[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 18 (Monday, March 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1182-S1183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               BALANCING THE BUDGET FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, Milton Friedman once said he would rather 
have a $1 trillion budget that is way out of balance than a $2 trillion 
budget that is in balance. I think his point is even more poignant now 
than when he made it several years ago.
  If we manage to balance the unified budget this year--and most recent 
revenue trends suggest we will--we will do so by taxing and spending at 
a level of about $1.75 trillion. That is a level of spending that is 25 
percent higher than when President Clinton took office just 5 years 
ago.
  Despite the claim President Clinton made in his State of the Union 
Address that we have the smallest Government in 35 years, the fact is 
that the Government has never been bigger--never. And it will continue 
to grow by leaps and bounds if Congress approves the myriad of new 
spending proposals that President Clinton is proposing in his latest 
budget.

[[Page S1183]]

  It seems to me that although we may have succeeded in balancing the 
budget, we still have two very different visions of where we should be 
headed in this country. Is it a balanced budget that is the paramount 
goal, even if it comes with substantially higher taxes and more 
spending? Or is the real goal of a balanced budget to be more 
responsible with people's hard-earned tax dollars--to limit 
Government's size and give the people more choices and more control 
over their lives? Before we try to answer those questions, let us give 
them a little context.
  As I mentioned, the Federal Government has grown 25 percent larger in 
just the last 5 years. It spends the equivalent of $6,700 for every 
man, woman, and child in the country every year. And that is the 
equivalent of nearly $27,000 for the average family of four. But all of 
that spending comes at a tremendous cost to hard-working taxpayers.
  The Tax Foundation estimates that the median income family in America 
saw its combined Federal, State, and local tax bill climb to 38.2 
percent of income last year--up from 37.3 percent the year before. That 
is more than the average family spends on food, clothing, and shelter 
combined. Put another way, in too many families one parent is working 
to put food on the table while the other is working almost full time 
just to pay the bill for the Government bureaucracy.
  Perhaps a different measure of how heavy a tax burden the Federal 
Government is imposing would help shed some light here. Consider that 
Federal revenues this year will claim about 19.9 percent of the 
Nation's income, its gross domestic product. Next year, the tax take 
will climb to 20.9 percent, according to the administration's 
projections. That would be higher than any year since 1945. It would be 
only the third year in our Nation's entire history that revenues have 
exceeded 20 percent of the national income.
  As if taxes were not high enough, President Clinton is proposing to 
raise them again. He is proposing a tax increase of $98 billion, which 
would more than offset the modest amount of tax relief that we approved 
just 7 months ago. It is worth noting that the new taxes the President 
proposes are not needed to balance the budget. We have more than enough 
revenue to do that given the economy's performance in the last year. 
The tax increases are intended to finance dozens of new spending 
programs--$125 billion worth of new spending over the next 5 years.
  More taxes, more spending, and more Government. That is just the 
opposite of where I believe we ought to be headed. For me, there is no 
great achievement in balancing the budget if it means that hard-working 
families continue to be overtaxed. There is no great achievement in a 
balanced budget if the Government continues to grow, seemingly without 
limits, taking choice and freedom away from the people in the process.
  Mr. President, this is the point that I think Milton Friedman was 
making. A balanced budget is not the only goal, or even the highest 
goal. A balanced budget is merely the means of right-sizing the 
Government so that it is more respectful of hard-working taxpayers' 
earnings and their desire to do right by their own families. That is 
where our paramount concern should be--with families.
  To those who are suggesting we abandon plans for another tax relief 
bill this year, I say this: Let us not lose sight of our true 
objective. Families are overtaxed. The Government is still too big. We 
were sent here to help hard-working families, not to keep them saddled 
with high taxes or to add to that burden with more spending and more 
taxes. We will do the right thing by limiting the size of Government so 
that families have more freedom and more income left in their pockets.
  Mr. President, thank you. And I thank the Senator from West Virginia 
for being patient.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BYRD addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. May I assure the distinguished Senator that this Senator is 
always patient, never in too big a hurry. I thank the Senator.

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