PERCENTAGE OF THE ECONOMY IS THE LARGEST THAT IT HAS BEEN SINCE
           WORLD WAR II. THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX BURDEN AS A PERCENTAGE OF
           THE ECONOMY IS THE LARGEST IN HISTORY. THOSE ARE NOT MY
           ESTIMATES BUT THE PRESIDENT'S. SO ONCE AGAIN I ASK, IF WE
           CANNOT CUT TAXES WHEN THEY ARE AT HISTORICALLY HIGH LEVELS,
           WHEN CAN WE CUT THEM?

           THE TAX OVERMAIMT IS HUGE. THE TAX BURDEN IS HISTORICALLY HIGH.
           THE COST OF THIS EDUCATION PROVISION IS SMALL. IF WE CANNOT CUT
           TAXES NOW AND FOR EDUCATION, WHEN AND FOR WHAT CAN WE EVER CUT
           THEM?
           SADLY, I CANNOT HELP BUT BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME SENATORS
           WHO MUST THINK THAT WE CAN NEVER CUT TAXES; THAT TAXPAYERS'
           MONEY IS ALWAYS BETTER SPENT IN WASHINGTON THAN BY THE PEOPLE

           WHO EARNED IT. I AM ONE SENATOR WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE
           TRUE. I INTEND TO VOTE AGAINST THIS AMENDMENT TO RAISE TAXES.
           FURTHERMORE, I INTEND TO BRING MORE LEGISLATION TO THE FLOOR
           THAT WILL CUT TAXES, NOT RACE THEM. I BELIEVE THAT THIS
           EDUCATION -- NOT RAISE THEM. I BELIEVE THAT THIS EDUCATION
           LEGISLATION IS PRECISELY WHAT AMERICAN INCOME TAX SURPLUS
           
           SHOULD BE USED FOR: AMERICAN FAMILIES. I URGE MY COLLEAGUES TO

           JOIN WITH THEM AND REJECT THE GRAHAM AMENDMENT AND KEEP MY
           PROPOSED PERMANENT TAX RELIEF FOR EDUCATION. MR. PRESIDENT, I

           YIELD BACK THE FLOOR. MR. GRAHAM: MR. PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM FLORIDA.
           

           MR. GRAHAM: MR. PRESIDENT, I ISSUE HERE IS NOT WHETHER WE
           BELIEVE IN INVESTING IN -- AN INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION IS AN
           IMPORTANT PART OF AMERICA'S FUTURE. WE ALL AGREE WITH THAT. IT
           IS NOT EVEN WHETHER WE BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME TAX
           REDUCTIONS, BOTH TO ACHIEVE PURPOSES OF ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO
           INVEST IN THEIR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION AS WELL AS OTHER DESIRABLE
           GOALS. MOST OF US BELIEVE IN THAT. I CERTAINLY DO. THE QUESTION

           IS, HOW DO WE HAVE A RATIONAL PROCESS OF DECIDING HOW WE ARE
           GOING TO USE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE PRESENTED TO US HERE
           TODAY?
           MR. PRESIDENT, IT'S INTERESTING TO ME THAT AS WE START THE
           THIRD FULL CENTURY OF AMERICA'S NATIONAL HISTORY, WE MIGHT
           REFLECT BACK ON WHAT HAPPENED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH
           CENTURY AND THE 20TH CENTURY, THE TWO OTHER FULL CENTURIES OF

           THIS NATION'S EXISTENCE. IN BOTH OF THOSE PERIODS, THERE SEEMED
           TO BE AN ENERGY THAT CAME FROM A NEW CENTURY AND THE NEW
           BEGINNINGS THAT IT REPRESENTED, AN ENERGY WHICH WAS CHANNELED
           INTO AREAS THAT HAVE HAD A LASTING, POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR
           NATION. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY, THE PRESIDENT OF
           THE UNITED STATES WAS ONE OF THE GENTLEMEN WHOSE BUST APPEARS
           
           BEFORE OUR PRESIDING OFFICER:
           

