David Durenberger: “all Americans recognize that the earthquake in California is a national problem. We at the Federal level have to do what…”

“all Americans recognize that the earthquake in California is a national problem. We at the Federal level have to do what we can to help the citizens of the Los Angeles area rebuild their communities. But the time has long passed when we can continue to tack disaster aid onto the deficit. That would be tantamount to asking our children to pay for the immediate needs of this generation, and that would be unconscionable. The national debt today is $4.7 trillion, more than four times what it was 15 years ago. In 1994, we are paying $298 billion of interest on that debt. All of the spending increases we have made in the past--all of the 'emergency' spending we have approved, all of the packages like this one--they all seemed very important to us at the time. But look at what this spending did to the national debt. $4.7 trillion. no--we have to pay for it. The 1992 election reflected the desire of the American people for change--and paying for what we spend is precisely the kind of change I believe they were demanding.”