[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 136 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11045-S11048]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BUDGET FRUSTRATIONS
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I am going to go into my frustration
that, I take it, is well known. I am back almost like George Wallace
some 30 years ago when he said there wasn't a dime's worth of
difference. Both Republicans and Democrats pass these trade bills on
the premise that they are going to create jobs in America, when the
truth of the matter is they are going to create jobs outside of
America. We are going to transfer the fine, good manufacturing jobs
from the United States--more or less the middle class of the country--
to countries offshore and to Mexico and the Caribbean. Otherwise, we
constantly talk of saving Social Security--both Republicans and
Democrats--when the truth of the matter is we are squandering Social
Security.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record ``Trust Funds
Looted to Balance Budget.''
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
TRUST FUNDS LOOTED TO BALANCE BUDGET
[By fiscal year, in billions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1999 2000 2001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Social Security.............................. 855 1,009 1,175
Medicare:
HI......................................... 154 176 198
SMI........................................ 27 34 35
Military Retirement.......................... 141 149 157
Civilian Retirement.......................... 492 522 553
Unemployment................................. 77 85 94
Highway...................................... 28 31 34
Airport...................................... 12 13 14
Railroad Retirement.......................... 24 25 26
Other........................................ 59 62 64
--------------------------
Total.................................. 1,869 2,106 2,350
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, it shows that last year--the year 2000--
we owed Social Security some $l.009 trillion. That is a significant
figure. The year before that--1999--we owed $855 billion. But you can
see it is jumping in increments of $150 billion.
These are the trust funds that we are borrowing from when they talk
about surplus, because both Republicans and Democrats are talking about
the surplus. Governor Bush and Vice President Gore are out on the
campaign trail talking about how we are going to spend the money.
Yesterday, in USA Today, the headline was ``Clinton announces record
$237 billion surplus.''
I ask unanimous consent that this article and headline be printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Clinton Announces Record $237B Surplus
(By Jeannine Aversa)
Washington.--Flush with tax revenue from a booming economy,
the federal government posted a record $237 billion surplus
for the budget year that ended Sept. 30, the Clinton
administration announced Tuesday.
It marked the third straight year of surpluses, something
that hasn't happened since the late 1940s. Social Security
taxes provided nearly $150 billion of the surplus.
``This is the third surplus in a row--the first time our
nation has done that in 51 years, since 1949, when Harry
Truman was president,'' Clinton said on the White House South
Lawn during an event to push his education initiatives.
Clinton said that in 1993, the federal deficit was $290
billion, the national debt had quadrupled in 12 years and
economists predicted that this year, instead of a $237
billion surplus, the United States would have a $455 billion
deficit.
Clinton then used the new surplus numbers to plug Vice
President Gore's bid for the presidency. ``Working together,
we turned that around--not by chance, but by choice,'' he
said. ``I believe we have to first stay with what got us
here--pay down the debt, strengthen the Social Security and
Medicare systems . . . and we need to then seize this
opportunity to take the money that's left to invest in our
future, especially education.''
The official announcement of the surplus came two weeks
before voters elect a new president. A major point of
contention between Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the
Republican nominee, has been what should be done with
surpluses that are projected to total $4.6 trillion over the
next decade.
Bush has proposed a $1.3 trillion across-the-board tax cut;
Gore has proposed smaller, targeted tax cuts and more
government spending.
[[Page S11046]]
The government's surplus for 2000 surpassed the record of
$124 billion for fiscal year 1999 and came on top of a $69.2
billion surplus in fiscal year 1998.
The surplus in 1998 marked the first time the government
had managed to finish in the black since 1969.
The last time the government reported three consecutive
years of surpluses was in 1947, 1948 and 1949. The record-
breaking economy is in its longest-ever streak of
uninterrupted growth.
Americans are enjoying plentiful jobs, low inflation--
outside of the recent burst in energy prices--and rising
incomes. That prosperity also is helping to generate more tax
revenue, thanks to increases in both personal and corporate
incomes.
Economists say low unemployment has been one of the
cornerstones to the prosperity. The surging economy pulled
the nation's unemployment rate back down to a three-decade
low of 3.9% in September from an already low 4.1% in August.
