Peter Visclosky: “last year Congress passed the largest deficit reduction package in history. During the debate on that economic plan…”

“last year Congress passed the largest deficit reduction package in history. During the debate on that economic plan, Republican rhetoric did not reflect reality. For example, on February 18 of last year, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Armey] said, ``I will tell you this: This program will not give you deficit reduction. It will be a disaster for the performance of the economy.'' Mr. Speaker, the reality is that President Clinton's economic plan has reduced the deficit to its lowest level since 1979 relative to the gross economy. The reality is that the actual deficit for the last year was $73 billion lower than that projected in President Bush's budget. Mr. Speaker, the deficit is projected to fall to $226 billion this year, and decline again to $178 billion in 1995, putting our Nation on track for 3 years of reduced deficit. This is the first time this has happened since a Democrat, Harry Truman, was in the White House. Mr. Speaker, when it comes to deficit reduction, it is clear that Democratic actions speak louder than Republican words.”