WASHINGTON PRESS CLUB DRAFT REMARKRS
IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY AS MY
GOODFRIEND JOHN CULVER AND I DISCUSS THE VARIOUS APPROACHES TO
CONTROLLING GOVERNMENT SPENDING,
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I WANT TO THANK H^pCERITE SULLIVAN AND CAROL RlCHARDS OF
THE PRESS CLUB FOR THEIR KINDNESS IN EXTENDING THE INVITATION,
*
I BELIEVE I WAS INVITED HERE TODAY BECAUSE OF MY INTENTION
TO OFFER A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT WHICH WOULD PLACE TOUGH
LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING,
THE AMENDMENT^WHICH I INTEND
TO OFFER NEXT WEEK/ ALONG WITH SENATOR DlCK STONE OF FLORIDA,
IS BEING DRAFTED WITH THE HELP OF DR, MlLTON FRIEDMAN, THE
NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING ECONOMIST,
LATELY IT SEEMS THAT x CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND
CONSTUTTIONAL CONVENTIONS ARE THE MOST POPULAR TOPIC OF CONVERSATION
IN WASHINGTON. THE PROSPECT OF A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
IS BEING ACCORDED THE SAME LEVEL OF ANTICIPATION THAT GREETED THE
ARRIVAL OF THE SWINE FLU SCARE A FEW YEARS AGO,
CONVENTION
THE FORCE PROPELLING THE CONSTITUTIONAL XMEHHMEMX-BALANCED
BUDGET IDEA IS^OF COURSE THE SO-CALLED "TAXPAYER'S REVOLT",
A TOPIC WHICH POLITICIANS HEAR A LOT ABOUT AND YOU JOURNALISTS
HAVE TO WRITE A LOT ABOUT,
EVERY MAJOR PUBLIC OPINION SURVEY RECORD; THE ABSOLUTE
DISGUST, AND DISGUST MAY BE TOO MILD A WORD, WITH WHICH PEOPLE
REGARD THE HUGE FEDERAL DEFICITS AND THE INEXORABLE INCREASES IN
GOVERNMENT SPENDING,
£ POLITICIANS USE IN THEIR CAMPAIGNS,
IN THE PAST, MANY POLITICAL
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SLOGANS WERE ALONG THE LINES OF "A CHICKEN IN EVERY POT^ THE *•****« f~r.
SENIOR SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS BASED HIS FIRST SENATE CAMPAIGN
ON THE SLOGAN "HE CAN DO MORE FOR MASSACHUSETTS , "
TIMES HAVE CHANGED AND THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY WANT TO
SEE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOING FEWER THINGSylBUT DOING THEM
BETTER,
THE SLOGANS OF THE LATE 1970's REFLECTAfflS COUNTRY'S
SHIFT IN ATTITUDE,
THE ONLY MEMORABLE POLITICAL
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COME OUT OF 1978 WAS USED BY
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SLOGAN TO
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DrcCYrUG&y 4te/iRAN ON THE SLOGAN THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD
PROTECT THE SHORES., DELIVER THE MAIL, AND GET THE HELL OUT
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A FEW YEARS AGO HERE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, A LOCAL
CANDIDATE EVEN WENT SO FAR AS TO RUN ON THE SLOGAN "DOG LlTTER
AN ISSUE YOU CAN'T SIDESTEP,"
IN ITS WISDOM, CONGRESS HAS NOT YET PROMULGATED LAWS AGAINST
DOG LITTER, BUT IT HAS MANAGED TO SIDESTEP THE ISSUE OF REDUCING
THE DEFICIT AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN OUR LIVES,
IN MY SEVEN YEARS IN CONGRESS, FIVE IN THE HOUSE AND NOW MORE
THAN TWO IN THE SENATE, THERE HAVE BEEN MANY RESPONSIBLE ATTEMPTS
NOT TO FREEZE GOVERNMENT
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OF GROWTH, BUT OUR EFFORTS HAVE CONTINUALLY MET WITH DEFEAT,
