Edward Livingston said "Well, if the President had signed the bill that you, Mr. Chairman, pushed through this Congress, frankly, we would be well on our way to a balanced budget by the year 2002. The fact he vetoes it makes me very, very frightened when I look at that chart that I have been showing around recently that shows that big red portion representing interest on the debt, which is so large that within a year or so it is going to exceed what we spend on the defense of this Nation. We will spend more money just paying off the interest on our borrowings of past years than we will spend on the defense of this Nation. That is a frightening thought. And if that trend continues, our children will either have to pay extraordinary taxes to have the benefits at all and still will probably have to pay high taxes." @ PoliticalQuotes.com

On the recordApril 24, 1996

Well, if the President had signed the bill that you, Mr. Chairman, pushed through this Congress, frankly, we would be well on our way to a balanced budget by the year 2002. The fact he vetoes it makes me very, very frightened when I look at that chart that I have been showing around recently that shows that big red portion representing interest on the debt, which is so large that within a year or so it is going to exceed what we spend on the defense of this Nation. We will spend more money just paying off the interest on our borrowings of past years than we will spend on the defense of this Nation. That is a frightening thought. And if that trend continues, our children will either have to pay extraordinary taxes to have the benefits at all and still will probably have to pay high taxes.

Said by

Edward Livingston

Louisiana

Source

govinfo.gov

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the implications of the President's veto on the budget and national defense spending.

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