WALLY HERGER: “I would like to outline the six points of the Republican budget plan and compare it a bit with the Democrat plan, or the…”

“I would like to outline the six points of the Republican budget plan and compare it a bit with the Democrat plan, or the plans they have had over the last 30 years when they were in power. Number one. Last year the House of Representatives passed a measure that I sponsored, the Social Security Lockbox, by an overwhelming 416 to 12 vote. This budget reinforces that effort by ensuring that Social Security dollars will not be spent on unrelated programs. It protects 100 percent of the Social Security. In this budget all of the $166 billion Social Security surplus is off limits to Clinton-Gore spending. This will be the second year in a row that Republicans have protected the Social Security surplus. Secondly, we are strengthening Medicare with prescription drugs. It sets aside $40 billion to help needy seniors to be able to afford their prescription drugs; and at the same time, it rejects the $18.2 billion Clinton-Gore Medicare cuts. The other side would like to cut Medicare. Point three. Our Federal public debt stands now at $3.6 trillion. This equates to $56,000 for the average family of four. This year, nearly $1,000 in taxes from every man, woman, and child in the United States will be used just to pay the interest on the debt. The Republican budget resolution leads our Nation on the path towards eliminating public debt by paying off $1 trillion over the next 5 years. Our budget discipline has already repaid $302 billion since 1998.”