The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“AN HONEST BUDGET FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Energy was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E830-E831 on May 16, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
AN HONEST BUDGET FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
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HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM
of california
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 16, 1996
Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the work that this Congress has done in the interest of our children and the generations to come. In my 20 years with the U.S. Navy and my few short years in Congress, I believe that being part of the Republican effort to balance the Federal budget is the most important work I've done in my life.
While the President is fully engaged in the campaign to save his job, the Republican-led Congress continues the hard work to produce a sound, realistic, and responsible budget that ends the nightmare of Federal deficit spending by the year 2002.
The American people have demanded an honest balanced budget from their Government. Let's take a look at who is offering them one:
Predictably, President Clinton has once again sent the American people a budget that uses political tricks and sleight-of-hand economics to get to balance. According to the independent Congressional Budget Office [CBO] the only way that the President's budget will reach balance by 2002 is if he applies a contingency proposal in the last 2 years. In 2001 and 2002, long after this President will be out of office, the Clinton budget relies on $67 billion in unspecified cuts and a $16 billion tax increase in order to reach balance. Thus, the Clinton Budget fails to be honest with the American people.
Our Republican budget, on the other hand, slowly and steadily reduces the Federal deficit every year for the next 6 years. It is really a budget for our children and for the future of all Americans. Under our plan, the Federal Government will actually have a surplus of over $3 billion dollars in the year 2002 and we get to balance by actually spending more on the programs that are important to all Americans. No more putting off the tough decisions, and no more sending the bill to our kids to pay.
The Republican budget saves Medicare from bankruptcy, increasing spending on seniors' health care from this year's $5200 per beneficiary to over $7000 per beneficiary by 2002. We increase access to important student loan programs that help young Americans provide for their education. To help students get these loans, the Republican plan increases student loan volume from $26 billion in 1996 to a total of
$37 billion in 2002.
Our budget also places a priority on keeping the promise that we have made with the veterans that have defended our country over the years by rejecting the $5.1 billion in additional cuts that were recommended in the President's budget.
Our budget continues our effort to eliminate wasteful and redundant Federal programs and reform runaway Federal spending on a broken welfare system so that we can target precious resources toward working for and with American families. The budget calls for the elimination of the Department of Energy and Commerce, as well as over 130 other Federal agencies or programs.
This Republican budget puts cash into the checkbooks of American households. It allows families to keep more of their hard earned money through tax relief. The budget includes a $500 per child tax credit for families earning less than $100,000 a year.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support House Concurrent Resolution 178, a sound, solid, and sincere budget that takes power, money, and control away from Washington bureaucrats and special interests and returns it to the American people, where it belongs.
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