[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2224-2225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 USE SURPLUS TO PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Dooley) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOOLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, this year marked a real 
turning part in the recent history of our country as this was the first 
year in over a couple decades that we actually could no longer talk 
about our country running a deficit but actually talk about our country 
running a surplus.
  When I first was elected to Congress over 8 years ago, we were 
talking about budget deficits that were approaching $290 billion a 
year. Today, this year, because of the great leadership of President 
Clinton and Republicans as well as Democrats in Congress, we have made 
the tough choices that have put us on the path of greater fiscal 
responsibility.
  This year in Congress, we are once again going to be called upon to 
make some tough choices about how should we proceed in terms of making 
decisions to ensure that we maintain a path of fiscal responsibility.
  I am here to argue that it is the interest of our families, it is in 
the interest of our children that we commit ourselves to paying down 
the national debt, that we support President Clinton's decision to use 
these surplus dollars that we are going to be generating over the next 
15 years to try to pay off the $3.7 trillion in national debt that have 
accumulated over the last 20 years.
  It does not matter if we are a supporter of defense or if we are a 
supporter of education. It is in all of our interest to pay down the 
national debt. The reason for that is very simple to understand. When 
we look at how the government spends every tax dollar that we receive, 
I think half of us would be surprised when we identify that the third 
largest expenditure of the Federal Government is on interest on the 
national debt. Fourteen cents of every tax dollar collected is going to 
pay interest on the national debt. By comparison, we are only spending 
$55 billion on education or 3 cents on every dollar.
  So the decision by the President and many of us in the Democratic 
Party to commit ourselves to paying down the national debt, what it 
means in effect is that we are going to reduce this $243 billion that 
we are spending every year on interest in order that we can ensure that 
we will have the ability to meet a lot of other pressing needs, whether 
it be national defense or whether it be education.
  As I said earlier, this is in the interest of all of our families 
because, by paying down the national debt, we are also going to be 
alleviating the burden on an average family of four today who is 
paying, in effect, $3,644 a year to finance that interest.
  We had earlier speakers that talked about what it means in terms of 
mortgage payments. If we paid down the national debt, we are going to 
see an expected reduction of interest rates of 2 percent, which again 
means the difference in a monthly mortgage payment of $155 a month.
  When people talk about making a tax cut or providing all of our 
citizens with a tax cut, I can think of no better tax cut than paying 
down the national debt because we are, in effect, reducing the burden 
of this interest payment.
  I myself, besides being a Member of Congress, am a farmer. As most 
farmers, we have to borrow money in order to operate our enterprises. 
An average operating loan of maybe $250,000 a year, that 2 percent 
reduction in interest rate means $5,000 in the bottom line in profits 
to a farmer.
  When we purchase a new piece of equipment, which are becoming 
increasingly expensive, an average combine today costing $200,000, 
again the benefits of paying down our national debt, which will reduce 
interest rates, will manifest itself in a total savings on interest on 
the purchase of one combine of over $11,000 a year.

[[Page 2225]]

  So in this Congress, when there is going to be a debate among those 
who are supporting a policy that the President is advocating of paying 
down the national debt in order to try to keep this economy on a sound 
path, in order to ensure that we can see even lower interest rates than 
we see today, that is a course we should take.
  I think we ought to be very cautious in succumbing to the allure of 
tax cuts which would pose a great jeopardy to the country if they are 
not paid for by reductions of spending in other components in our 
budget, because they have the danger of taking us once again down a 
path that will lead to increased deficits and increased national debt, 
which will undermine the solvency of our economy and certainly will 
continue to obligate our families and future generations the 
responsibility of continuing to pay the carrying cost of our excess 
spending of today.

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