Calvin Dooley: “In 1992, Mr. Speaker, when President Clinton took office, we were looking at budget deficits that were approaching…”

“In 1992, Mr. Speaker, when President Clinton took office, we were looking at budget deficits that were approaching almost $300 billion. Well, thanks to the good work of Congress and the good work of the administration, we are no longer talking about budget deficits, but we are, in fact, talking about budget surpluses. It is important for us to continue down the path of fiscal responsibility, and that requires this Congress to support the efforts of the administration and others who are committed to using the significant majority of the budget surpluses that we are going to see in the next 10 years to pay down the national debt and, in doing so, ensuring that we can preserve Social Security and Medicare. That makes good sense for our families and makes good sense for our businesses. Because if we pay down the national debt, which is costing us $243 billion a year in interest, we will be ensured that we can see a reduction in interest rates of over 2 percent. A reduction of 2 percent in interest rates means about $155 to people who have a home mortgage of $115,000. It means to farmers of this country, who have an operating loan of $250,000, a $5,000 savings. Let us take the path of fiscal responsibility. Let us pay down the debt.”