           OFFICER:THOMAS JEFFERSON. TOM MA'AM JEFFERSON HAD THE VISION TO
           SEE THAT AMERICA'S -- THOMAS JEFFERSON HAD THE VISION TO SEE
           THAT AMERICA'S FUTURE WAS NATIONAL A SCATTERING OF STATES ALONG
           THE ATLANTIC BUT, RATHER, AS A CONTINENTAL EMPIRE. AND AT A
           TIME WHEN OUR COUNTRY WAS SMALL, STRUGGLING, IN SOME AREAS OF
           EUROPE DERIDED AS A FALSE DREAM OF A DEMOCRACY, THOMAS
           JEFFERSON HAD THE BOLDNESS TO COMMIT US TO PURCHASE FROM FRANCE

           THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY AND FUNDAMENTALLY RESHAPED AMERICA
           AMERICA, CREATED THE POSSIBILITY OF THE GREAT NATION THAT WE
           ARE TODAY. THAT WAS THE VISION THAT THOMAS JEFFERSON AND HIS
           COLLEAGUES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 19TH CENTURY HAD FOR
           AMERICA. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY, ANOTHER MAWHOSE
           BUST IS CLOSE TO THIS CHAMBER, THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WAS OUR
           PRESIDENT. HE HAD A VISION OF AN AMERICA THAT WOULD BEGIN TO

           ACHIEVE ITS INTERNATIONAL GOALS. THE PANAMA CANAL WAS A
           STATEMENT NOT ONLY OF AMERICS GREAT TECHNOLOGICAL CAPACITY BUT
           ALSO OF AMERICA'S UNDERSTANDING OF ITS ROLE IN THE WORLD.
           THEODORE ROOSEVELT ALSO UNDERSTOOD THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING
           IN THIS COUNTRY, AND DURING HIS PRESIDENCY, WE ADDED TOUR
           NATIONAL LAND TRUST AN AMOUNT OF LAND THAT WOULD BE THE
           EQUIVALENT OF EVERY ACRE FROM THE STATE OF MAINE TO MY STATE OF
           FLORIDA ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST OF AMERICA. THOSE WERE BOLD

           VISIONS OF THE GENERATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE
           GENERATION OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT. WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY NOW,
           BOTH BECAUSE OF THE NEW START OF A NEW CENTURY AND A NEW
           MILLENNIUM, BUT ALSO BECAUSE WE HAVE PAID THE PRICE TO GET OUR
           NATIONAL FINANCIAL HOUSE IN ORDER, TO BEGIN TO THINK BOLDLY OF
           WHAT WE WANT TO HAVE HISTORY WRITE ABOUT WHAT DID AMERICA DO AT
           THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY?

           AND THE CONCERN I EXPRESS TODAY IS THAT WE ARE DISSIPATING THAT
           OPPORTUNITY THROUGH A SERIES OF INCREMENTAL, UNCOORDINATED,
           NONPRIORITIZED DECISIONS WHICH ARE GOING TO HAVE THE EFFECT OF
           CONTINUING TO DISSIPATE THE RESOURCES THAT WOULD BE CAPABLE OF
           DOING SOMETHING AS BOLD AS PURCHASING LOUISIANA OR BUILDING THE
           PANAMA CANAL. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE SAID THAT
           THE BUDGET COMMITTEE HAS IICATED THAT WE WILL HAVE A BUDGET

           SURPLUS OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS FROM NON-SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDS
           OF ALMOST $2 TRILLION. WELL, I WOULD SAY, LET'S WAIT UNTIL WE
           PASS A BUDGET RESOLUTION THAT INDICATES THAT IS GOING TO BE THE
           AMOUNT OF OUR BUDGET SURPLUS. AS YOU'LL RECALL, MR. PRESIDENT,
           WE MADE A COMMITMENT IN 1997 THAT WE WERE GOING TO EXERCISE
           BUDGET DISCIPLINE AND ABIDE BY BUDGET CAPS. THOSE DECISIONS
           WOULD HAVE CAUSED US LAST YEAR TO HAVE HAVE A DISCRETIONARY

           SPENDING ACCOUNT OF APPROXIMATELY $575 BILLION. IN FACT, WE
           ENDED UP SPENDING OVER $620 BILLION. WE CRUSHED -- WE
           PULVERIZED -- THE BUDGET CEILINGS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE
           HALLMARK OF FISCAL DISCIPLINE. I WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE
           GLG TO -- -- I WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE ARE GOING TO DECLARE
           THAT THAT WAS AN ABOR RIGS RATHER THAN A LACK OF FUTURE

