Pete Domenici: “I just want to comment on Senator Hollings's rather lengthy and, clearly, from his standpoint, a very important speech…”

“I just want to comment on Senator Hollings's rather lengthy and, clearly, from his standpoint, a very important speech about a balanced budget. I first want to say, if we accomplish in the next 45 days what was in the budget reconciliation instruction, and if we stick to the caps on appropriations, which we have done, I understand even points of order have been sustained on the floor without even the thought of exceeding the caps, my guess is the unexpected result will be the Congressional Budget Office will tell us that we are on a path to a balanced budget, and we will get there. In fact, I would not be surprised if when we finish that exercise that they do not tell us that there is, indeed, some kind of a small surplus. And I just want the Senators who are voting for all of that to know they did price out that budget resolution. They priced it out so that they could tell us that, in fact, there was going to be a rather substantial economic dividend that put us in the black. I know my good friend does not agree with that. He did not vote for it and does not support it. I think it is a very historic budget resolution. In all respects, it does what the Senator suggests, save one. In all respects, it does the kinds of things we said we ought to do. It just does not raise taxes. The rest is there--the reform and the elimination of programs, the suggestions, the freezes--they are all part of this very difficult effort. I yield the floor.”