January 27,2000

Roth Statement on the State of the Union

WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth, Jr. (R-DE) today released the following statement on President Clinton's State of the Union Address:

"Today America is enjoying unprecedented prosperity. Our economy continues to boom thanks to the American worker who is more productive than ever. We have massive budget surpluses instead of deficits, due in large part to the fiscal discipline of the Republican Congress. The challenge we face today is ensuring that this economic growth continues through smart policies that address our major challenges, fiscal restraint that keeps a lid on government spending, economic and trade policies that continue to create more and better jobs for Americans, and tax cuts that help families and workers.

"President Clinton laid out billions of dollars in new government spending this evening in his State of the Union Address. While I am in agreement with many of his goals -- for example improving the quality of education for our children and creating some kind of prescription drug benefit for America's seniors, generally it is important that we restrict increases in spending -- lest we seriously slow our economic growth.

"In the Senate Finance Committee this year, we will work on tax relief bills that help American families and workers. We will also work to develop a bipartisan consensus on Medicare reforms, including prescription drug assistance. And, we will work to ensure that American trade policies open up markets for American businesses and American workers."