           DISCIPLINE BEFORE WE CONCLUDE THAT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A
           NONBUDGET SURPLUS OF $1.9 TRILLI. WE'RE BEING ASKED TODAY TO
           TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH THAT RUNS DIRECTLY COUNTER TO WHAT WE DID
           JUST A MATTER OF A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN WE PASSED THAT BLOATED
           FINAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL THAT WE -- THAT WITH A THAT WAS A
           MISTAKE AND THAT WE WE-- --THAT THAT WAS A MISTAKE AND THAT WE
           ASKED FOR THE REPENTANCE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THAT WE'RE

           GOING TO GO BACK TO THE FISCAL DISCIPLINE THAT WE BE REQUIRED
           TO HAVE A $1.9 TRILLION NON-SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS, WHICH IS
           THE DISCIPLINE OF RETURNING TO THOSE 1997 BUDGET CAPS. I WANT
           TO SEE US MAKE THAT COMMITMENT AND LIVE UP TO THAT COMMITMENT
           BEFORE WE START SPENDING THE MONEY. LET'S EAT OUR SPINACH
           BEFORE WE START HAVING OUR ICE CREAM PARTY. AND, SECOND, IN
           ADDITION TO NOT HAVING SET A BUDGET RESOLUTION WHICH IS THE
           ARCHITECTURE OF OUR FISCAL POLICY, WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD THE

           SERIOUS DEBATE ON WHAT OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES SHOULD BE AT
           THE BEGINNING OF THIS CENTURY AND WITH THE FISCAL CAPABILITY
           THAT FISCAL DISCIPLINE WOULD GIVE US. WE HAVEN'T DECIDED, WHAT
           ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THE FACT THAT WHEREAS TODAY THERE ARE
           APPROXIMATELY 40 MILLION AMERICANS ON SOCIALECURITY AND
           MEDICARE, THAT AT THE END OF THE NEXT GENERATION WE'RE GOING TO
           HAVE 80 MILLION AMERICANS LOOKING TO SOCIAL SECURITY AND
           MEDICARE, LOOKING TO THE CONTRACT, THE SOLEMN CONTRACT THAT

           EXISTS BETWEEN THE GORNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
           THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO PROVIDE THEM
           FINANCIAL AND MEDICAL SECURITY IN RETIREMENT. I THINK WE OUGHT
           TO BE FIGURING OUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO MEET THAT SOLEMN
           OBLIGATION BEFORE WE DO ANY OF THESE OTHER ITEMS AS ATTRACTIVE,
           DESIRABLE, AND IMPORTANT AS WE MIGHT THINK THEY SHOULD BE. I
           BELIEVE THOSE ARE OUR FIRST TWO PRIORITIES, AND I AM SERIOUSLY

           CONCERNED THAT THE COURSE THAT WE ARE ON, WHICH IS FOLLOWING
           EXACTLY WHAT WE DID IN 1999, IS GOING TO LEAD US TO A
           DISSIPATION OF OUR CAPACITY TO SET RATIONAL PRIORITIES AND THAT
           WE WILL BECOME THE FIRST POLITICAL LEADERSHIP OAMERICA AT THE
           BEGINNING OF A NEW CENTURY WHICH INSTEAD OF BEING THE GIANTS OF
           JEFFERSON AND THEODORE ROOSEVELT WILL BE THE PYGMIES IN THE TOY

           STORE TRYING TO FILL OUR IMMEDIATE DESIRES AND NEETEDS WITHOUT
           FOCUSING ON WHAT IS THE BEST-- --AND NEEDS WITHOUT FOCUSING ON
           WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
           IN THE 21ST CENTURY. THIS VOTE TODAY IS NOT A GIANT VOTE OF
           FISCAL POLICY. I SAID IN MY CONCLUDING REMARKS THAT THIS DOES
           NOT EVEN PURPORT TO FUND THE BILL THAT'S BEFORE US, IN LARGE
           PART BECAUSE THE BILL THAT'S BEFORE US HAS BEEN GROWING ALMOST

