CONGRESSMAN ASSAILS NEW BUDGET PLAN BY PRESIDENT

Congressman assails new budget plan by president

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson's comments on President Clinton's handling of budget negotiations:

"President Clinton apparently thrives on suspense. Again, when it comes to balancing the federal budget, he wants budget negotiations to come down to the 11th hour. I find it particularly distressing that the president waited to introduce his third budget of this year a day after vetoing a balanced budget produced and passed by the Congress and certified as balanced by the non-partisan and independent Congressional Budget Office.

"If there is one fact that I believe Southern Missourians and all Americans should know about Clinton Budget III, it's that it allows for nearly a half-trillion dollars in more spending than the Congress' balanced budget -- specifically $475 billion more. That's $1,826 more per person over the next seven years. With this much added spending, I really question the president's commitment to a balanced budget. It appears this is another blatant example of Mr. Clinton using rosy projections provided by the White House appointed OMB (the Office of Management and Budget) to pull one over on American taxpayers.

"As I have long contended, we can achieve a balanced budget in seven years by simply slowing the rate of spending growth. No one said it would be easy, but it takes leadership to make the tough choices and difficult decisions.

"The Balanced Budget Act of 1995, which the president vetoed on Wednesday citing outrageously false claims, actually allowed overall federal spending to increase -- including programs like Medicare, Medicaid, child nutrition, job training, law enforcement, veterans, education and student loans -- simply at a slower rate. Our nation's future depends on the Congress and the president to bring the budget into balance and allow our children and grandchildren to realize the American dream, not the American debt."