John B. Breaux: “Senator Chafee and I have taken this time this morning to talk, once again, about the so-called Chafee-Breaux centrist…”

“Senator Chafee and I have taken this time this morning to talk, once again, about the so-called Chafee-Breaux centrist coalition proposal, which I think is monumental legislation in that it presents to the Senate a way to achieve a balanced budget in a 7-year period and do so in a bipartisan fashion. A lot of people have said that something of this nature cannot be accomplished in an election year. Our operations and the legislation that we offer proves that it can be done. We have met since October 1995, last year, on a regular basis, sitting down and discussing the difficult problems that are facing this Congress. It is very clear that the alternative of doing nothing is not a real alternative. Unless we get a handle on entitlement spending, and unless we make major changes in the entitlement programs, our country is going to be in very, very serious trouble. The alternative, I think, is a bright future for this country and for our children. With a balanced budget, people see a number of benefits that are real, that are tangible, that affect their daily lives--lower interest rates on home mortgages, lower interest rates on car notes, more spendable money to spend at home on the things that families need in terms of education and health care.”