[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 39 (Thursday, March 11, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1253-H1254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE DEBT DOWN PAYMENT ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here this 
evening and particularly with the distinguished gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Kasich), the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, in the 
Chamber this evening. I would like to point out a few facts to my 
colleagues.
  I know that these are issues of importance to all of us, and I think 
it is useful to be reminded that as of March 1, the first day of this 
month, 1999, the Federal national debt was $5.62 trillion. That debt is 
increasing. In fact, it increased in 1999 by $95 billion in all of our 
trust funds. The total interest that we paid last year on the national 
debt was almost 15 percent of the total budget, about $243 billion.
  Mr. Speaker, now is the optimum time to take the steps necessary to 
reduce the national debt. Our economy, although not necessarily the 
Kansas economy, is strong and Federal revenues stand ready for debt 
reduction. On the very near horizon, however, we face a challenge of 
financing the retirement of the baby boom generation. If we can get our 
fiscal house in order now, we can meet this challenge. But if we delay, 
our children will face the dual burden of servicing a large national 
debt, along with facing the liabilities to Social Security and 
Medicare. We do not have surpluses as far out as we can see.
  Mr. Speaker, as the chart indicates, the national debt grows, and by 
the year 2040, because of that generation of retirees, the national 
debt increases to 200 percent of the gross domestic product. We need to 
take advantage of this opportunity to begin the process of paying down 
our national debt. Paying down the debt can lower interest rates. 
Student loans, car loans, home mortgages and farm debts can all be less 
burdensome with lower interest rates that the borrowing from the 
Federal Government would generate.
  Last week, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) and I 
introduced H.R. 948, the Debt Down Payment Act, and I spent some time 
on the floor, an extended amount of time on the floor, explaining this 
legislative attempt to my colleagues. This bill establishes a 10-year 
plan for reducing the debt held by the public. It would reduce it by 
$2.4 trillion; an average annual payment on the debt of $240 billion; 
no new spending; saves $729 billion in interest payments over 10 years. 
$729 billion. And it removes the Social Security trust fund from the 
revenues that we calculate our surplus to provide some honesty, not 
only to the American people but especially to ourselves.
  This bill establishes a gradually reduced limit for public debt held 
over the next 10 years, and by the year 2000, this debt limit would be 
lowered to $3.5 trillion, requiring a first year debt reduction of $100 
billion.
  Our Nation's most respected economists remind us of the importance of 
paying down the national debt and the opportunity that provides to 
shore up Social Security.
  In just 13 years, payment from the Social Security trust fund will 
exceed the incoming revenue to the Social Security trust fund. By 
reducing debt today, we can do something that will make it easier to 
meet the needs of the next generation's retirement, and by removing the 
Social Security trust fund revenues from the annual surplus

[[Page H1254]]

calculations, we will gain a more accurate understanding of where we 
stand financially.

                              {time}  2215

  I have been pleased by recent reports the Senate budget proposal may 
include a similar proposal toward reducing the debt. By establishing 
statutory debt limits on publicly held debt we can hold our collective 
feet to the fire by locking in gradual debt reduction. Debt reduction 
should be a central component of our budget plans, and I urge my 
colleagues in both chambers to insist that the 2000 budget proposal 
include a long-term plan to pay down our national debt. Let us agree 
today to put an end to treating our national budget like a bad credit 
card spending. Let us agree to pay more than the monthly minimum and 
stop spending 15 percent of our budget on interest payments.
  We are like those people with the credit card who just keep spending. 
We do not even hardly make the minimum payment. We pay the interest, 
but we have no plan to ever pay the principle, and today we ought to 
take the steps toward establishing a plan to do just that. We are at a 
crossroads. Let us make the legacy that we leave to the next generation 
one of economic hope and prosperity.

                          ____________________