Kay Bailey Hutchison: “I would like to close on this amendment. All of the problems of the Federal Government are not embodied right here in…”

“I would like to close on this amendment. All of the problems of the Federal Government are not embodied right here in the legislative branch, but if we are going to ask the people of America to accept higher taxes or fewer services, and if we are going to ask the people who work in our Federal agencies and Departments to cut back and to watch expenditures, I think Congress should lead the way. We are talking about a $200 million cut from a $2.3 billion budget. We have not cut the budget of the legislative branch from the $2.3 billion level for the last 3 years. It has been relatively the same. In fact, I do not know how many people were working here in 1980, but in 1983 the budget was $1.3 billion. In 1993, it was $2.3 billion. That is not a decrease; it is a 95 percent increase in the budget. The arguments we hear are like the Washington Monument syndrome. It goes like this: 'If you cut the Federal budget, we are going to have to shut down the Washington Monument.' Opponents always pick the most visible expenditure to fight losing their debate. I think maybe we should cut nasal spray from the Department of Defense, Senator Dorgan. It looks like maybe we found a budget cut. I appreciate that being brought forward. We should make every cut in unnecessary spending we can to balance the budget. It is very important that we take the lead and show that we can do what most businesses in this country and most households in this country have been able to do.”