Kay Hutchison

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I appreciate the remarks of my colleague from Indiana. I think he laid out in a lofty and beautiful speech exactly why we are here. I have read the quote from Thomas Jefferson as well. And, in fact, Thomas Jefferson had said he had really two problems with our Constitution, and it was nagging in the back of his mind. One of those nagging concerns of Thomas Jefferson was that we did not have a mechanism that would keep Congress from going into debt, because he felt that public debt was not the right of any Congress to make. The second thing that Thomas Jefferson was concerned about was that we did not have a system to assure rotation in office. Of course, term limitations are still a very powerful issue for us in this Congress over 200 years after the Constitution was ratified, and I think his nagging concerns were two very important ones that I wish he had been able to address. But then when we look at what the founders of our country did in the Constitution, they are certainly to be commended for the foresight they had in so many areas.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I would like to talk about this budget impasse, because there is no question that we are at a crossroads in our country. The impasse is over our President and this Congress and our differing views about what course this country should be on. The Congress promised the people a balanced budget, and we are producing on that balanced budget. We have sent to the President a balanced budget for the first year of a 7-year plan. The President promised in his campaign a balanced budget in 5 years, actually. But when the time came to sign the dotted line to make the hard choices, the President has chosen instead to demur, to talk about politics instead of coming down to the bottom line and working with Congress on a budget that is balanced. He is holding our Government hostage. Mr. President, why do we have this impasse? There are two things: The balanced budget which we have sent to the President and the resolution that would continue the operation of Government, which is why people are not working in our Government at full staff levels. We passed a resolution that would continue Government from September 30, when the fiscal year ended, until this week. Now we are in the second resolution. The second resolution has the lower budget figures that are necessary if we are going to balance the budget. So when we talk about this continuing resolution, it is crucial that we have the lower numbers because we are in the fiscal year. We are in the 1996 fiscal year. We must have the lower spending numbers if we are going to make our 7-year goal, and that is the crucial issue here. The President does not want the lower spending limits because, in fact, the President does not want the balanced budget in 7 years. Now, he paid lipservice to a balanced budget in 7 years. He said publicly that he would agree to a balanced budget in 7 years, but he just will not do what is necessary to get us there, and he has [[Page S 17430]] yet to send us a budget that is balanced at all, not in 10 years, not in 9 years, not in 8 years and not in 7 years. So because we have this impasse, the people of this country are certainly concerned. There are people who say, ``Settle it. Pox on both your houses, settle it.'' I just ask people who say, ``settle it,'' do they want us to settle it at the cost of our future security, our future prosperity? Do they want us to settle it at last year's spending rates so that we cannot possibly meet our goal of a 7-year balanced budget? Do they want us to settle it regardless of the promise that we made in 1994? Mr. President, I ran on a platform, in 1994, of a balanced budget. I promised the people who voted for me, and I promised everyone whether they voted for me or not, that I would come up here to try to balance the budget, to try for a 7-year balanced budget. The President also, in his campaign, in 1992, promised the people that he would work for a balanced budget. The President made the promise, I made the promise. The difference is, I am keeping my promise. I think that is the issue here. The people have been promised for 25 years a balanced budget in this country. But the politicians have always walked away from it. And the reason is, they did not have the guts to look at entitlements, and everybody knows entitlements are more than 50 percent of our budget, that they are the toughest of all things to work with. This Congress did something different. This Congress kept the promise by tackling entitlements, by saying that welfare is going on a budget, just like your family budget, just like your small business budget. Welfare is going on a budget. So we have produced reform of a very important former entitlement. It is an entitlement today, but hopefully if we can do what is right for the long term of this country, it will not be an entitlement. It will be a budget item. And we will have limitations on welfare for able- bodied recipients for the first time in this country since we created the welfare system. So it is very important that the people understand that we did reform welfare, that we did take on Medicaid entitlements, that we are going to give it to the States so that they can do it without Federal strings, in a more efficient way, that we are going to save the Medicare system from bankruptcy, so that it will be there for our future generations. Mr. President, we are keeping a promise, and it is not an easy one. It would be more comfortable to just cave. Sure, I would like for everyone to go back to work in Government. I would like to take the easy way out. It would be much more comfortable. But, Mr. President, my constituents did not put their faith in me to take the comfortable, easy way out. My constituents elected me because they believed that I would keep my promise. I am not going to mortgage