Thomas Daschle: “this is an historic occasion. This budget outline is the first plan Congress has produced in 28 years to balance the…”

“this is an historic occasion. This budget outline is the first plan Congress has produced in 28 years to balance the budget. I want to thank all of those who worked so hard to get us to this point, including the President and Vice President, Erskine Bowles, Frank Raines, John Hilley and others at the White House, Senators Frank Lautenberg, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, House minority leader Dick Gephardt and John Spratt. I also want to thank our partners across the aisle: Senate majority leader Lott, Senator Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, Speaker Gingrich and Congressman John Kasich. And all the staff, in both houses, the administration and including my own, who have worked so diligently to complete this agreement. Finally, I want to thank two former colleagues, Senators Jim Sasser and Harris Wofford, who were defeated for re-election in 1994--in no small part because they supported the 1993 deficit reduction plan. Without that plan we would not be here today. Because of that plan, we've been able to cut the budget deficit by 75 percent. In less than 5 years, we've gone from a $280 billion deficit to a $67 billion deficit. The U.S. economy has added more than 12.5 million new jobs, and 3 million small businesses. Our economy is now growing at a virtually unparalleled rate of 3.5 percent a year. Unemployment is at its lowest level in 24 years.”