Bill Clinton: “[Inaudible]--Senator Gramm--let me just say this: I don't want to get in a fight with Senator Gramm, but look at the…”

“[Inaudible]--Senator Gramm--let me just say this: I don't want to get in a fight with Senator Gramm, but look at the record. He was here during the Reagan years and the Bush years when they quadrupled the Government deficit. And I would just point out that the administrations that he supported always sent budgets to Congress that were in excess of the ones Congress approved. I would point out that if it weren't for the interest run up before I ever showed up here, if it weren't for the interest run up between 1981 and the end of 1992, we would have a budget that is in balance today. And I have already cut or eliminated some 300 programs, and we propose, in this new budget, to cut or eliminate some 400 more. We have done more to challenge and change the status quo in 2 years than the previous administrations did in the last 12, perhaps the last 20. Furthermore, I don't see Senator Gramm out there campaigning for lobby reform, campaign finance reform. I don't even know what's happened to the line-item veto. If they're worried--if they want me to show them how to end the status quo, send me the line-item veto. Where is it? If I had the line-item veto, we wouldn't be having this argument about the rescission bill. I could just get rid of it. All the things that--Senator Gramm is defending this rescission bill--$1 million for a city street, nine highway projects in one congressional district, $100 million for a courthouse--when we're cutting education? It seems to me that he's on the side of the status quo. I want to cut spending, but I want to change the way the Government works here. And I would urge him to stop protecting the Republican pork, just as I'm willing to scrap the Democratic pork, and let's put partisan politics behind us and get on with moving the country forward.”