Gary Condit: “a few short weeks ago the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimated the budget deficit for the current fiscal year…”

“a few short weeks ago the Congressional Budget Office [CBO] estimated the budget deficit for the current fiscal year, 1996, to be $145 billion. At that time CBO also estimated that the deficit, without some intervening action by the Congress, will top $200 billion in fiscal 1999, reach $311 billion in 2003, and explode to $403 billion in 2006. And the national debt continues its climb too and today is hovering near $5.1 trillion. Without significant deficit reduction, the national debt of the United States will exceed $7 trillion in 2006, a level of future debt the nation clearly cannot afford. As a member of the coalition, I am proud of the work our group has done this year in developing and presenting an alternative resolution that balances the Federal budget, with significant deficit reduction and program reforms that stem the hemorrhaging national debt. The coalition budget alternative is comprehensive and fair, and I am pleased to vote to support it today.”