Frank Lautenberg: “this amendment presents a modified version of the budget that President Clinton submitted to the Congress last month.…”

“this amendment presents a modified version of the budget that President Clinton submitted to the Congress last month. The amendment delineates all of the important priorities in the President's budget. First, it maintains strict fiscal discipline and adopts the President's commitment to save Social Security first. The amendment reserves all surpluses--I want to emphasize all surpluses--until we solve Social Security's long-term problems. This will help ensure that when the baby boomers retire, Social Security will be there for them, just like it has been there for their parents and grandparents. Second, this amendment, like the President's budget, makes education a top national priority. It calls for an initiative to reduce class sizes by hiring 100,000 new teachers; it promotes higher standards and greater accountability; it provides more after-school opportunities for young people; and it would help modernize and rehabilitate many of our schools. These initiatives are not included in the budget before us. That is one of its greatest shortcomings. Third, this amendment, like the President's budget, includes a historic commitment to helping families afford quality child care. It would double the number of children receiving child care subsidies by the year 2003.”