S7242 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 23, 1995 

has done every day of this debate in 

rallying the forces to come here to the 

floor to talk about the positive aspects 

and how meaningful it is to get to a 

balanced budget for this country and 

not just the next generation. A lot of 

the talk is just for the next generation. 

When we talk about Medicare, it is not 

the next generation. It is this generation of Medicare recipients. When we 

talk about economic growth, it is this 

generation that is going to benefit 

from lower interest rates and higher 

growth rates. 

This balanced budget is for everyone. 

As the Senator from New Mexico said 

in answering the question Senator 

LAUTENBERG posed: Whose side are you 

on? We are on America’s side. We are 

on the side of all Americans. That is 

the beauty of a balanced budget. It is 

good for everyone. It is not about class 

warfare. It is not about picking winners and losers. It is about giving everyone opportunity. 

I yield the floor. 

Mr. FRIST addressed the Chair. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee is recognized. 

(Mr. SANTORUM assumed the chair) 

f 

INCREASING AMERICAN 

PRODUCTIVITY 

Mr. FRIST. I rise to commend my 

distinguished colleague from Pennsylvania, the Presiding Officer, and especially the chairman of the Budget 

Committee, Senator DOMENICI, for the 

outstanding work that has been shown 

over the last several days as we have 

presented a budget that will be balanced by the year 2002. 

I would like to turn to answer a simple question, and that is who will benefit from the balanced budget plan proposed by the Republican majority this 

week. The answer? The American family. 

The debate over the past week has 

been fascinating. We have heard a lot 

of rhetoric, especially from the other 

side of the aisle, about how cutting 

spending will hurt our children, affect 

our seniors, and hurt the middle class. 

My colleagues on the other side of the 

aisle would have us believe that the entire Government is going to shut down 

and that disaster is imminent with our 

budget. 

But what they will not tell you is 

that the Republican budget will have 

tangible positive benefits for whom? 

The American family. Benefits that the 

American family will see in their 

checkbook, in their family budgets, 

and in their overall standard of living. 

According to economists, one of the 

most significant benefits of a balanced 

budget is increased productivity. What 

does that mean? Let us talk a little bit 

about what productivity means to that 

individual family, that typical family 

in America. Increased productivity, a 

product of this balanced budget, means 

that Americans will produce more in 

the same amount of hours. There will 

be more produced for a given amount of 

work. And why do we have increased 

productivity from balancing the budget? Why does increased productivity result from spending no more than we 

take in each year? 

Because, very simply, the Government, we, will borrow less, and that 

leaves more for investment by the private sector, by individuals, by individual businesses, and greater investment by those businesses and individuals results in better technology and 

better working conditions. It is this investment that allows our workers to 

produce more in the same amount of 

time. And so what does this concept of 

increased productivity which clearly 

stems from a balanced budget mean to 

the individual family, to you, to me, to 

our children, to our grandchildren? 

From this first chart, the first thing 

that increased productivity means is 

greater income for the American family. If we accomplish more while we are 

at work, increased productivity, we 

will make more money to buy homes, 

to send our children to school, to buy 

clothes for our children, to provide for 

our own retirement. 

According to the Commerce Department, median family income fell last 

year under President Clinton’s watch 

by 1.9 percent. In contrast, over the 

next 10 years, by balancing the budget, 

the General Accounting Office says 

that earnings would be increased by approximately an extra 2.9 percent. That 

would mean an extra $1,200 per year for 

each American family by passing tomorrow this balanced budget proposal. 

Under a status quo budget right now, 

income of the average family in 2025 

without a balanced budget, for example, under the President’s proposal 

would be $35,900. Under the Republican 

proposal, that same income of the average family in 2025 but with a balanced 

budget would be $48,200, a difference of 

over $12,000 by having a balanced budget. 

Yes, increased incomes for the American family mean greater economic security for us, for this current generation, and for that next generation. 

With $12,000 more a year, our families 

will be able to save more for their own 

retirement rather than having to rely 

on the Government today, as so many 

people do today. They will be able to 

pay for their own health care, and they 

will be able to pay for education for 

their children. The investment of this 

kind of extra money for the American 

family can only mean great things for 

our economy and for our people. 

Let me turn to the second chart. Are 

there other benefits of increased productivity which will result from the 

balanced budget? Mr. President, if we 

are accomplishing more during work 

hours, we will actually have to work 

less to accomplish the same amount. 

This means more time at home, more 

time with our families, more time with 

our children, our grandchildren to play 

baseball, to go to a guitar recital, to 

read a book. 

