[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2496]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          BALANCED BUDGET AGREEMENT PLEDGE FOR BETTER TOMORROW

  (Mr. WICKER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WICKER. Mr. Speaker, let's see if I have this straight. We are 
supposed to be impressed that the Government is not going to spend more 
money than it has. We are supposed to rejoice that Government is not 
going to make our $5 trillion national debt any worse. I am supposed to 
brag to my constituents that Washington is finally going to balance the 
budget.
  Well, Mr. Speaker, by Washington standards, a balanced budget is a 
cause for celebration. Balancing the budget should not be a big deal, 
it should not be treated as some great achievement, but I must say 
after 30 years of an ever-expanding welfare state, balancing the budget 
is no mean feat. Balancing the budget, which to millions of Americans 
is nothing but common sense, is extraordinary in a town that has seen 
budget deficits since 1969.
  This new balanced budget agreement is proof of two things. First, the 
new Republican Congress is serious about its pledge to make Government 
live within its means; and second, deficit spending does not have to be 
a way of life. That is a cause for celebration.

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