[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 14 (Thursday, February 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S877]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SUSPENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 258(a)(2) OF BALANCED 
            BUDGET AND EMERGENCY DEFICIT CONTROL ACT OF 1985

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that previous 
consent with respect to S.J. Res. 31 be modified to provide that all 
time be yielded back; that the joint resolution be read the third time, 
and the Senate then vote on passage, without intervening action or 
debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, once again, as was that case last 
November, the Senate today must consider a measure that comes to us as 
a result of the recession. S.J. Res. 31 is an automatic resolution, 
required to be introduced by the majority leader and considered by the 
Budget Committee and the Senate under expedited procedures.
  The resolution is automatic when the Congressional Budget Office 
notifies the Congress of an economic slowdown.
  On January 30, the Department of Commerce's advance report on real 
economic growth, showed the economy in the fourth quarter grew at an 
annual rate of 2 tenths of a percent. In the third quarter the economy 
shrank at an annual rate of 1.3 percent.
  This report triggered the CBO notification of low-growth, and 
subsequently triggered the introduction of the resolution before us 
today.
  The provision in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control 
Act of 1985--sometimes referred to as the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act--
that necessitated the reporting of this resolution, was simply that we 
did not want to be initiating major spending cuts in a time of 
recession.
  I might add that the same section of that law that suspends spending 
cuts in the time of recessions also covers events of war.
  S.J. Res. 31 was reported unfavorably from the Budget Committee 
yesterday. The committee is required to report the resolution without 
amendment or be discharged without comment.
  Again, I concurred with the chairman that the committee should 
express its disfavor with the Resolution, to send a signal to the full 
Senate to disapprove it. I ask the Senate to join the chairman, Budget 
Committee, and me on disapproving the resolution.
  If this resolution were somehow to make it to the President for his 
signature, which he would not sign, it would effectively eliminate all 
fiscal discipline, all the enforcement tools we have here in the 
Congress all the way through September 2003.
  I do not think we need to take such drastic action.
  Having taken this position on a bipartisan basis, however, does not 
mean that we should not act to address both the economic slow down and 
the war on terrorism. We should and we must.
  Having said that, the business sector was the focus of the economic 
weakness in the fourth quarter--as it has been throughout the 
recession.
  Businesses reduced inventories at a very rapid pace and decreased 
investment in new plant and equipment. These factors were such a drag 
on economic growth that had it not been for a large increase in 
government purchases, GDP would have been negative in the fourth 
quarter.
  However, the outlook for economic growth this year is becoming 
increasingly positive. This morning the Labor Department reported that 
initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week to the 
lowest level since August. Claims are down 26 percent since the peak in 
October. Businesses may not be adding workers and the unemployment rate 
may continue to rise a bit from here, but the pace of layoffs has 
slowed.
  The inventory cycle, productivity, monetary policy, and fiscal policy 
all suggest better growth this year. Having decreased inventories by 
more than $70 billion in 2001, business have more room to make 
purchases in the months ahead.
  Remarkably, it seems no one told productivity that we had a 
recession. Productivity growth averaged more than 2 percent during the 
recession and it usually increases rapidly during recoveries.
  With short-term interest rates at 1.75 percent, monetary policy is 
loose. Lower energy prices should contribute to growth this year. And, 
although I wish we could agree on additional policies to stimulate 
growth, the tax cut we enacted last year will boost the economy this 
year.
  The tools of fiscal discipline must be contained so we can convey to 
the American public and the markets that we are keeping an eye not only 
on the current challenges we face, but also those longer term 
challenges.
  We must maintain the provisions of the Budget Act that provide us 
with that future discipline, and we must deal with both tax and 
spending legislation today while waiving the Budget Act on a case by 
case basis as needed.
  I appreciate the chairman's willingness to approach this issue on a 
bipartisan basis and I join with him in recommending that the full 
Senate now reject this resolution when it votes later today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the joint resolution.
  The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading 
and was read the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The joint resolution having been read the 
third time, the question is, Shall the joint resolution pass?
  The joint resolution (S.J. Res. 31) was rejected.

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