the long-term security of this country for a short-term comfort rate. I am not going to do it because the people elected us to represent them, and they sent a powerful message in 1994. They want a balanced budget and they want people who are tough enough to do it. So I did not get elected to come here and cave to the President, who made the same promise that I did, but is walking away from that promise. I am not going to walk away. I am going to stand here for a balanced budget in 7 years. We are doing it in a responsible way. In fact, a lot of people think we should do it in 5 years. But we are saying, no, we believe 7 years would keep the economy strong at the same time that we are doing what is right for the long term. So we are making the right decision for the short term and the right decision for the long term. Mr. President, this is a crossroads for our country. As the great ``philosopher'' Yogi Berra once said, ``When you come to a fork in the road, take it.'' Well, once again, we have a choice of which road to take. We have the choice. Mr. President, the Congress is going to stay on the road that will take this country back to prosperity and stability. We are going to bring back what made this country strong in the first place. Families, the spirit of entrepreneurship, the small businesses, a strong national defense built this country. We won the cold war because we were strong, not because we were weak. And we are going to do what is right, Mr. President, in the short term and the long term. We are not going to walk away from our promises, and I wish the President would do the same. Mr. EXON addressed the Chair.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chairman for that response. I would also like to know if the conference report contains any language to assure domestic oil producers, particularly independents located in the State of Texas, that the sale of this oil will not be done by the Department of Energy in such a manner as to disrupt the oil market or to adversely affect oil prices?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, for the information of the Senate, I would like to discuss with the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Murkowski, the provisions of the Budget Reconciliation Conference Report that relate to the sale of oil from the Weeks Island Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage facility. This facility is located in Louisiana. I say to Chairman Murkowski, a provision of the conference report requires the sale by the Department of Energy of oil from the Weeks Island facility. It is my understanding that the Weeks Island facility has suffered irreparable damage from one and perhaps two fractures, and that oil within this facility is in danger of leaking into Louisiana's underground aquifer. It is also my understanding that as a result of these fractures, the oil contained in Weeks Islands must be removed and the facility decomissioned. Is that correct?

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I thank Senator Murkowski.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President, and I thank the Senator from Michigan. This afternoon late, a Mr. Don Shelby called our office. He was calling from the St. Vincent de Paul Hospice in Austin, TX. He told me that he had voted for me in the last election and that he would not be alive long enough to vote for me again, but he and the people in the hospice with him were so concerned about what is going on in Washington that they collected $8 in change to go to a pay phone and call my office. And the message was this: ``Stick to your guns. I will not be around, but I want to know when I die that my children are going to have a future.'' I want to say to Mr. Shelby and the people who contributed the $8 to make that call, we will not let you down. We will not. We will stick to our guns. We will do what is right for this country, as hard as it may be. We will do the right thing. The people of this country have been promised for 25 years that the politicians in Washington would balance the budget. Twenty-five years, and we have failed every year. This is our opportunity. This is our chance. Always before people said, ``They'll never do it. The entitlements, it's too hard; they'll never do it.'' But we are doing it. I have heard speeches on this floor all afternoon. ``Those radical Republicans.'' Radical? Is it radical to keep a promise you made? Is it radical to run for an election in 1994 and promise the people that you will balance the budget, that you will make the tough choices, no matter the consequences and then keep that promise? I do not think so. It is unusual, because people have been promised so many times in the past and the promises have not been kept. It is unusual to keep a promise, but I do not think it is radical, and I do not think the American people do either. We are going to pass tonight the Balanced Budget Act of 1995. It will be the first time that the politicians in this country in 25 years have kept their promise. The President keeps talking about a balanced budget, but he is doing what politicians have done for 25 years, and when it comes time to sign the dotted line, he is demurring, he is walking away from his promise that he made in the election of 1992 and he is saying, ``Oh, well, of course, I want a balanced budget, and I'm going to talk about it, but when it's presented to me, I'm not going to sign on.'' The people are not stupid. They do understand a promise kept, and that is what is going to happen tonight. We are going to keep our promise to the homemakers of this country that they will have security and they will be able to contribute to IRA's just like those of us who work outside the home can do, so that the one-income-earner couple that sacrifices so that the homemaker can stay home and raise children will have the same retirement opportunities as if there had been two incomes earned for