JUST TWO WEEKS BEFORE THE PASSAGE OF PROPOSITION 13 IN
CALIFORNIA, WE OFFERED A MOTION IN THE SENATE TO CUT ONE PERCENT,
JUST ONE PERCENT, FROM THE $500 BILLION FEDERAL BUDGET, 42 OF US
VOTED FOR THE MOTION, BUT 46 SENATORS OPPOSED US
CONGRESS COULDN'T FIND ONE PERCENT TO CUT, BUT TWO WEEKS
LATER, CALIFORNIA VOTERS DECIDED .TO CUT THEIR PROPERTY TAXES
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BY AS MUCH AS 40% (?),
OTERS DO NOT/GSUALUQPERCEIVE REDUCING THE DEFICIT AS A
PARTISAN ISSUE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S THE WAY IT OFTEN TURNS
OUT, AND IF I MAY SPEAK FOR A MOMENT AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE
SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, I'M GLAD THAT A LOT OF
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE GOTTEN THE MESSAGE BECAUSE
IT'S GOING TO MAKE MY JOfy A » DT FASTFR, Ar. RrPimi Tr.AN.n
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SENATE MAJORITY IN 1980 OR 1982,
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WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE BUDGET NUMBERS FOR THE LAST THIRTY
VOTERS ARE ANGRY AND WHY AN INCREASINGLY
YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHYXXHXXNKREXXXMBKXXKXRBEXRKKKENIXSEXBK
LARGE
PERCENTAGE OF AMERICANS HAVE STOPPED VOTING AT ALL,
SINCE 1950, FEDERAL EXPENDITURES AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE
GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT
HAVE INCREASED FROM 14% TO 22%,
IN THE
LAST DECADE ALONE, GOVERNMENT OUTLAYS HAVE INCREASED FROM#Le54 BILLION
m%
BILLION, A40W INCREASE,
SINCE 1960, THERE HAS BEEN ONLY ONE FEDERAL SURPLUS OF THREE
BILLION DOLLARS AND TOTAL DEFICITS OF OVER 350 BILLION DOLLARS,
JIMMY THE GREEK WOULD SAY *=P, DEFICITS ARE BEATING SURPLUSES
BY MORE THAN A HUNDRED TO ONE,
?
THRE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS HAVE ALL THE POWERS THEY NEED
TO CONTROL SPENDING, THE FACT IS, THEY HAVE BEEN UNWILLING
AND UNABLE TO DO SO,
THE ESTABLSIHMENT OF A NEW CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET PROCESS IN
1974 WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BROUGHT MUCH NEEDED DISCIPLINE TO
T#£
CONGRESS, BUT/»DEFICITS ARE EVEN LARGER NOW THAN THEY WERE
BEFORE THE NEW PROCEDURES WERE INSTITUTED,
WHEN YOU COME RIGHT DOWN TO IT, CONGRESS AND THE EXECUTIVE
BRANCH HAVE LOST THE ABILITY TO SAY "No", IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE
TO SETflPRIORITIES AND/ySPEND ONLY AS MUCH AS WE HAVE,
SINCE WE APPARENTLY CAN NO LONGER MAKE THESE DECISIONS IN
WASHINGTON, THE VOTERS AND THE 27 STATE LEGISLATURES HAVE DECIDED
THEY'LL MAKE THE DECISIONS FOR us BY TRYING TO CALL A CONSTITUTIONAL
CONVENTION,
BUDGET RESOLUTIONS AND PLEDGES OF LEAN, AUSTERE BUDGETS AREN'T
GOING TO WORK ANYMORE, AMERICAN VOTERS ARE GOING TO RAM SPENDING
CONTROLS DOWN WASHINGTON'S THROAT JUST LIKE CALIFORNIA VOTERS
RAMMED PROPOSITION 13 DOWN JERRY BROWN'S THROAT,
LUCKILY, JERRY BROWN SEEMS TO HAVE THE DEEPEST THROAT SINCE
WOODWARD AND BERNSTEIN AND GOVERNNOR BROWN HAS BECOME THE MOST
FAMOUS REFORMED SINNER SINCE MARY MAGDALENE,
UNLESS CONGRESS ACTS QUICKLY AND RESPONSIBLY, TWO THINGS
WILL HAPPEN, ONE, A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION WILL ADOPT A
BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT AND PROBABLY MORE; AND TWO, LARGE NUMBERS
OF THE 96TH CONGRESS WILL NOT BE ASKED TO RETURN FOR THE Q/TH
CONGRESS,
I DON'T HAPPEN TO FAVOR A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION BECAUSE
I BELIEVE OUR CONSTITUTION HAS SERVED US WELL FOR 200 YEARS AND
DOES NOT NEED TO BE REWRITTEN,
SIMILARLY, ALTHOUGH i SUPPORT THE GOAL OF A BALANCED BUDGET
AMENDMENT, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT THE AMENDMENT ITSELF IS THE
RIGHT TOOL TO USE,
8
AN IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS THAT THE
LIMIT IMPOSED IS A LINKED LIMIT IN WHICH EACH YEAR'S SPENDING
DEPENDS ON THE ACTUAL OUTLAYS OF THE PRECEEDING YEAR, THROUGH
THIS MECHANISM, CONGRESS CAN GRADUALLY REDUCE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S
SHARE OF THE GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT FROM ITS CURRENT 22% TO 19%
IN TEN YEARS, 19% IS THE APPROXIMATE LEVEL OF THE GROSS NATIONAL
PRODUCT THAT THE FEDERAL BUDGET TOOK UP IN THE YEARS BETWEEN THE
KOREAN AND VIETNAM WARS,
BY PHASING IN THESE REDUCTIONS, AS MY AMENDMENT WOULD DO,
WE CAN AVOID THE ECONOMIC SHOCKS THAT MIGHT RESULT IN A RECESSION
OR AN INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT,
THE AMENDMENT ALSO CONTAINS THE NECESSARY FLEXABILITY TO
DEAL WITH FUTURE EMERGENCIES,
IT AUTHORIZES SPENDING INCREASES
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IN TIMES OF WAR OR SIMILAR/LbNHVhHNl I ES»
AND IT ALLOWS AN INCREASE
IN THE GENERAL SPENDING LIMITS AFTER THE APPROVAL OF THREE-FOURTHS
OF BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS,
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF OTHER PROVISIONS THAT WILL PREVENT THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FROM REDUCING SPENDING BY SIMPLY SHIFTING PROGRAMS
THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO BALANCE A BUDGET
CUTTING SPENDING
OR RAISING TAXES, GlVEN CONGRESS' TRACK RECORD ON CUTTING
SPENDING, I FEAR THAT A BALANCED-BUDGET AMENDMENT WOULD LEAD
ONLY TO FUTURE TAX INCREASES,
THE APPROACH JWB^I FAVOR IS EMBODIED IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL
AMENDMENT THAT I WILL INTRODUCE NEXT WEEK,
IT WAS DEVELOPED
WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF DOCTOR MlLTON FRIEDMAN AND THE NATIONAL
TAX LIMITATION COMMITTEE,
THE BASIC THRUST OF MY AMENDMENT WILL BE TO LIMIT ANY
INCREASE IN GOVERNMENT SPENDING TO THE RATE OF GROWTH IN THE
GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT, IN INFLATIONARY TIMES, EVEN TIGHTER
LIMITS ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING ARE APPLIED,
IN ANY YEAR THAT INFLATION EXCEEDS THREE PERCENT, THE AMENDMENT
REQUIRES THAT FOR EACH PERCENT OF ADDITIONAL INFLATION, SPENDING
BE REDUCED BY A QUARTER PERCENT UNDER WHAT THE GNP INCREASE WOULD
NORMALLY ALLOW,
THUS, IN A YEAR IN WHICH THE GNP GROWS BY
WITH 7% INFLATION,SPENDING COULD INCREASE BY ONLY
TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS,
ALTHOUGH THERE IS NEED FOR ALL
LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT TO CRITICALLY EXAMINE THEIR SPENDING PRACTICES,
LITTLE CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY SUDDENLY PLACING MASSIVE BURDENS
ON OUR STATES AND MUNICIPALITIES,