Lloyd Bentsen: “I also am a freshman Democrat, and I rise in strong support of House Resolution 107. Some of us came here with the…”

“I also am a freshman Democrat, and I rise in strong support of House Resolution 107. Some of us came here with the contract for America, and some of us came here with just straight talk and common business sense about how we should approach the business of the House. During the first days of the Congress we began reducing the size of Government, and we started from within by cutting congressional staffs. We eliminated three committees and reduced committee staff by a third, for a total cut of 620 positions. House Resolution 107 will cut congressional expenditures by more than $67 million. It proves to the American people that we mean business. I intend to go further to demonstrate to my constituents a commitment to a smaller, more efficient Government by cutting my own personal staff, as I said during my campaign, long before there was any discussion of the contract for that matter. Coming from the private sector, I learned that you cut expenditures and you try and create efficiencies when you run a deficit, or you do not stay in business very long. This is a simple, commonsense business approach to government. We must be more efficient and must be more responsive to the people, and our budget cutting must begin at home. We must create a bond with the American people if we are going to be serious about addressing the budget. We can all talk about less government, but today we can vote for less government.”