[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 13, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2496-H2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TIME TO BITE THE BULLET FOR BALANCED BUDGET

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, why is it so important to balance the 
budget? I get that question quite a bit when I speak to school groups 
back in my district.
  Well, it is a fair question. After all, the economy has been doing OK 
lately and we have not had a balanced budget. Perhaps the best way to 
answer this question is to consider a person using a credit card who 
spends a little bit more than he makes each month. Every month when the 
bill comes, he pays off part of it, maybe just the minimum amount 
possible. Well, he can keep that up for a while, but eventually the 
mounting debt will overwhelm him and threaten his standard of living. 
The interest payments he is required to make each month just keep 
getting bigger and bigger.
  Well, that is exactly what has happened to the Federal Government. A 
$5 trillion debt that we have, unbelievable. It is time to get a grip. 
We need to balance the budget and start putting our financial house in 
order before it is too late.

[[Page H2497]]

  Let us cut the tax rate on the American people. The people of this 
country are overtaxed. Let us do something about it and let us do it 
now.

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