Last month, Clinton had estimated a surplus of around $230
billion for the recently ended fiscal year, and the
Congressional Budget Office was predicting $232 billion.
Revenue for fiscal year 2000 totaled $2.03 trillion, while
expenditures came to $1.79 trillion, the Treasury Department
and the Office of Management and Budget said.
Tax payments from individuals totaled $1 trillion, compared
with $879 billion in fiscal year 1999. Payments from
corporate taxes came to $207.3 billion, up from $184.7
billion.
The biggest spending categories in fiscal 2000 were:
Social Security, $441.8 billion, up from $419.8 billion in
fiscal 1999.
Programs of the Health and Human Services Department,
including Medicare and Medicaid, $382.6 billion, compared
with $359.7 billion.
Interest on public debt, $362.1 billion, up from $353.5
billion.
Military spending, $281.2 billion, up from $261.4 billion.
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I see our distinguished chairman of the
Budget Committee here.
I ask unanimous consent to have the morning's editorial of the
Washington Post entitled ``Say Goodbye to the Surplus'' printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Say Goodbye to the Surplus
Congressional Republicans reached agreement yesterday on
the contents of the tax cut bill they intend to send the
president before adjourning. They suggest it's a relatively
minor measure, but it's not. If it becomes law atop all the
spending increases also agreed to in this session, Congress
and the president will have used up, before the election,
well over a third of the projected budget surplus--the $2.2
trillion over 10 years in other than Social Security funds--
that the presidential candidates are so busily dispensing on
the campaign trail. It's an astonishing display of lack of
discipline and misplaced priorities.
The president sent a letter implying that he might sign the
tax bill even while objecting to major parts. He ought
instead to veto it if congressional Democrats won't block it
first. As with the other Republican tax cuts he vetoed
earlier in the year, this would cost too much--an estimated
quarter-trillion dollars over the 10 years--and too much of
the money would go to the part of the population least in
need.
In the name of increasing access to health care, the
legislation would grant a new tax deduction to people who buy
their own insurance. The deduction would mainly benefit those
in the top tax brackets who tend already to be insured. The
president observed that, far from increasing access, it could
have the perverse effect of inducing employers to drop
insurance they now maintain for their employees. Among much
else, the bill would also increase the amounts that can be
contributed annually to tax-favored retirement accounts, a
step that by definition benefits only those who can afford to
save the maximum now.
The health insurance deduction was part of the Republicans'
price for the $1-an-hour increase in the minimum wage that
the bill also contains. The price is too high. Also in the
bill will be so-called Medicare givebacks, increases in
payments to providers that the president earlier objected
were tilted in favor of managed care companies already
overpaid. This is on balance a bad bill dusted with
confectioner's sugar and offered up at year's end on a take-
it-or-leave-it basis. The right response would be to vote it
down.
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, it is not goodbye to the surplus. We
never had it.
I promised the distinguished Senator from New Mexico, Mr. Domenici,
that I would jump off the Capitol dome if the so-called Balanced Budget
Act balanced the budget by this year. I came close to having to buy a
parachute and getting ready to jump. I really did.
There was an inordinate collection of revenues, including personal
income taxes and corporate returns throughout the year. I was extremely
worried and was going to have to face up to the truth to my good
friend, the distinguished chairman of our Budget Committee. But I was
saved by the bell with the reality that we never had a surplus.
There is no better document than this one. The Treasury news ``For
Immediate Release'' of October 24 entitled ``Joint Statements of
Lawrence H. Summers, Secretary of the Treasury, and Jacob J. Lew,
Director of the Office of Management and Budget on budget results for
the fiscal year 2000.''
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, you can see the total Federal
securities, and the net transactions at the beginning of this year were
$5,606.1 trillion. At the close of the month, September 30, the end of
fiscal year 2000, the debt was $5,629.0 trillion. The debt increased
$22.9 billion. That is not a surplus.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the table of
budget realities.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
HOLLINGS' BUDGET REALITIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual
U.S. budget Unified Actual increases
(outlays) Borrowed deficit deficit National in spending
President and year (in trust funds with trust without debt for
billions) (billions) funds trust funds (billions) interest
(billions) (billions) (billions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Truman:
1946............................ 55.2 -5.0 -15.9 -10.9 271.0 ...........
