Jeff Miller: “I rise today to put this bill in its proper context. The 104th Congress is in the midst of the most important debate…”

“I rise today to put this bill in its proper context. The 104th Congress is in the midst of the most important debate about America's domestic future since the New Deal. The debate is not about accounting numbers and line items, although that is what much of the public will hear in this debate. In fact, at its core, the debate is about what kind of America we want to be in the 21st century. Mr. Chairman, America is at a crossroads. As we close the 20th century, we are faced with one great battle. The American people have defeated fascism and communism and spread democracy around the world. Now we are faced with the threat of the national debt. The challenge is to leave our children a legacy of both peace and prosperity. We must ensure that the American dream lives on. An America that enters the 21st century free from deficits will be a strong America that has resources to meet its obligations for Social Security and Medicare and to the American taxpayer. That is what this debate is about. We are making the tough choices to start on a glide path to a balanced budget. The most obscene thing we have done in this Congress is to build up these horrendous deficits and the national debt. Let me put in perspective what this is. The national debt is $4.9 trillion. Now, if you divide that by the population of the United States, that amounts to $18,800 for every man, woman, and child in the United States; $18,800 for every man, woman, and child.”