Date: 1981-11-18
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

Mr. President. this amendment expresses the sense of the Senate that the administration provide a detailed list of budget cuts and tax increases necessary to achieve a balanced budget in fiscal year 1984. Only 2 months ago. on September 21. President Reagan reaffirmed his belief in a balanced budget. saying: This administration Is comnmitted to a balanced budget. and we will fight to the last vote to achieve It in 1984. Two weeks ago. however. the administration abandoned that goal. Speaking then about a balanced budget. Mr. Reagan said: If we cant do It In 1984. well have to do It later. Mr. President. in short. this amendment expresses the sense of the Senate that the President. in developing his budget for presentation in January 1983. provide for a balanced budget in fiscal year 1984 and that he at the same time identify the plan by which that balanced budget in fiscal year 1984.wil be reached. in other words. there would be no socalled unidentified cuts. There would be no vague language that would leave Congress in doubt or the American people in doubt as to what cuts would be necessary or what tax increases would be required in order to achieve a balanced budget in fiscal year 1984. It would all be out on the table. for everyone to see and understand. for the Congress and the American people. so that they could clearly appreciate what cuts would be included and what tax increases would be required. The amendment. I think. is a reasonable one. I believe it is reasonable to ask the administration to spell out in detail the necessary tax cuts. the necessary budget cuts. and the necessary tax increases to balance the budget by 1984. I hope that the Senate will adopt the amendment. I believe the goal of balancing the budget by 1984 is to important to relinquish. and I will continue the fight I began earlier this year to encourage this necessary fiscal prudence. This amendment Is an important step in that direction. On October 15. 1 submitted an amendment instructing 0MB Director Stockman to reveal which budget cuts. and which tax increases. would be necessary to reach the administrations deficits targets of $43.1 billion in fiscal year 1982. $22.9 billion In fiscal year 1983. and a balanced budget in fiscal year 1984. This amendment. which asked nothing more than that the full prcture be painted for the Congress and the American people. was made into a partisan matter and voted down on a straight party line vote. On October 28. 1 introduced a bill which again directed the Office of Management and Budget to spell out the unidentified budegt cuts and tax increases necessary to reach the administrations deficit targets. There has been no action on that bill. My concern about the blue smoke and mirrors. which gave an aura of reality to this administrations budget projections. began on March 10th. when the President transmitted his budget to Congress. Even at that time. there were disturbing signs. Most disturbing were the $74 billion In "unidentified" cuts for fiscal years 1983 and 1984. which were necessary to balance the budget by 1984. As the administrations budget and tax bills marched successfully through Congress. new obstacles cropped up In the path to a balanced budget. and three Republican Senators Joined Senate Budget Committee Democrats in opposing the fiscal year 1982 first budget resolution because It did not provide for a balanced budget In fiscal year 1984. To answer that. over the Easter recess. the administration developed a new master budget plan which reduced fiscal year 1984 spending by $44.8 billion. exactly November. 18. 1981 the amount necessary to balance the budget in that year. Of this $45 billion reduction. $28 billion came from "unIdentified cuts." Although these unidentified cuts troubled me. and my fellow Democrats. the worst was yet to come. because the administrations July tax cut bill. which slashed $280 billion In revenues between 1982 and 1984. has proved to be a disaster. Not only Is this tax cut an unfair transfer of wealth from the middle to upperincome ctizens. but It put a balanced budget put of reach by 1984. President Reagan said the Kemp/Roth tax bill ". . . includes just about everything to help the economy. . . ." But we now find out from Mr. Stockman that It was nothing more than a trickle down wolf in the sheeps clothing of supply side economics. In September. the budget situation turned ever more grim. The economy was not responding to the plan. and the Congressional Budget Office now estimated that even if the previous $74 billion of unidentified cuts were made In fiscal years 1983 and 1984. the fiscal year 1984 deficit would equal $50 billion. As the bad news continued ta mount. the administration announced another multiyear budget plan ot bring the deficit to zero by 1984. This fall budget plan included new spending cuts of $48 bllion for fiscal year 1984 on top of the $51 billion that has already been cut by the administrations reconciliation plan passed in July. After carefully evaluating this new administration plan. It was obvious that the numbers did not add up. This came as no surprise to the Nations businessmen and financial markets. which had long been worried by the administrations unidentified cuts. It was then that I first offered legislation designed to clear the haze which surrounded the balanced budget plan. After the surprising wvote on my October 15 amendment. I sent a letter to Director Stockman on October 29. The letter asked Mr. Stockman to answer two crucial questions: First. what are the amounts of "unidentitled" cuts for fiscal years 1982. 1983. and 1984 that are presently Included In the Presidents Fall Budget Program? Second. based on the economic and budget situation as you see It today. what is your best estimate of spending reductions and revenue Increases that are necessary to maintain the Fall Budget Programs projected deficits of $43.1 billion In FY 1982. $22.9 billion in FY 1983. and a balanced budget In PY 1984? Although this letter was sent nearly 3 weeks ago. I have received no response. of course. those intervening days have brought some added pressures on DIrector Stockman. due to his candor In a national magazine. Unfortunately. that article confirmed the fear I had harbored all along. the fear that had caused me to offer legislation seeking clarification of the unidentified cuts and necessary tax increases assumed by the Presidents package. The article depicted David Stockman as lightly dismissing this important matter of unidentified cuts. To him. the unIdentified cuts. which held his deficit projections together. were just magic November 181. 1981 asterisks. Well. I suppose magic asterisks have their place in a program the Vice President once labelled voodoo economics. Unfortunately. they have no place in the world of free market economics. Government should seek to keep the investment horizon clear. not to fog it up by promising nmassive programmatic and tax changes without spelling out. In detail. the way such changes wvill be accomplished. Without detailed information about which programs are scheduled for cuts. and which taxes are scheduled to be increased. there is no w~ay to judge the likelihood that the administrations deficits will not balloon out of sight. Based on the last decade. and on the reception given to this Septembers budget proposals. investors. businessmen. and working people have good reason to doubt vague promises of future savings. Without the detailed information I have called for in previous legislative initiatives. the riskminimizing investor will not make risky productive capital investments. Secretary Regan recently lashed out at the business cominunity for not making newv capital investments. Ile said: We have carried through on our commitIments . .. but where Is the business response? Where are the new research and development initiatives? Where are the new plants? Where are the expansion plans? Its like dropping a coin down a wellall Im hearing is a hollow clink. The problem is not hollow clinks fromn business. but hollow promises from government. The administration may have decided to abandon its balanced budget goal for 1984. but I have not. and the Scnate should not. If we abandon this goal. what point of reference do our business and labor leaders have as they try to plan for the future? If we abandon this goal. I am afraid wve are Jeopardizing economic recovery. For that reason. I am proposing this amnendment which would express the sense of the Senate that the administration should spell out in detail the necessary cuts and tax increases to balance the budget by 1984. It is time that Wve give the People of this country reason to believe in the projections and promnises of their government. I ask unanimous consent that my letter to Director Stockman. an article on Mr. Stockman from the Wall Street Journal. and a special report detailing the administrations flipflops on the balanced budgets. be printed in the RECORD.