David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, we are hoping very much we will have the opportunity to make Bill Clinton a better President. I would respond to my pal, the gentleman from New York [Mr. Charles Rangel], by saying if you look at the EITC, we have an increase from $19 to $28 billion, and the $32 billion to which he referred is actually less than what the General Accounting Office said was fraud in general. But let us look at some other facts right here. Contrary to a lot of the rhetoric we have been hearing, this measure will see us spend $12.1 trillion over the next 7 years. It increases spending in Medicare, Medicaid, school lunches and student loans, contrary to what the President has said when he claims it brings about cuts. This package is not, is not, a massive tax cut for the rich. Eighty percent of the benefits go to people who earn less than $100,000 a year, and we truly can in fact bring about a Government which is compassionate. But, Mr. Speaker, the greatest compassion of all is to ensure that we are not passing onto the backs of future generations the responsibility of paying for the pattern of profligate spending. Mr. Speaker, I urge an aye vote on this rule and the package, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Columbus, OH [Ms. Pryce], my very good friend and a hard-working member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to say that over 80 percent of this tax cut goes to people who are earning less than $100,000 a year. With that I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Harrisburg, PA [Mr. Gekas], the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. (Mr. GEKAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Winter Park, FL [Mr. Mica], the chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Egan, IL [Mr. Manzullo], chairman of the Subcommittee on Small Business Procurement, Exports, and Business Opportunities. (Mr. MANZULLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from him Albuquerque, NM [Mr. Schiff], who was a conferee on this historic balanced budget and conference committee.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Morris, IL [Mr. Weller], a very eloquent new Member of Congress. (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Scottsdale, AZ [Mr. Hayworth].

