[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 32 (Thursday, March 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H953]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIPARTISANSHIP AND THE BUDGET
(Mr. ROGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. ROGAN. Mr. Speaker, last year I had the privilege of campaigning
for the U.S. Congress as a Republican from California, and in my
district I made no bones in going to groups where I spoke to both
Democrats and Republicans and telling them that I intended to come to
Congress and work in a bipartisan fashion with the President to balance
the budget.
A month ago I had the honor of sitting in this Chamber for the first
time and seeing a President of the United States deliver in person a
State of the Union message. In that message he told us and he told the
country that he would submit and we would balance the budget. I
believed the President then and I still believe that he intends to work
toward that goal. But, Mr. Speaker, as we know, the budget that the
President submitted to this Congress does not balance, and that fact
has been made clear by the Congressional Budget Office, which is
bipartisan.
Mr. Speaker, yesterday we passed a resolution calling on the
President to again submit a budget to this Congress that is balanced
and, Mr. Speaker, as a Republican I pledge to this House and to the
country that when the President does take that action, I will work with
him and work with my colleagues across the aisle to ensure that we
fulfill that obligation to the American people.
____________________