their families. We are going to have welfare reform, and we are going to say to the people who are out there working to make ends meet that it is worth it to work, because if able-bodied people can work but choose not to, they will not be on the welfare wagon more than 5 years in their lifetime. For the first time, we will put a lifetime limitation on able-bodied welfare recipients. And we are going to reform Medicaid. We are going to give it to the States where they can run it more efficiently. We are going to save Medicare. We are going to save Medicare for our elderly. We are going to increase spending in Medicare over 7 percent per year. And we are going to slow that rate of growth from 10 percent so that we can save the system--so that Mr. Shelby will know that it will be there for his children. Mr. President, we may make a few mistakes. This is a big bill. We may not do everything right. But there is one mistake that we cannot afford to make and that is to do nothing so that our children will inherit this debt of $5 trillion. I yield the floor. Mr. REID addressed the Chair.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I want to say that I have been watching this subcommittee deliberation on this very important defense authorization appropriations bill. I know how hard it has been to get this bill through. I have watched the negotiations with the House Members. I have watched the negotiations between the Members. I have heard some of the debate on the floor in the last few hours. Of course, there are things that one Member may not think are the priorities for another Member. But there is an equal force on the other side that does not like something else in it. It is very difficult to bring people together. But the bottom line here in the big picture is that we have put more into defense appropriations this year than the President sent up here, and we did that in a bipartisan effort because so many of us are concerned that we have a false sense of security, that we are in a safe world, that the United States can pare down its military, and we do not have to be the superpower that is ready in any eventuality. That is not the case. I compliment Senator Stevens and Senator Inouye for bringing the parties together and forging a bill that does spend enough money to make sure that we are going into the next century strong. It is not as strong as I would like it to be. There are other priorities that I might like to see. I understand the concerns of some of the Senators who have spoken here, but the bottom line is, we are a deliberative body and we have to give and take on priorities as long as we meet the cap that we have put in the budget resolution, and that is exactly what we have done here. So I compliment the two Senators who are the chairman and ranking member of this very important committee. I want to say especially that one of the concerns that I have that has been met in this bill is something I hope we are going to talk about in the next few days, and that is the sense of the Senate that is a part of this bill which says that ``no funds available to the Department of Defense shall be obligated or expended for deployment or participation of United States Armed Forces in any peacekeeping operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina unless such deployment or participation is specifically [[Page S 17168]] authorized by a law enacted after the date of enactment of this act.'' Now, this excludes the kind of operations we have had this year--the air cover, the participation that we have had on the periphery. That is excluded, but it does have a sense of the Senate that we will not spend funds unless we specifically authorize those funds for that kind of peacekeeping operation. This is just the beginning of the real debate that is going to come on the floor of this Senate in the next few weeks about what the role of our armed services should be in Bosnia. I am going to argue very forcefully that it is not our role to send American troops on the ground in Bosnia. We are starting that debate tonight when we pass this bill. We are saying it is the sense of the Senate that we must be consulted and we must pass specific authorization and appropriations before we send our troops in, and that that is for a number of reasons. It is because we have not staked out the United States security interest that would require troops on the ground. It is because we have not staked out that this is going to be the death of NATO if American troops are not on the ground. In fact, I think it is the opposite. I think it is important that we have the strength of NATO by saying exactly what our leadership role will be, and there are many things we can do that do not include our troops on the ground. So, Mr. President, I am just saying that the sense of the Senate will be passed tonight. It is very important, and I hope the President of the United States is listening to this debate. I hope he is listening to the importance to all of us that he come to Congress for enactment before he sends peacekeeping troops to Bosnia. I thank the two leaders on this bill. I appreciate what they are doing for this country, and I am going to support the bill wholeheartedly. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Five minutes or three minutes.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I ask unanimous consent to add Senators Helms and McConnell as original cosponsors.