[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 48 (Thursday, April 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]


                              {time}  1240
 
               NEW TAXES INTRODUCED THE WEEK OF APRIL 15

  (Mr. GINGRICH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GINGRICH. Mr. Speaker, I was shocked last week to see the 
Democratic chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means choose the week 
after April 15 to propose two new tax increase proposals. Early in the 
week, he proposed a 31-percent increase in the Social Security tax on 
employees and businesses, and he proposed a reduction in the level at 
which the Social Security tax on senior citizens would take place to 
$22,000. He proposed a cut in the cost-of-living increase for Social 
Security. He proposed an 8.6-percent reduction in Social Security for 
the average recipient, and a 20-percent reduction in Social Security 
benefits for upper-income recipients. That was early in the week.
  Then the Democratic chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means came 
back and said, ``We are going to need a broad-based tax increase to pay 
for health care.''
  Now, we had a tax increase in 1990 which I opposed and most 
Republicans opposed. We had a tax increase in 1993 which every 
Republican opposed.
  I cannot really believe that the Democratic leadership thought that 
the week after April 15 was the right week to propose punishing Social 
Security retirees, raising the Social Security tax, and creating a 
brandnew broad-based tax increase on all Americans.

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