           HOURLY AS IT HAS BEEN ON THE FLOOR. AND THIS AMENDMENT THAT THE
           SENATOR FROM DELAWARE HAS OFFERED WOULD BE THE MOST GARGANTUAN
           GROWTH OF THIS BILL THAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED SINCE IT HAS BEEN
           ON THE FLOOR, AN ADDITIONAL OF APPROXIMATELY $10 BILLION OVER
           TEN YEARS. I DO NOT PURPORT THAT THIS AMENDMENT WILL FUND FULLY
           THIS BILL. I SAY THIS AMENDMENT IS A CRITICAL STATEMENT OF
           WHETHER WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT FISCAL DISCIPLINE, WHETHER WE'RE
           SERIOUS ABOUT SETTING A PLAN FOR THE FISCAL FUTURE OF THIS

           NATION, AT LEAST A PLAN FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR BEFORE WE
           START SPENDING OUR NON-SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS, AND WHETHER
           WE'RE SERIOUS ABOUT SETTING SOME LONGER-RANGE PRIORITIES TO
           MEET THESE VERY SIGNIFICANT, LEGAL AND MORAL OBLIGATIONS THAT
           THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT HAS TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. THAT'S WHAT
           THIS VOTE IS ABOUT. ARE WE WILLING TO DO THE VERY MINO STEP OF
           SAYING THAT FIVE RELATIVELY SMALL TAX CHANGES, ALL OF WHICH

           HAVE BEEN PASSED BY THIS SENATE, IN MOST CASES ON MULTIPLE
           OCCASIONS, WHETHER WE'RE PREPARED TO STRIP THOSE OUT OF THIS
           BILL AND ASK OUR GRANDCHILDREN TO PAY OUT OF THE NON-SOCIAL
           SECURITY SURPLUS THAT THEY'LL BE CONTRIBUTING TO OVER THE NEXT
           TEN YEARS?
           OR ARE WE GOING TO EP UP AND SAY, THIS IS THE TIME THAT WE WILL
           MAKE A STATEMENT, A COMIRPBLGTS A PLEDGE FOR FISCAL DISCIPLINE?
           I HOPE THAT THIS SENATE -- AND I, MR. PRESIDENT, IN MY

           STRONGEST WISHES, HOPE THAT WE DO NOT SEE THIS AS OM KIND AFTER
           PARTISAN DIVIDE. WE WERE ABLE TO CONTAIN THE DEFICITS AND GET
           TO THE POINT THAT WE ARE BECAUSE WE WORKED TOGETHER AS
           AMERICANS, NOT AS MEMBERS OF ANY PARTICULAR PARTY OR
           REPRESENTATIVES OF ANY REGION OR INTEREST OF THIS COUNTRY. THIS
           IS IN AMERICA'S INTEREST THAT WE EXERCISE THIS FISCAL
           DISCIPLINE AND TODAY IS THE DAY THAT WE CAN MAKE AN IMPORTANT
           STATEMENT THAT WE ARE PREPARED TO DO SO. I URGE US NOT TO LET
           THIS OPPORTUNITY PASS. THANK YOU.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM DELAWARE.
           

           MR. ROTH: MR. PRESIDENT, IT IS SOMEWHAT FASCINATING TO ME THAT
           TODAY, THIS WEEK, WE ARE BEING ACCUSED OF SPENDING TOO MUCH ON
           EDUCATION, THAT WE CANNOT REALLY AFFORD TO DEDICATE SOMETHING
           LIKE .5% TO ASSURE OUR AMERICAN FAMILIES THE KIND OF EDUCATION

           THEY NEED THESE DAYS. AND YET A FEW DAYS AGO, THE LEGISLATION
           WAS BELITTLED FOR NOT SPENDING ENOUGH. YOU CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH
           WAYS. AND THE THING THAT I THINK IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO
           UNDERSTAND IS, NUMBER ONE, NO MATTER IS MORE IMPORTANT TO THE
           AMERICAN FAMILY OR TO THIS NATION THAN A WELL-EDUCATED
{END: 2000/03/02 TIME: 11-15 , Thu.  106TH SENATE, SECOND SESSION}