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, Senator Simpson and I are introducing legislation today to make sure the veterans of this country do not worry about their pension payments being made, in case the Government continues to be shut down, by November 21 or November 22. Madam President, of course we hope this will not happen. We hope the President will agree to a balanced budget, and that we can do our responsibility to the people of this country and pass the first year of the 7-year march to a balanced budget. But the administration has chosen to tell veterans that they will not be paid; that they are not a priority payment. We are introducing this legislation to force the administration to pay veterans benefits, just as the administration would pay any other mandatory benefits that people have earned. Our veterans have earned their benefits. It is a mandatory payment. This legislation should not be necessary but for the position the administration has taken. I am pleased to introduce this bill with Senator Simpson and I yield the time I have left to Senator Simpson to talk about the importance of making sure that veterans are not going to have to worry, that their pension checks will be in the mail December 1.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I ask unanimous consent to add Senators Helms and McConnell as original cosponsors.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, Senator Simpson and I are introducing legislation today to make sure the veterans of this country do not worry about their pension payments being made, in case the Government continues to be shut down, by November 21 or November 22. Madam President, of course we hope this will not happen. We hope the President will agree to a balanced budget, and that we can do our responsibility to the people of this country and pass the first year of the 7-year march to a balanced budget. But the administration has chosen to tell veterans that they will not be paid; that they are not a priority payment. We are introducing this legislation to force the administration to pay veterans benefits, just as the administration would pay any other mandatory benefits that people have earned. Our veterans have earned their benefits. It is a mandatory payment. This legislation should not be necessary but for the position the administration has taken. I am pleased to introduce this bill with Senator Simpson and I yield the time I have left to Senator Simpson to talk about the importance of making sure that veterans are not going to have to worry, that their pension checks will be in the mail December 1.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I am here today to question this administration and the scaring of our veterans in this country. I was in Amarillo, TX, last Saturday and I was talking to a disabled veteran who depends very much on his veterans pension for himself and his family. He said, ``Are we going to be paid?'' because the news media were saying no. I said, ``Of course you will be paid.'' There is no way that a veteran's pension is any different from a welfare recipient's stipend or a Medicare part B payment. There is no difference whatsoever. Yet, amazingly to me, the Veterans' Administration is telling people who call that, in fact, veterans benefits will not be paid. Mr. President, I question a President who says if, in fact, this stalemate continues, which, of course, we hope it will not, but if it does, that he will prioritize the payment of welfare recipients over the payment of our veterans who have served our country. It is unthinkable. However, just to make sure that this does not happen, I talked to Senator Alan Simpson this morning, who is the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. He is going to cosponsor with me--it will be the Simpson-Hutchison bill--a bill that will, in fact, direct this administration to pay veterans benefits. We are going to direct this administration to put veterans in the same category as welfare recipients, Social Security recipients, hospitalization under Medicare recipients, and Medicare part B doctors payments as well. It should not even be a question. Nevertheless, in order to make sure that this administration cannot play games with the veterans of this country, Senator Simpson and I are going to introduce a bill as soon as we can get it written, this afternoon, that will make sure that the veterans of this country will not have to worry if, in fact, this stalemate continues. I wish the President of the United States would immediately say it is not necessary to pass this kind of law. I hope the President will be able to put out a little release this afternoon that says the veterans do not have to worry. The incoming cashflow is there and the President knows it. The head of the Veterans' Administration knows it. There is no reason to have these scare tactics used on the veterans of our country who have served our country and who deserve to be put in the highest of all categories. And, yet, this President is doing that. I call on him to say our bill, which is being readied right now, is not necessary and the veterans do not have to worry. He can do it with the stroke of a pen or a mere press release. The priority is set. There is no question. I have consulted every congressional expert, every resource, every historical circumstance that I can find. Veterans have never been threatened. There is no reason for them to be threatened now. Mr. President, Senator Simpson and I are going to introduce this legislation this afternoon. I hope it is not necessary, but we are going to make sure that games will not be played with the veterans of this country. I thank the Senator from North Carolina for yielding me this time for this very important subject. I just want to say to the veterans of America, we will take care of you. We will make sure that our commitment to you is kept. It is the highest priority that I have.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Certainly.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. I thank the Chair. (The remarks of Mrs. Hutchison and Mr. Simpson pertaining to the introduction of S. 1414 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I send a bill to the desk and ask it be appropriately referred.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent morning business be extended for 5 minutes for the purpose of introducing legislation.

