Steny Hoyer: “this is about our children and it is about trust. Unfortunately, we are not being as honest with the American public as…”

“this is about our children and it is about trust. Unfortunately, we are not being as honest with the American public as we ought to be. In 1981 we talked about supply-side economics. We passed the Republican program in 1981. I say to my Republican colleagues that we passed it as they wanted to pass it and President Reagan signed it in August 1981. He said, after passing the tax bill as well, ``We will balance the budget by October 1, 1983, under my program.'' That is what was said to the American public and to this House. This is what happened. We went from $945 billion in total debt, I tell the chairman of the Committee on the Budget, to $4.5 trillion in debt. Why? Because we pursued the same kind of economic program that is included in the Republican budget today. The same kind. It is a supply-side budget which created gargantuan debt for the grandchildren and children that we talk on this floor. Yes, it is about trust, and there is a responsible budget to be offered to this House, the coalition budget, which is a bipartisan budget that creates $137.5 billion less in debt. Why? Because it is honest with the American public, and says if we are going to buy education and environmental protection and health care, we need to pay for it, not so our children pay for it. Let us not pursue supply-side economics once again to the detriment of future generations.”