John Spratt: “as we close this debate, I think it is well to remember that deficits have come down. The promises we made in 1993 have…”

“as we close this debate, I think it is well to remember that deficits have come down. The promises we made in 1993 have been kept. We adopted that budget in a year when the deficit the prior year had been $290 billion. The Bush administration projected the deficit that year would be $332 billion. It was not. It was $255 billion. The next year it was $203 billion. In 1995, it was $164 billion. In 1996, last year, it was $107.8, and this year in a few weeks we will find that it is less than $40 billion. So in the face of those facts, we are now looking at a hugely complex process to deal with a problem that has not presented itself for the last 5 years. We are imposing enormous complexity on the process. Let me give just one practical problem. This bill dictates that the President and OMB within 30 days of the close of the fiscal year, when the numbers are just coming in, must analyze every entitlement program and propose spending cuts that will not only rectify any past year overrun but also eliminate any excess in the year to come. Then it requires Congress to act on this hastily submitted proposal within less than 45 days, and that 45 days falls in a period when Congress is rarely in session. Indeed, every other year the House will be in a lame duck session.”