John Kerry: “The Senate shortly will be taking a very momentous step. We will be acting on a budget resolution designed to eliminate…”

“The Senate shortly will be taking a very momentous step. We will be acting on a budget resolution designed to eliminate the federal budget deficit by 2002. This has been an objective many of us have fervently sought for many years. It has been my objective since I came to the Senate in 1985. The Federal Government has run a deficit continuously for more than 30 years, but it soared to what were then almost inconceivable heights in the 1980s during the Reagan and Bush Administrations. As a result of those stratospheric deficits, the national debt has multiplied several times, exacting a toll from our economy, increasing interest rates, and making debt service one of the largest expenditures in the Federal budget. I would like nothing more than to vote for a solid budget resolution that would achieve balance while allocating resources in a way most likely to meet our most pressing national needs. Because of the strength of my desire to achieve balance and eliminate the deficit, I am tempted to vote for the resolution that the Senate is considering today.”