Indeed, a typical family workday is 

81⁄2 hours. Increased productivity 

means that workers can provide the 

same level of output in fewer hours 

leaving more time for family, more 

time for leisure. In traveling the State 

of Tennessee, I know that Americans 

feel they are working hard to get 

ahead, and today they are not making 

progress. The median income is declining today. It is tough on families. It is 

tough on moms and dads who struggle 

to keep the house clean, food on the 

table, and the family running, and it is 

tough for those individuals. As we balance this budget and make this proposal, they worry: Will times be better? 

The message that we must get out is 

yes, with a balanced budget, there is 

increased productivity, increased time 

to be with one’s family. 

The Republican budget, when you 

break it down, will actually ease that 

burden through increasing the efficiencies of our businesses and our 

workers. 

Let me turn to the third chart, Mr. 

President. Probably the most tangible 

benefit that we will see from balancing 

our budget is lower interest rates. The 

Congressional Budget Office has told us 

that interest rates will be lower by almost 2 percent if we balance the budget. Other economists, such as the independent forecasting group from DRI 

McGraw-Hill, predict lower interest 

rates of up to 2.5 percent, lower than 

they would be with a budget which is 

not balanced. That translates very directly into lower costs for typical purchases by the American family. 

The examples are depicted. It means 

when lower interest rates take effect, 

that on the $75,000 30-year mortgage to 

this family, there will be a savings of 

$1,246 if we have a balanced budget. 

Or that same family will save $1,000 

over the life of a loan on a $15,000 car 

if we pass this balanced budget proposal. 

And that same family will save $36 

per year on an average balance of $1,800 

on a credit card if we pass this balanced budget proposal. 

And that same family can save $1,128 

over the life of a loan on a small business or on farm equipment or on this 

typical tractor. 

Mr. President, these are the kinds of 

savings that are very real that will affect every household in this country if 

we are successful in passing the balanced budget plan tomorrow. There is 

absolutely no question that the Republican budget, yes, will be tough. It will 

be tough, and everybody is going to 

have to sacrifice for it to take effect. 

But there is no question that this Republican budget does provide real, tangible benefits for all Americans and all 

American families. 

Increased incomes, less work time, 

lower interest rates—all will contribute to a much higher quality of life 

for the American family. 

I urge all of my colleagues on both 

sides of the aisle to consider these positive beneficial effects to the family as 

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May 23, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S7243 

we vote on this historic—very historic—budget package tomorrow. 

I yield the floor. 

Mrs. HUTCHISON addressed the 

Chair. 

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas. 

f 

PROMISES KEPT 

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I 

want to thank the Senator from Tennessee, a new Member of the Senate, 

for helping us with this debate, for 

helping us point out the important decisions that we are making today and 

tomorrow. 

It has really been wonderful to see 

the freshmen Senators, the new Senators, like the Senator from Tennessee 

and like the Senator in the chair, tonight adding to the debate and adding 

to the energy and vitality of the 

changes that we are making for America, the changes that the people asked 

for in 1994 so forcefully by giving a 

mandate to Congress to do the right 

thing, to keep the promises that were 

made. 

The American people have seen time 

after time after time politicians making great speeches, beautiful speeches 

at conventions and big events and rallies and they see them make the promises and they see the promises broken 

almost the day after the election. Now, 

for the first time in years, the American people are going to see the promises being kept. 

I think you are seeing such clear differences between the leadership that 

the President has shown versus the 

leadership that the Members of Congress are showing now finally. 

The President’s theme has been balance the budget on the backs of the 

Medicare recipients and the welfare recipients and education. That is the 

theme that we see recurring on the 

floor of the Senate day after day after 

day after day—the class warfare: ‘‘Oh, 

yes, they are balancing the budget, but 

they are doing it at the expense of the 

people in our society who are receiving 

Medicare and welfare.’’

That is all we have heard. Where is 

their plan? Where is their suggestion? 

As the Senator from Pennsylvania said 

earlier tonight, their Chief of Staff has 

said, ‘‘It’s a big game of chicken. If you 

put your budget out there and we’re 

going to slash it to ribbons. If we put 

our budget out there, you are going to 

slash ours to ribbons.’’ So who goes 

first? 

Mr. President, the Republicans are 

going first. We are putting something 

on the table that makes sense. We are 

taking the bold step and we are protecting Medicare for the future, and we 

are going to have a welfare system that 

tries to bring people up, not hold them 

down for generation after generation, 

and to give the taxpayers of our country the opportunity to see that it does 

not pay not to work if you can. 

So, Mr. President, where is the President of the United States in this debate? He gave a budget to the Congress. 