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate a message from the House on H.R. 927, a bill to seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, to plan for support of a transition government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes. The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives: Resolved, That the House disagree to the amendment of the Senate to the bill to seek international sanctions against the Castro government in Cuba, to plan for support of a transition government leading to a democratically elected government in Cuba, and for other purposes'', and ask a conference with the Senate on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses thereon. Ordered, That Mr. Gilman, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Ms. Ros- Lehtinen, Mr. King, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Gejdenson, Mr. Torricelli, and Mr. Menendez be the managers of the conference on the part of the House. Mr. DODD addressed the Chair.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I was in Amarillo, TX, this weekend dedicating a veterans' hospital addition, and I met a couple from Friona, TX. He is a disabled veteran. They were concerned about news reports they had heard over the weekend that veterans' benefits would not be paid if the Government is shut down. I am taking to the floor because I want to make sure that the veteran from Friona, TX, and every other veteran in this country knows that veterans' benefits will be paid December 1 unless this administration decides that that is not the priority. I hope this administration will not do that. Veterans' benefits are a priority. Veterans' benefits are an entitlement. Never before have veterans' benefits not been paid when there has been a temporary shutdown of Government. So I came back to make sure. I talked to the budget committees. I talked to the veterans' committees. We consulted the Congressional Research Office to see if there was any merit in this alleged nonpayment of veterans' benefits, and in fact we were told that they had never heard of anything like that. And in fact unless the administration made the decision affirmatively to pay welfare recipients but not veterans, that in fact veterans would be paid. So I wish to take the floor to tell the veterans of this country that most certainly they will be paid. There is cash flow to do that regardless of whether there is a continuing resolution or if the President vetoes the continuing resolution there are funds to pay the veterans' benefits, the next ones of which go out December 1. So I think it would be highly appropriate if the Veterans Administration would reassure the veterans of that because they are getting mixed signals. In my home State of Texas, some veterans' offices are saying, of course, checks are going to go out, and some Veterans Administration offices are saying they do not know; that it is up in the air. And then there are reports that reporters calling the Veterans Administration here are getting the word that they will not go out. So there is confusion by the administration on this point. But there is no confusion on the part of Congress that veterans' pay is absolutely essential, that it is covered, and that the checks will go out December 1. So I hope that the Veterans' Administration will, indeed, clarify this so that our veterans are not worried that their payments are of lesser stature than those of welfare recipients in this country. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I appreciate having the opportunity to listen to the Senator from Indiana talk about what we are facing in the next 7 hours for this country. It is a very important time. I was in my home State, as well as several other States, over the last weekend, and I talked to people. People are really confused. People see Congress and they see the President, and they are confused about why we cannot act together. I think it is very important that we clarify to the greatest extent that we can some of these issues. Let us talk about the continuing resolution that has been passed by the House, will be finally passed again in the Senate today, we hope, that in another month, a few weeks maybe, until December 1, anyway, call on the President to sit down with us and work out a budget reconciliation bill that we would hopefully come to terms with by December 1, so that we can, in fact, take the first-year step of the 7-year march to a balanced budget. That is what the Senator from Indiana was talking about--whether we are going to take that first-year step of the balanced budget. We must have the spending levels that we are asking for in the continuing resolution in order to make the 7-year balanced budget. If we do what the President wants, which is to continue spending at this year's levels, we will not meet the 7-year deadline. This Congress has spoken. We have passed a budget resolution that sets the cap on spending that is allowed if we are going to balance the budget. We would love to sit down with the President and talk about priorities, but we cannot negotiate the cap. The cap has been passed. We have a budget resolution on the table. Has the President yet submitted to this Congress a balanced budget? No. The President has yet to submit to Congress a budget that