[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SO-CALLED BALANCED BUDGET AGREEMENT

  (Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I just want to comment briefly on the so-
called balanced budget agreement that was reached between the President 
and the House and Senate Republican leadership last week. I say so-
called because it is really in the nature of an agreement to agree. 
There are many things that are not filled in there, many questions that 
are not answered that we just do not know yet.
  But one thing that is clear is that $90 billion will have to be cut 
for the next 5 years from nondefense discretionary spending. We do not 
know how it is going to be cut, and we will not know that because those 
decisions will be made year by year by the Committee on Appropriations. 
But out of $290 billion, for everything the Government spends other 
than on entitlements, interest on the national debt and the military, 
for housing, for education, for transportation, for law enforcement, 
crime prevention, Head Start, issuing passports, research and 
development, everything that we think of when we think of what the 
Government does, other than entitlements and the Armed Forces, we are 
going to have to take $90 billion out of what is necessary to maintain 
the current level of services. That is going to be a major hit on our 
population. I simply urge caution.

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