We voted on it. It was the first vote we 

took in this budget debate. It was a 

budget which would increase the Federal deficit from $203 billion in 1994 to 

$276 billion in the year 2000. In fact, the 

Clinton budget, submitted to this Congress, called for another $1.2 trillion in 

deficit spending over the next 5 years. 

That is the budget he has presented 

until yesterday. And yesterday the 

President said, ‘‘I’m going to give you 

a balanced budget.’’ We are 4 days into 

the budget debate and the President 

says, ‘‘I’m going to give you a balanced 

budget.’’ Where was he in the first year 

of his term? Where was he in the second year of his term? And where was he 

when we started the hearings in the 

Budget Committee when Senator 

DOMENICI was trying for a consensus, 

trying to bring everyone into the process, where was the President then? 

Where is the alternative now? There is 

no alternative except the one on the 

table that the Budget Committee has 

put forward which will balance the 

budget of this country by the year 2002. 

It is the budget that is going to protect Medicare for our future generations. It is the budget resolution that 

says to our children, we are not going 

to turn our backs on you. 

Finally, we have drawn the line in 

the sand, and we are going to do what 

is right for this country. This is, indeed, a moment in history. Tomorrow, 

we are going to make history in America. The other body is going to do what 

the House of Representatives did last 

week, and we are going to keep our 

promise to the American people. 

Do all of us like everything in the 

budget? Absolutely not. There is probably not one Member of the Senate 

that says this is a perfect budget. Not 

even Senator DOMENICI likes everything in this budget that he worked so 

hard to bring out of that committee 

with the strong vote that he did. In 

fact, today I voted to change the budget, to give more to national defense because I am so worried that we are 

shortchanging our national defense in 

this country, and I wanted to try to 

change the priorities. 

Other people have been offering 

amendments to add to education. Others have offered amendments to add to 

Medicare funding. Others have offered 

amendments for all different things 

that they think should be a priority. 

But, Mr. President, this is a good, 

solid, balanced budget. 

It is a balanced budget in the sense 

that, of course, it is going to take away 

deficits after 7 years. But it is a balanced budget in that it has taken into 

consideration what the Federal Government should be doing. And it is cut 

from some of the areas where the Federal Government has gotten too involved and in fact has encroached on 

our State governments and our local 

governments. It has cut back in those 

areas. 

We are going back to the concept of 

a Federal Government that has specific 

powers and everything is not reserved 

to the Federal Government. It is going 

to be left to the States and to the people. That is the 10th amendment to the 

Constitution, and we are going to resurrect it and we are going to start with 

the budget that we are going to adopt 

tomorrow. We are going to give the 

power back to the people and back to 

the governments that are closest to the 

people, and that is where we are going 

to stop the spending binges from the 

Federal Government—and, oh, by the 

way, the strings that go with the 

spending binges. That is as costly as 

anything we do. The strings we attach 

to the State government when we send 

them the money, we are going to take 

the strings away; we are going to send 

them block grants. They have the ability to make the decisions for what is 

best for the people in their States. 

They are the closest to the people, and 

they should be determining what their 

priorities are. We do not need to tell 

them what to do in Washington, DC. 

So tomorrow is the beginning of a 

new day in America. It is the beginning 

of the time that we are going to take 

the ship of state and we are going to 

start the turn in the right direction. 

We are going to provide a future for 

our children and grandchildren. We are 

going to keep our promises. We are 

going to fulfill the mandate that the 

people gave to us. 

The President has talked a good 

game. He is a great speaker. He has 

made a lot of promises. But what has 

he done? He has given us a budget that 

does not balance. He has passed the 

largest tax increase in the history of 

America. He has financed our debt with 

short-term borrowing. And we are 

going to have to pay the price down the 

road for that mistake. And he has woefully underestimated the need for a 

strong national defense. We are going 

to start turning this country in the 

right direction. We started in January, 

and we are going to take a major step 

tomorrow to do the right thing for the 

people of this country. 

We are working very hard, Mr. President, to do what we believe is the right 

thing to do for our children, for our 

senior citizens, for the people that are 

truly needy, and for the people who are 

out there working for a living to be 

able to keep the taxes that they earn 

for themselves and not give it to the 

Government to determine the priorities for their families. And we are 

going to work for that small business 

entrepreneur to be able to make it and 

to live the American dream and to 

grow and to prosper and create the jobs 

that will give others the opportunity 

to live the American dream of doing 

better for their families than they have 

been able to have as they immigrated 

into our country, or as they were the 

first member of their family to get a 

college education. That is who we are 

working for, Mr. President, and that is 

what this balanced budget is going to 

ensure will continue to be the American dream. That is why we are here 

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