When I became Speaker of the House in 1995, many in Washington considered balancing the federal budget impossible.
However, House Republicans believed that the American people would support balancing the budget and paying down the national debt. In fact, we believed that if they saw a practical doable plan to balance the budget, they would force the Democrats in Congress to go along with the idea. The American people would also convince President Bill Clinton that he had to support a balanced budget if he wanted to be re-elected.
With a lot of hard, determined work and a fair amount of problem solving and invention, we passed the only four consecutive balanced budgets in the last century. By 1999, then-U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan testified in the Senate that the Fed thought the national debt would be paid off by 2009 – and its economists were studying how to manage the money supply with no federal debt.
Do you want access to more of Newt’s commentary? Become a member of Newt’s Inner Circle to get even more involved in our nation’s happenings. If you join today, you’ll receive a free autographed copy of one of Newt’s best sellers.
- Respecting Your Enemies
We are a long way from this kind of strategic focus and yet it will be the key to an acceptable future. - A Swiss Warning Bares the Implications of an Older, Greyer, and Smaller West
The entire pattern of younger people having more children, who then had more children, is broken. - If We Lose Chicago
Looking at the consequences of Iran acquiring destructive weapons. - Winston Churchill and the Iran War
Past conflicts can provide valuable lessons for the present. - The Resurrection of Christ is the Foundation of Hope
On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ – the most important day of the year for the Christian community.