Political Quotes

“we are at a historic juncture. In the 1980's, we faced massive deficits and growing debts. In sum, Congress debated red ink. On the edge of the millennium, we are debating the question of what to do with about $1 trillion in anticipated budget surpluses. Why are we here debating a surplus? We are here because of the tough choice we made in the past: a choice to use fiscal discipline. We started down the road of deficit reduction with the 1993 budget package, which passed without a single Republican vote. In fact, some members on the other side of the aisle claimed the bill would lead to economic collapse. However, because of the courageous stand we took then, we have gone from a $290 billion deficit in 1992 to an estimated $70 billion surplus in 1999. But we did more than reduce the deficit and restore fiscal discipline, we spurred tremendous economic growth and unprecedented economic expansion. For the sake of perspective, I would like to list the following facts: we have seen 3.5% annual growth since 1993, 18.9 million new jobs, 4.3% unemployment, and the median family income grow by more than $3,500 since 1993. This is good news, and we cannot afford to squander it. The days of red ink as far as the eye can see are gone. Instead, based on various budget projections, we can suppose that there will be a total surplus of approximately $3 trillion over the next ten years.”