January 11, 1996 Newt: It is a matter of fact. It is a fact that the Republican Medicare Budget goes UP from 4,800 to 7,100 per year per senior citizen. That's the Republican plan for Medicare. It is a fact in Medicaid that in Medicaid, in comparing the two seven year periods, we spend we spend 189% more in Medicaid under the Republican plan. It is a fact that on Medicare's overall plan in the last seven years we spent $976 billion. This is a trillion six hundred and eighty four billion dollars! For someone to subscribe a 182 percent increase as a cut - and that term was used eight times - to describe a 182% increase as a cut - there's some ground to say that one of us is describing an elephant and the other is describing a chipmunk. The country has to decide which is it.
What we are saying is that when you look at the facts there is an embarrassing gap between the president' rhetoric and the facts behind it. But, because he has the White House as a podium, he can repeat his rhetoric every day.
What I'm saying is: What are the facts? Then you decide who to believe. What I am saying is factual and specific. What he said at the press conference today is simply not accurate. What I am reporting to you and to the country is that when a 182% increase can be described as a cut you are a long way apart.
Question: Are you calling the president a liar?
Newt: I'm not saying that. I'm saying, you go back and look at the president's press conference, and then you look at the letter that Senator Dole and I and Rep. Armey sent him, and YOU decide who is being accurate and candid with the American people.
Question: Given the stock market's reaction to the current budget impasse, do you believe the situation is eroding the public's confidence in your party and the president?
Newt: I think we have an obligation to tell the truth to the American people and the stock market ought to assess the truth in that way. I don't think politicians should lie for the benefit of the Stock Market.
Question: Are we going to have a continuing resolution every thirty days?
Newt: What we are going to try to do is to pass one year targeted appropriations which keeps open the parks from now til October 1st. - and similar targeted resolutions for student health, passport office. We will probably try to get a continuing resolution passed the week of the State of the Union address.
Up until a few days ago we really thought we were making real progress. I cam as a very big shock to find out how far apart the administration really was on a budget plan.
Question: Is the messenger getting in the way of the message? Can't this be worked out between the two personalities on both sides?
Newt: I don't think this is a matter of personalities. I say to you, when somebody says, "this is a cut" and you are looking at a 182% increase - that's a matter of fact, not a matter of personality. This is an issue whether or not factually we can find an agreement. We went from a tax cut in the Contract with America of $354 billion dollars to $177 billion. That's half of where we started from.
On Medicare we thought we could save $230 billion -and still have a good system with an increase, over to $168 billion which is the amount that 47 democrats said they could vote for. Republican governors told us that if we let them run the Medicaid program they could save over seven years more than $133 billion. W talked to the congressional democrats who said they would agree to $85 billion. Sixteen Democrats agreed with that number.
On Welfare, a 60 billion dollar savings Eighty seven senators voted for a $60 billion Welfare bill. Eighty-seven out of one hundred. The president has said "no." That is very disappointing.
Question: One of the main programs that was shut down during the recent furlough, - Superfund clean up was shut down - where is the environment in your list of priorities?
Newt: Superfund program is one of the most bureaucratic, one of the most litigation burdened, - most of the money has been spent on lawyers, and red tape, not on clean up. Our reform bill would dramatically accelerate what is spent on cleaning up environment. EPA is wasting about half of the money on lawyers. I used to teach environmental studies and I think we can have a middle approach that can do more in actually cleaning up the toxic waste sites.