actually balances. The best he could do was a budget that had $200 billion in deficits. That was the very best. Never have we seen a balanced budget. Congress has given the President a balanced budget. Perhaps the President does not like the priorities that we have. That is legitimate. Let us sit down and talk about what we spend within the cap. But what the President is saying in the continuing resolution, which he says he will veto, is that we must continue spending at last year's levels, which means to the American people and to Congress that the President is not going to let us have the balanced budget that we must have this year. If we do not meet this year's test, we cannot do it in 7 years. The President first said he wanted 10 years, then 9, and then 8. At one point, he said he would go along with 7 years. But he never submitted a budget that would do it in 7 years--so Congress did. Now we are trying to pass a continuing resolution that will end on December 1, when we believe that two responsible branches of Government ought to be able to sit down and work out a budget reconciliation package for the American people that would meet the budget test. There are two things the President says he does not like in the continuing resolution. The first is he does not like the lower spending levels that I have just talked about that are necessary for us to have the 7-year balanced budget. The second thing he does not like is the monthly Medicare part B premiums, which will rise in January $7 a month in order to meet exactly where we are now, and that is that the Federal Government will put in 69 percent, and the recipient will put in 31.5 percent. That is where we are. Anyone who was here when we passed Medicare--I was not-- knows the Medicare part B premiums, which are the doctors' visits, were supposed to be shared 50-50 between the recipient and the Government. They are now at 69.5, Government, and 31.5, recipient. That is where we are now, and that is where the Congress is saying we must stay if we are going to keep Medicare from going bankrupt. We have to raise the premiums that go with the rise in costs to keep the level at 31.5 percent. It would be irresponsible for the President not to sign a continuing resolution that allows us to put the paperwork in place to make that happen. The President's own Cabinet has said Medicare will start going into a deficit next year. The President's own Cabinet says that Medicare can only last with the trust fund that is built up until the year 2002. So we are trying to save the Medicare system by keeping the 31.5 percent level of the recipient in the part B premiums and to slow the rate of growth over the next 7 years from 10 percent increase per year, which is [[Page S 16970]] what we are looking at now, to 6.4 percent per year. Now, in the private sector, health care costs are rising at 4 to 5 percent. So it would seem that a 6.4 percent growth would be a responsible approach for Medicare growth. And that is what we are doing. We are not cutting Medicare spending; we are increasing Medicare spending at a rate of 6.4 percent per year. The President is not being responsible when he says he will veto a continuing resolution because the Medicare part B premium is going to increase $7 per month to keep it at the 31.5 percent, and because he does not want to have the lower level of spending so we can meet our budget resolution goal for this year, so that we can have the balanced budget. The President cannot have it both ways. The President cannot go out and say, ``You cannot cut spending, you cannot balance the budget; I would like to see a balanced budget, but I am not going to give you one.'' He cannot keep having it both ways. The people of this country are not stupid. The people of this country understand that we are looking at a $5 trillion deficit, debt in this country--$5 trillion. I would venture to say that no one ever thought we would reach the level of $5 trillion. But we have. The American people know that everyone is going to have to pitch in. Our lifestyles are not the same as they used to be. No one's is. In 1975, a family of four spent 33 percent of their annual income on the necessities of transportation, housing, and utilities. In 1995, that level is 46 percent. So people are not stupid. They know that even if they are making a little more money, they are not living at the same level they were. They know that. So they know that we are all going to pitch in, that we are all going to do our part to make sure that we do have a balanced budget in 7 years because our elderly want their grandchildren to have a Medicare system. Our elderly want their grandchildren to get jobs in the future. They want a sound economy. They want low interest rates. They want this country to be the country they had the opportunity to grow up in. That is what they want for their children. Mr. President, that is what Congress is trying to give to the elderly and to the working middle-class taxpayers of our country. Let us talk about the debt ceiling. The President has already vetoed the debt ceiling. This is what Congress tried to do. We were trying to extend the debt level and raise it to December 12, a temporary lifting of the debt ceiling, once again, so that we would be able to get the budget