[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PROMISES MADE AND PROMISES KEPT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Scarborough) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SCARBOROUGH. Mr. Speaker, in 1995, we talked about promises that 
were made and promises that we needed to keep. We talked specifically 
about the budget. It is hard to remember, but just 4 years ago, the 
deficit was nearing $300 billion. The debt was skyrocketing. What did 
that mean to Americans? That meant that interest rates on mortgages, on 
cars, on college loans were soaring through the roof. In fact, it 
looked like there was no end in sight to deficit after deficit after 
deficit.
  So we stepped up to the challenge. We presented the first plan to 
balance America's budget in a generation. We heard the President. We 
heard the Vice President. We heard many Members on the left. We heard 
the media talking about how balancing the budget under our plan in 7 
years would destroy the economy. In fact, that is what the President 
said.
  Well, we did not listen to the naysayers. We fought. We passed our 
plan. The President still objected. In fact, that fall, he vetoed nine 
bills, shut down the Federal Government and, as only the President can 
do, blamed it on us.
  Well, we kept the fight alive. Finally, in 1997, amid troubling 
reports that if the President did nothing the budget would balance 
itself, he decided to come to the table and sign the plan that would 
balance our budget for the first time in a generation.
  We listened to Alan Greenspan in 1995. Greenspan said, in 1995, if we 
followed the Republican plan, the John Kasich plan to balance the 
budget, we would see unprecedented growth in our time. We would see 
college loans and interest rates go down. We would see mortgages 
interest rates going down. We would see economic explosion. Well, we 
kept our word. We kept the fight alive. Finally, the President came to 
the table. We signed the plan, and the economy has prospered because of 
it.
  Now, 2 years later, we are again faced with a decision. Do we follow 
political expediency? Do we follow the easy route that was followed by 
the Democratic Chamber in this House for 40 years? Do we play the game 
the way they used to play the game? Or do we keep our word on budgetary 
issues?
  We laid out budget caps in 1997. We said, this is how we are going to 
run our Federal Government for the next 5 years. It was very simple. 
The caps were laid out. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kasich) said, this 
is the way we need to go. Well, I agreed with him then, and I agree 
with him now.
  We have to continue remaining fiscally disciplined. If we do that, we 
will not only see the economy continue to explode, we will not only 
continue to see interest rates going down, we will see something else 
happen that has not happened in Washington for a long time. We will see 
a group of leaders who are truly respected across the country for 
keeping their word.
  Because, in the end, this is not about a deficit. This is not about 
budgetary issues. This is about whether our elected leaders in 
Washington, D.C., say what they mean and mean what they say. Promises 
made, promises kept. It made sense in 1995, and it makes sense in 1999.

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