1947............................ 34.5 -9.9 4.0 +13.9 257.1 ...........
1948............................ 29.8 6.7 11.8 +5.1 252.0 ...........
1949............................ 38.8 1.2 0.6 -0.6 252.6 ...........
1950............................ 42.6 1.2 -3.1 -4.3 256.9 ...........
1951............................ 45.5 4.5 6.1 +1.6 255.3 ...........
1952............................ 67.7 2.3 -1.5 -3.8 259.1 ...........
1953............................ 76.1 0.4 -6.5 -6.9 266.0 ...........
1954............................ 70.9 3.6 -1.2 -4.8 270.8 ...........
Eisenhower:
1955............................ 68.4 0.6 -3.0 -3.6 274.4 ...........
1956............................ 70.6 2.2 3.9 +1.7 272.7 ...........
1957............................ 76.6 3.0 3.4 +0.4 272.3 ...........
1958............................ 82.4 4.6 -2.8 -7.4 279.7 ...........
1959............................ 92.1 -5.0 -12.8 -7.8 287.5 ...........
1960............................ 92.2 3.3 0.3 -3.0 290.5 ...........
1961............................ 97.7 -1.2 -3.3 -2.1 292.6 ...........
1962............................ 106.8 3.2 -7.1 -10.3 302.9 9.1
Kennedy:
1963............................ 111.3 2.6 -4.8 -7.4 310.3 9.9
1964............................ 118.5 -0.1 -5.9 -5.8 316.1 10.7
Johnson:
1965............................ 118.2 4.8 -1.4 -6.2 322.3 11.3
1966............................ 134.5 2.5 -3.7 -6.2 328.5 12.0
1967............................ 157.5 3.3 -8.6 -11.9 340.4 13.4
1968............................ 178.1 3.1 -25.2 -28.3 368.7 14.6
1969............................ 183.6 0.3 3.2 +2.9 365.8 16.6
1970............................ 195.6 12.3 -2.8 -15.1 380.9 19.3
Nixon:
1971............................ 210.2 4.3 -23.0 -27.3 408.2 21.0
1972............................ 230.7 4.3 -23.4 -27.7 435.9 21.8
1973............................ 245.7 15.5 -14.9 -30.4 466.3 24.2
1974............................ 269.4 11.5 -6.1 -17.6 483.9 29.3
1975............................ 332.3 4.8 -53.2 -58.0 541.9 32.7
[[Page S11047]]
Ford:
1976............................ 371.8 13.4 -73.7 -87.1 629.0 37.1
1977............................ 409.2 23.7 -53.7 -77.4 706.4 41.9
Carter:
1978............................ 458.7 11.0 -59.2 -70.2 776.6 48.7
1979............................ 504.0 12.2 -40.7 -52.9 829.5 59.9
1980............................ 590.9 5.8 -73.8 -79.6 909.1 74.8
1981............................ 678.2 6.7 -79.0 -85.7 994.8 95.5
Reagan:
1982............................ 745.8 14.5 -128.0 -142.5 1,137.3 117.2
1983............................ 808.4 26.6 -207.8 -234.4 1,371.7 128.7
1984............................ 851.9 7.6 -185.4 -193.0 1,564.7 153.9
1985............................ 946.4 40.5 -212.3 -252.8 1,817.5 178.9
1986............................ 990.5 81.9 -221.2 -303.1 2,120.6 190.3
1987............................ 1,004.1 75.7 -149.8 -225.5 2,346.1 195.3
1988............................ 1,064.5 100.0 -155.2 -255.2 2,601.3 214.1
1989............................ 1,143.7 114.2 -152.5 -266.7 2,868.3 240.9
Bush:
1990............................ 1,253.2 117.4 -221.2 -338.6 3,206.6 264.7
1991............................ 1,324.4 122.5 -269.4 -391.9 3,598.5 285.5
1992............................ 1,381.7 113.2 -290.4 -403.6 4,002.1 292.3
1993............................ 1,409.5 94.2 -255.1 -349.3 4,351.4 292.5
Clinton:
1994............................ 1,461.9 89.0 -203.3 -292.3 4,643.7 296.3
1995............................ 1,515.8 113.3 -164.0 -277.3 4,921.0 332.4
1996............................ 1,560.6 153.4 -107.5 -260.9 5,181.9 344.0
1997............................ 1,601.3 165.8 -22.0 -187.8 5,369.7 355.8
1998............................ 1,652.6 178.2 69.2 -109.0 5,478.7 363.8
1999............................ 1,703.0 251.8 124.4 -127.4 5,606.1 353.5
2000............................ 1,788.0 259.9 237.0 -22.9 5,629.0 361.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, as you can see, during 1968-1969, when
President Lyndon Johnson last balanced the budget, we had at that
particular time a $2.9 billion surplus. We have been running deficits
ever since.
