Date: 1981-09-18
Speaker: ROBERT C. BYRD (democrat)
Chamber: S

I believe the most intereating yet alarming point of this table As tbat. using CBOs projected fiscal year 1984 deficit. $94 billion would have to be cut in fiscal year 1984 to balance the budget. If. as the President has previously promised. there would be no more cuts in defense and entitlement programs. there is only $102 billion from which to cut $94 billion In fiscal year 1984. That means no more highways. no more -water projects. no more agricultural programs. It means virtually no more of the socalled discretionary programs. Congress and the American people were told that if the Presidents economic plan was given a chance. the economy could be turned upright. But the President had to receive his entire package. Well. the Congress enacted the entire package. The President asked for drastic cuts in domestic spending. In July Congress passed an Omnibus Reconciliation Act that gave the President the amounts he asked for. While all the cuts wcre not In the exact programs targeted by Mr. Stockman. the total dollar savings requested from the Congress was achieved. These cuts were necessary to get control over the budget dyficitsto bring the budget into balance. However. while reconciliation was being conisidered. the need for additional savings began to surface from the administration. I doubt that many of my colleagues were aware that the cuts would not stop with reconciliation. Additional savings of $15 billion in fiscal year 1982 and $50 billion In fisCal year 1984 were Included in the fiscal year 1982 first budget resolution. At that time. $28 billion of the additional cuts in fiscal year 1984 was "unidentified." Now the administration has increased "unidentified cuts" to $44 billion. When does this stop? The CBO projections Include the assumed $44 billion In unidentified cuts In fiscal year 1984 and their projections still forecast a $50 billion deficit In fiscal year 1984. Also. CBO has included the administrations assumed cuts in social security. Although the President may be willing to cut social security. I do not believe the Congress will be willing to break faith with the retirees of this country. We were told that we had to give the President his tax cut if his economic plan was going to work. Well. Congress did that. He was given his tax cuts. He was given his budget cuts. Democrats cautioned that the tax cut was too large. We warned against mortgaging 3 years of the Nations future without knowing how the economy would respond. But we were outvoted. The Congress gave the President his tax cut. Now. less than a month since the Pestdent signed the bill into law. there is talk of tax increases because the cut Is too deep to be sustained and achieve a balanced budget. These concerns are further complicated by CBOs revenue projections. which are lower thare. the administrations by about $7 billion In fiscal year 1982 a..id $11 billion In fiscal year 1984. A third part of the plan was Increased defense spendinfr. We were told that we could have huge Increases in our defense spending when we satisfied the spending cuts and tax cut pieces of the plan. The fiscal year 1982 first budget resolution. which sets congressional spending priorities. provides for the increase in defense spending that we all want. But now the administration has told us we will have to cut the defense budget. In February and March we were told one thing: in June and July we were told something else. and now in September we are being told something else again. The September changes are taking place on an almost daily basis. Yesterday. we learned that it is very likely that administration promises will be broken again. On Tuesday. the White House announced there would be no additional cuts to social security. But on Thursdayonly 2 days latcrwe received reports that the White House would recommend that the costofliving adjustment for social security and other entitlement programs be deferred. This is a cut in social security. And. it is a cut Ii entitlement programs. Not only Is It a social secuirlty cut. it is a change in the COLA. I have a letter. dated May 6. 1981. from Mr. Stockman and Secretray Regan that explicity states the President was opposed to changing the social security COLA as a budget savings measure. I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed In the RECORD at this point.