longest continuous government on the face of the Earth. 
This bill is a critical link to the future. We must preserve and 
protect our Nation and do it for our children and our grandchildren. 
This is the turning point. What will history say about each of us?
  I urge my colleagues to support the balanced budget amendment.

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