I heard the litany in the debates why we had not done anything.
When this Congress started 8 years ago, as the Record shows, in 1992,
there was a deficit of $403.6 billion. We were spending $403.6 more
than we were taking in.
Under the 1993 provisions, whereby we not only cut spending but we
increased taxes, including the tax on Social Security and the tax on
gasoline. We reduced the Federal workforce by 300,000 employees. That
got us on the road to reducing the deficit from $403.6 billion to $22.9
billion. But the debt has continued to increase, and there is no
surplus. That is the point I am trying to make.
Only on last evening, in trying to renegotiate the State-Justice-
Commerce bill--I don't know whether it will be included--but they
wanted the statement that $240 billion shall be used to pay down the
debt. Absolutely false. They transfer the debt to these trust funds
that I have already listed in the Record with respect to Social
Security, Medicare, military retirement, civilian retirement,
unemployment compensation, and on down the list. They are really
transferring. They are not paying down anything. There is no surplus.
We have increased the debt.
The reality is that we have just created the biggest waste in the
history of government.
I served on the Grace Commission against waste, fraud, and abuse. We
worked very diligently and carried out about 85 percent of the
recommendations of the Commission. In spite of our efforts, however,
under President Reagan's so-called ``voodoo'' economics, the debt
increased. We kept going, first under President Reagan, with a $1
trillion debt, and then a second trillion dollars, a third trillion
dollars, a fourth trillion, a fifth trillion, and now the debt has
grown to $5.7 trillion.
Along with that is the interest cost. Under President Johnson, when
we balanced that budget, it was $16 billion. That is 200 years of
history including the cost of all the wars, from the Revolutionary War,
World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. It has gone from $16 billion
up to $362 billion.
I ask unanimous consent that this document entitled ``The Public Debt
To the Penny'' be printed in the Record and the list of interest costs
be printed in the Record as of the day before yesterday, which is the
most recent.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The public debt to the penny
Amount
Current:
10/24/2000.................................. $5,674,018,471,636.91
Current month:
10/23/2000.................................. 5,670,684,446,983.21
10/20/2000.................................. 5,671,113,923,599.68
10/19/2000.................................. 5,670,716,361,031.21
10/18/2000.................................. 5,664,293,307,225.32
10/17/2000.................................. 5,664,975,939,816.81
10/16/2000.................................. 5,660,152,346,828.33
10/13/2000.................................. 5,654,691,872,296.28
10/12/2000.................................. 5,652,782,594,061.86
10/11/2000.................................. 5,660,113,029,266.52
10/10/2000.................................. 5,658,397,995,719.35
10/06/2000.................................. 5,660,786,987,693.59
10/05/2000.................................. 5,662,225,814,331.71
10/04/2000.................................. 5,653,380,479,214.62
10/03/2000.................................. 5,653,358,623,363.58
10/02/2000.................................. 5,661,548,045,674.53
Prior months:
09/29/2000.................................. 5,674,178,209,886.86
08/31/2000.................................. 5,677,822,307,077.83
07/31/2000.................................. 5,658,807,449,906.68
06/30/2000.................................. 5,685,938,087,296.66
05/31/2000.................................. 5,647,169,888,532.25
04/28/2000.................................. 5,685,108,228,594.76
03/31/2000.................................. 5,773,391,634,682.91
02/29/2000.................................. 5,735,333,348,132.58
01/31/2000.................................. 5,711,285,168,951.46
12/31/1999.................................. 5,776,091,314,225.33
11/30/1999.................................. 5,693,600,157,029.08
10/29/1999.................................. 5,679,726,662,904.06
Prior fiscal years:
09/29/2000.................................. 5,674,178,209,886.86
09/30/1999.................................. 5,656,270,901,615.43
09/30/1998.................................. 5,526,193,008,897.62
09/30/1997.................................. 5,413,146,011,397.34
09/30/1996.................................. 5,224,810,939,135.73
09/29/1995.................................. 4,973,982,900,709.39
09/30/1994.................................. 4,692,749,910,013.32
09/30/1993.................................. 4,411,488,883,139.38
09/30/1992.................................. 4,064,620,655,521.66
09/30/1991.................................. 3,665,303,351,697.03
09/28/1990.................................. 3,233,313,451,777.25
09/29/1989.................................. 2,857,430,960,187.32
09/30/1988.................................. 2,602,337,712,041.16
09/30/1987.................................. 2,350,276,890,953.00
Source: Bureau of the Public Debt.
