"I agree with the president. This is our moment. This is our chance to give our children and grandchildren the same shot my generation had to achieve the American dream. But this unprecedented opportunity depends on using the budget surplus to pay down the $3.6 trillion national debt and delivering tax relief to hardworking families. Taxes today are at the highest level they've been in 50 years.
"It would be a good time for President Clinton to take the advice of Alan Greenspan, who said we should use surplus money not for more spending but to pay down the national debt. Chairman Greenspan said if the money is going to be spent, it would be a lot better to have a tax cut than more government spending. But based on the long speech and long wish list presented tonight, it looks like President Clinton wants part of his legacy to be ?the biggest spending president ever.' His plans for a billion here and a billion there add up to $343 billion in new government spending.
"Congress needs to make sure that the surplus is used for the number one priority of ensuring the American dream for the next generation by paying down the national debt and helping families with tax relief. I also look forward to working to make a good education available to all children, addressing the burdens of long-term care and family caregiving, saving Social Security and Medicare for the baby boomers, and helping farmers survive with smart policies and new markets, at home and abroad.
"The biggest surprise to me was how little attention the president paid to agriculture with only six short sentences on the subject. There's a crisis in rural America, even while the rest of the economy grows. Depressed markets have left farmers with the lowest prices in 25 years. Washington needs to help farmers survive. Americans pay less of their income for food than consumers anywhere else in the world. And agriculture is more dependent on trade than any other sector of our economy. The president's failure to open new markets and enhance U.S. leadership on trade has been a tremendous blow to farm income."