TURNING POINT FOR GOVERNMENT

We are at an historic turning point. The Republican Congress has worked hard to bring us to the verge of this great moment which wil bring an end to 30 years of rapidly expanding government, return money to the American taxpayer, save Medicare and reform a welfare system which is destructive and has left so many of our communities devoid of hope.

In just a few weeks the president will get a series of bills. The individual appropriations bills which pay for various government agencies and the overall "reconciliation" bill which will include our plans to balance the budget, save Medicare, reform welfare and cut taxes for the American family. President Clinton faces a choice. He can be an agent of change and sign the bills. Or, he can be an agent of gridlock and veto them.

A balanced budget: We will send the president a budget that gets to balance in 2002. The impact on every American will be substantial. Under current law, our debt is so huge that a child born in 1995 will pay more than $187,000 in taxes over his or her lifetime to help pay the huge debt that we have built up. That's immoral and must stop. We owe our children a far better future.

A balanced budget will create lower interest rates that will substantially decrease the costs of home mortgages, car loans, college costs and farm loans. Lower interest rates mean that people have more of their own money to spend and businesses have more money to invest and hire workers. One estimate projects as many as 6.1 million new jobs will be created because the federal government gets its fiscal house in order.

Saving Medicare: The Republican budget preserves, protects and strengthens Medicare. The President's ow trustees have advised us that the program begins to go broke next year and will be bankrupt by the year 2002. Our approach is to save this program while allowing seniors greater choice in selecting their health care. They can remain with the traditional Medicare program if they wish or take advantage of several other options. Regardless of what they choose, per-person spending will rise from $4800 in 1995 to $6700 in 2002. It's important to look at these numbers. The fact is: Medicare spending increases every year. Republicans are preserving the system by updating a thirty-year old health care program. We are giving seniors the advantage of a free-market which is customer-responsive and provides better products, lower cost and greater choice.

Welfare reform: We will enact significant welfare reform. We cannot save those currently trapped in poverty by hanging onto a system which rewards indolence and punishes work. We must have a dramatic replacement for the current welfare system. Our bill emphasizes work and family. Returning power to the states, allowing 50 governors to be creative and brining in the local community to help produce solutions is the only way we can liberate welfare recipients so they can go to work, earn and save. Only then will they be full-fledged participants in the American Dream.

Lower taxes: The Republican Congress is commited to cutting government spending and bureaucratic red tape. Our package of $245 billion in tax cuts puts money back in the pockets of American families. Parents know what's best for their children; we believe they should decide how to spend their own money on their children. With passage of the $500 per-child tax credit, a couple with three children will have $10,500 more of their own hard-earned money over the next seven years. To a single working mother two, it means $7,000 in less taxes over seven years -- money that can be saved for a college fund or braces for her children.

Also, we cut the capital gains tax, because people should not be punished for saving and investing. this is not a benefit "for the rich" as liberals will assert. It's an essential benefit for young people or residents of inner cities who have difficulty accessing capital. These are the people who want to start their own businesses and become productive entrepreneurs. We have to ensure that the American Dream is still attainable for everyone.

This is the turning point we have reached. President Clinton campaigned as an agent of change. The American people should hold him to his word; he should sign these bills and put America on the path to a renewed sense of hope and opportunity.

Bob Dole, R-Kan., is the Senate majority leader. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., is the speaker of the House.