Nick Smith

I think everybody in this Chamber agrees we should not carelessly cause the extinction of animal or plant species. Unfortunately, this amendment, our current policy, makes it harder to save endangered species. I think it is important to…

There are so many loopholes and so many corporate tax breaks that probably should not be there that it justifies a whole new look at our tax system.

You know, I think that that kind of attitude, that kind of solicitation to take advantage of senior citizens to try to make more money for whoever, is washed up, because I think most senior citizens, as they decide what they want to leave…

And if a person wants to stay in exactly the same program they are in, they can do that.

You know, somebody asked me last Thursday, look, we do not smoke. Why should we pay more of our taxes, more of our premiums for Medicare to cover the people that do not take care of their own health, that smoke, that do otherwise? My…

It is hard not to be aggressive when talking about this issue. Even today I heard a Member of the more liberal party suggest that look at how deficits have come down. Look how they came down in 1995. Look how they came down in 1996. Of…

I mentioned earlier that Social Security has got very serious problems and that actuary debt or unfunded liability amounts to about $4.5 trillion. But in Medicare, it is even more serious than that. So the promises that past Congresses…

In fact, most States have the requirement of a balanced budget. So it is a shame that the United States that is overspending so much and that taxes so much does not have the same kind of legal obligation. I guess the gentleman from…

But, see, by definition, if you were to cut out that 500, that means a balanced budget this year. That means no overspending. And I think the pickle that we have got ourselves into by continuing to promise more and more people more and…

This Republican budget is the best one of the whole bunch that we have got, certainly much better.

I balance it in 5 years. I think we should be even more frugal than this Republican budget. I think we should cut more spending. I think we should be more aggressive in our determination to end up with what you suggest, a true balanced…

I would say the first thing I did when I came to Congress 3 years ago was introduce my own balanced budget.

Just as a footnote, my understanding is they are talking about a program that would be closer to $5 billion now, but just for everybody I think we should put it in perspective of what the military budget is in relation to other spending…

What is its priorities and what should we do, and I think the gentleman would agree, whether we are spending $350 or $340 billion, that defense is an absolute responsibility of the Federal Government.

Would the gentleman permit me to define what I see as the difference in those two budgets? The President's budget says that if it is not going to balance without the changes in the welfare and entitlement spendings, we want automatic…

Do you agree, Mr. Abercrombie, if I might presume to ask you a question, that we should cut spending enough, both discretionary spending and the welfare entitlement spending, enough so that at the end, when we call it a balanced budget, we…

Both budgets depend on those out years to accomplish the final goal. I think that should call to our minds and attention that we should have a gradual sloping line. We should get on that glide path and reduce spending every year for the…

I do not think we want to pick on the President, but we want to certainly include him in this discussion. Seventy percent of his discretionary cuts come in the last 2 years, that even if he is reelected he is not going to be here either…

But I think we should make it clear, this is not Republican or Democrat. It is what everybody has been doing, and so I appreciate the opportunity to make people aware of the serious nature of Social Security. If I just might, 2 weeks ago…

That particular year. So we have now amassed approximately $500 billion that we have borrowed from Social Security and no way to pay it back. But let us not take our eye off of the ball that we are talking about. It seems to me that that…

Since 1986, when we started bringing in the greater surpluses from Social Security and some of the other trust funds, such as the Federal retirement trust fund, a law was passed back in the 1980's that says any surplus money automatically…

I hope we could also carry on a colloquy and make clear to the American people what is happening on this budget. When you speak of the young lady being sawed in half, I always figured that was contortions with one whole person in each half…

In 1993 we increased the marginal tax rate on small business from 31 to 39.6 percent. Small business creates jobs. The first bill that I introduced when I came to Congress in 1993 was neutral cost recovery. It allowed a business to deduct…

But it is not a question of them not being allowed to be spent. It is a question of them being spent in the same way that it has been spent since the existence of the trust fund in 1956.

Mr. Speaker, what this bill does is increases the debt of the United States by $600 billion. At 5-percent interest, that is another $30 billion a year that taxpayers will have to pay. I think it is unconscionable to continue to increase…