____
Interest Expense on the Public Debt Outstanding
The monthly Interest Expense represents the interest
expense on the Public Debt Outstanding as of each month end.
The interest expense on the Public Debt includes interest for
Treasury notes and bonds; foreign and domestic series
certificates of indebtedness, notes and bonds; Savings Bonds;
as well as Government Account Series (GAS), State and Local
Government series (SLGs), and other special purpose
securities. Amortized discount or premium on bills, notes and
bonds is also included in interest expense.
The fiscal year Interest Expense represents the total
interest expense on the Public Debt Outstanding for a given
fiscal year. This includes the months of October through
September.
Interest Expense--Fiscal Year 2000
September......................................... $18,230,568,576.64
August............................................ 22,180,621,064.98
July.............................................. 19,332,594,012.00
June.............................................. 75,884,057,388.85
May............................................... 26,802,350,934.54
April............................................. 19,878,902,328.72
March............................................. 20,889,017,596.95
February.......................................... 20,778,646,308.19
January........................................... 19,689,955,250.71
[[Page S11048]]
December.......................................... 73,267,794,917.58
November.......................................... 25,690,033,589.51
October........................................... 19,373,192,333.69
---------------------
Fiscal Year Total........................... 361,997,734,302.36
=====================
Available Historical Data--Fiscal Year End
2000.............................................. 361,997,734,302.36
1999.............................................. 353,511,471,722.87
1998.............................................. 363,823,722,920.26
1997.............................................. 355,795,834,214.66
1996.............................................. 343,955,076,695.15
1995.............................................. 332,413,555,030.62
1994.............................................. 296,277,764,246.26
1993.............................................. 292,502,219,848.25
1992.............................................. 292,361,073,070.74
1991.............................................. 286,021,921,181.04
1990.............................................. 264,852,544,615.90
1989.............................................. 240,863,231,535.71
Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, you can see the interest cost of
$361,997,734,302.36, and on down the list.
At $1 billion a day--I will never forget the comments made by the
distinguished majority leader at the time President Clinton was making
his address to the joint session of Congress at the beginning of the
year. He said that gentleman is costing us $1 billion a minute. The
President talked for 90 minutes. Governor Bush wants to cut taxes some
$90 billion. So the two of them--the Bush program and the Clinton
program--are $180 billion. We are spending $362 billion on interest
costs alone.
That leaves $182 billion that you can use to increase research for
cancer, increase defense--defense is stretched now--and everything
else.
The point is we are spending a fortune on absolutely nothing. With
the profligacy of these past Congresses, the lack of awareness of the
American people, and the media's failure to deliver the truth to the
American public, I wanted the record to be cleared.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, do I understand I have a half hour?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
Mr. DOMENICI. Thank you, Senator Hollings, for your kind remarks. I
don't agree with your theory or your conclusions, but I appreciate
working with you over the years. Your dedication to getting the debt
under control has not gone unnoticed over the years. We had an unusual
recovery with huge amounts of new taxes coming in that neither you or I
expected. Society has changed, no doubt about that.
____________________