reconciliation in place, so that we would have the first year set out with the spending caps to go to the 7-year balanced budget. We believe it is a responsible approach to lift that debt ceiling. We also provide that there will be no borrowing from trust funds. We provide that habeas corpus reform will take place. We provide for regulatory reform to get the onerous restrictions off of our small businesses in this country so they will be able to compete in the international marketplace so they will be able to create the new jobs that will get our economy going again. We do ask for the commitment to the 7-year balanced budget so we will not have to talk about whether it is 10, or 9, or 8, or 7 in the future, but everyone will realize and acknowledge and commit to the 7- year balanced budget. Now, Mr. President, our congressional leaders have said that we will negotiate on this debt limit raising. I think we should. I think the President can have his way on some of these issues. I think Congress would be willing to give. Mr. President, it is very important that we not give on the bottom line, that we must have a temporary raising of the debt ceiling so that we can responsibly do the budget reconciliation. It would give us the final budget for this fiscal year so that we will not have to argue anymore about how much we are going to spend and so that the markets in this country will know that our commitment is good. Once we prove to the marketplace, to our international allies and people who are buying our debt, once we show that we have the will to balance the budget, this economy is going to strengthen. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, has said that very thing--that once the commitment is shown, our economy will strengthen. Interest rates will remain steady and low. We will not be looking at runaway inflation, and we will start creating jobs in this country once again--not just service-sector jobs but real jobs; jobs where we can compete in the international marketplace, and we will not have to have our businesses opening corporations and manufacturing operations overseas because they cannot afford to do business here. Mr. President, that is what we are talking about. I hope for the American people and for all of us that we and our leaders can come to terms. We do not want a Government shutdown. The last thing we want is to default on our debt. There must be some meetings. There must be some give. Mr. President, we are here to do our part.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to add my voice to those that have been raised all over the world to say how sad we are today to have lost a great leader in the peace process in the Middle East. I, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, have met with Prime Minister Rabin, and I, like so many others who have spoken for the last few days, had great respect for him. I want to say at a time like this, you look to your friendships for support and comfort. Clearly, America is there for the support and comfort of our friend, our ally, and our strong, strong compatriot, the State of Israel. We are there to make sure that we get through this testing period strong in body together. Mr. President, I think as I look back on the events of the last few days, what struck me the most is how far the leadership of Prime Minister Rabin, along with his predecessors, brought us. The funeral itself would never have happened in our dreams. We would never have seen the President of Egypt, the King of Jordan, and even the good wishes of the PLO chief, coming together to say we are able to speak in one voice that this should not have happened, that we want to seek peace. I think now everyone believes that peace is achievable in the Middle East. That could not have happened 10 years ago. Just seeing what we saw at the funeral yesterday makes us realize how far we have come. It makes us miss all the more the leadership that Prime Minister Rabin has given in this country for so long, first as a military spokesman, a military strategist, a hard-liner, if you will. The Prime Minister saw how the strength of Israel was one and how the strength of Israel could be made to continue and endure into the future generations. I think he saw that peace was the answer that they had come to where they were by sheer grit and sheer determination. But he saw that it took more to have a lasting place in the Middle East, and he was coming around to bringing the people of Israel with him. So I add my voice and say that my condolences go to the people of Israel, to Prime Minister Rabin's widow, and just say that the comfort that is there in seeing the funeral for the fallen leader of Israel and the diversity of people from around the world, leaders of country, who came to pay their respects, said more than anything else, that we are at the cusp of a time when we will see peace in the Middle East. I just want to reiterate this Senator's strong position, that America will be there, hand-in-hand with our friends, to make sure that Prime Minister Rabin's dreams will not die. They will be carried on by his successors in office and by the future generations of leaders of Israel. Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. HUTCHISON

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.