[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMPREHENSIVE BUDGET PROCESS REFORM ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. WALTER B. JONES

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2000

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 853) to 
     amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for 
     joint resolutions on the budget, reserve funds for emergency 
     spending, strengthened enforcement of budgetary decisions, 
     increased accountability for Federal spending, accrual 
     budgeting for Federal insurance programs, mitigation of the 
     bias in the budget process toward higher spending, 
     modifications in paygo requirements when there is an on-
     budget surplus, and for other purposes:

  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of 
the Comprehensive Budget Process Reform Act and I thank Congressman 
Nussle for bringing this important budgetary reform to the floor.
  I also came to the floor this afternoon in support of an Amendment 
that my colleagues, Representatives Dreier, Luther, Regula, and Hall 
will be debating shortly that would provide for a two-year federal 
budget process.
  Mr. Chairman, like many of my friends on both sides of the aisle, I 
served in the state legislature before my election to the House in 
1994. The North Carolina General Assembly, like many other states, 
operates under a two-year, biennial budget process.
  That is what brings me to the floor today. Like many of my 
colleagues, I am frustrated with the annual budget system.
  We spend months of every year debating the same issues. That leaves 
very little time for Members to explore many of the issues that 
directly affect the citizens of this nation.
  A biennial budget would allow Members to devote the first session of 
any Congress to the budget resolution and appropriations decisions. The 
second session would be dedicated to program oversight in order to help 
eliminate wasteful government spending.
  This process would provide Congress time to better address issues of 
important national interest, like the state of our military readiness, 
how to protect our nation's seniors and improve the current health care 
system, and how to best provide an effective safety net for our 
nation's farmers.
  A biennial budget would also allow Congress to better manage 
unforeseen emergency budget situations that face our nation like the 
forest fires New Mexico is currently battling, or the hurricanes that 
have devastated North Carolina's coastline for the last few years.
  When hurricanes have hit North Carolina, the General Assembly has 
been able to successfully help the State meet its unmet needs without 
creating undue hardship on the State or on our communities.
  Mr. Chairman, Congress has a constitutional responsibility to oversee 
government spending and to improve the way government works. When we 
dedicate such a significant amount of time each year to appropriate 
funds for government programs, we lose out on needed opportunities to 
evaluate the performance of those programs and make necessary changes. 
A biennial budget would allow a full year of oversight to determine 
what is working and what is not so that the appropriations process can 
move more smoothly and the government can run more efficiently and 
effectively.
  Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support the Comprehensive 
Budget Process reform. I also hope my colleagues will join me in voting 
for the biennial budget amendment to ensure American taxpayer dollars 
are being spent wisely.

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