Rod Grams: “as we reconvene today for the second session of the 105th Congress, there is important work ahead of us. I am certain my…”

“as we reconvene today for the second session of the 105th Congress, there is important work ahead of us. I am certain my colleagues join me in acknowledging that regardless of the headlines and the commotion that is going on outside this chamber, the Senate cannot be distracted from its responsibility to carry out the will of the people. America's families, its taxpayers, have great expectations of us, and we must not let them down. So I look forward to what we can accomplish together on their behalf. I have to admit, though, that I have mixed feelings about the session ahead of us. I think Will Rogers explained my predicament best when he said, ``This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.'' When the baby finds the hammer, somebody almost always gets hit over the head. In 1998, the ``hammer'' is the much-anticipated budget surplus, and I am afraid it may very well be the taxpayers who get whacked by it. Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the federal deficit would decline sharply this year from its original estimate of $125 billion to $5 billion. It also forecast a $14 billion surplus in 2001 and a total of $665 billion in surpluses by the end of the next decade. Now, tax dollars are always considered ``free money'' by the big spenders here in Washington, and the thought of all that new ``free money'' is creating a feeding frenzy here on Capitol Hill.”