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our very able colleague, the gentleman from Tupelo, MS [Mr. Wicker], the president of the historic freshman Republican class of the 104th Congress. (Mr. WICKER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pine Bluff, AR [Mr. Dickey], another Arkansan who is going to keep his promise to balance the budget.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the first time 1 minute to the gentleman from Thibodaux, LA [Mr. Tauzin], my friend who has joined the party with which he has been in agreement for many, many years.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mount Holly, NJ [Mr. Saxton]. (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to my good friend, the gentleman from Windsor, CA [Mr. Riggs], a valued member of the Committee on the Budget and vice chairman of the California delegation.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Sanibel, FL [Mr. Goss], the chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process of the Committee on Rules, who as chairman of the subcommittee understands what it is going to take for us to balance the budget. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to yield such time as he may consume to my friend, the gentleman from Bentonville, AR [Mr. Hutchinson], a member who came from the State of Arkansas and plans to keep his promise.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my very good friend, the gentleman from Glens Falls, NY [Mr. Solomon], a former Marine platoon leader and chairman of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Woodland Hills, CA [Mr. Beilenson], pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous matter.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 272 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, due to a technical error committed during the filing of the conference report on H.R. 2491, this rule vacates the proceedings by which the conference report on H.R. 2491, the Seven-Year Balanced Budget Act, was filed. The rule authorizes the managers to immediately refile the report in the form actually signed and ordered reported, with the corrected part printed in section 3 of the rule. The rule further provides that the existing signatures of the conferees shall remain valid as authorizing the presentation of the conference report to the House in its corrected form. The rule then provides for the consideration of the newly filed conference report to accompany H.R. 2491. The rule waives all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration. The rule provides for two hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Budget Committee. The rule provides for one motion to recommit the conference report which may not contain instructions. Finally, the rule provides that following disposition of the conference report, no further action on the bill is in order except by subsequent order of the House. Mr. Speaker, this is it. We are beginning, over the next 3 hours, the debate on the most important change in decades. Mr. Speaker, while democracy in action can be loud, most people in a free society are too busy living their lives to listen closely. to the casual observer, we can sound as irritating as static on a radio. However, the more the volume is turned up, the more people will notice that while Washington might sound like it always does, this is not business as usual. Instead, the majority in Congress is carrying out truly history change--actually balancing the budget for the first time in decades. At the heart of our agenda for change are four fundamental goals that Americans from all regions and income groups recognize are vital to our future as a prosperous and secure nation. One, we must balance the Federal budget as quickly as possible in order to stop the massive increase in debt that is mortgaging our children's future. Two, we must reform the welfare system that is trapping honest families in a cycle of dependency and poverty. Three, we must fundamentally improve the Medicare system so that we provide health care security to a generation of retirees by averting the system's bankruptcy and keeping it from destabilizing the Federal budget; and Four, we must provide some tax relief that strengthens families and spurs private sector job creation and rising worker wages. These are not partisan goals. They incorporate the basic aspirations of families throughout this great and massive Nation. That is why it was not just the new majority in Congress that was elected after calling for these changes. Back in 1992, the President called for a balanced budget, ending welfare as we know it, and providing a middle class tax cut. Now that he has the chance to work with a Congress that shares those same goals that he has outlined, he can follow through on his promises. We are going to give him that opportunity. Mr. Speaker, the Balanced Budget Act conference report accomplishes these four foundation pillars of the effort to change the Federal Government so that it serves America's families, rather than families serving the Federal Government. This bill is not a flimsy outline of talking points that can be pawned off as a balanced budget. It is a specific plan, warts and all, that turns around three decades of deficit spending and balances the budget in 7 years. And it meets that goal using conservative forecasts of economic growth so that we do not see hundreds of billions in new debt 7 years from now and say to our children--``Oops, I guess we weren't as lucky as we had hoped we would be.'' This bill cuts taxes. I will not apologize for that. It cuts taxes less than the President raised taxes 2 years ago. Americans would have more of their own hard earned money if neither the 1993 tax increase, nor his tax cut, were ever enacted. A full 60 percent of all tax benefits in the bill go to families with children and incomes less than $110,000. Those are the people who are the heart and soul of this Nation, the people rising our future. I would also note the incentives to promote savings and investment, especially the capital gains tax cut, are critical in regions of this country in need of greater economic growth. I am privileged to represent California. In California, the capital gains tax rate reduction and the extension of the research tax credit are two tax proposals that translate directly into more jobs in the private sector companies that are at the heart of our economic recovery, creating the transition from a defense-based to an export- based economy. California also appreciates that while we balance the budget, we do not ignore clear Federal priorities. At the forefront is the Federal responsibility to control our borders and provide funding for the cost of failed immigration policies. The $3.5 billion in Medicaid funds to assist States for the cost of health care to illegal immigrants providing multimillion dollar relief to California taxpayers is a critical new effort which is addressed in this bill. Mr. Speaker, the Balanced Budget Act is an agreement between the majorities in the House and Senate encompassing the views of Representatives with varied views on Government and its role in our society. Mr. Speaker, this is not a radical plan. It spends $12.1 trillion over 7 years. If we stick to the current deficit spending plan, we would spend $13.3 trillion over that time. Despite the ``sky is falling'' rhetoric of some, all we are proposing is that the Government live on just about $1 trillion less over 7 years. There is still $12.1 trillion to go around. Mr. Speaker, this real balanced budget is doable. It is reasonable. It has heart. Medicare spending goes up a lot. Medicaid, school lunches, and student loans all go up by billions of dollars. Families keep a little more of the money that they earn. There likely remains a way to go in this process. Despite addressing a number of his Presidential campaign promises, after 3 years in Washington the President may have forgotten why he was elected and he might choose to veto this bill. However, I hope we can all agree that by the end of this year, we will agree on a balanced budget that means is 2002 the first American babies born in nearly 40 years, our high school class of 2020, will be born in a country where their parents and grandparents are not putting the bills on the backs of those children. Mr. Speaker, this rule permits us to enact a balanced budget. I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce and its subcommittees be permitted to sit today while the House is meeting in the Committee of the Whole House under the 5-minute rule. It is my understanding that the minority has been consulted and that there is no objection to this request.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Birmingham, AL [Mr. Bachus].

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Portland, ME [Mr. Longley].

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from East Petersburg, PA [Mr. Walker], chair of the very important Committee on Science.