[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 120 (Sunday, August 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 TIME TO END ONE-PARTY CONTROL AND ELECT REPUBLICANS WHO CAN GET THIS 
                 CHAMBER TO WORK IN A BIPARTISAN MANNER

  (Mr. HORN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, 40 years ago yesterday, on August 20, 1954, 
the New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates four to nothing. Rocky 
Marciano was heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Grace Kelly 
starred with Jimmy Stewart in the Movie ``Rear Window''.
  And on August 20, 1954, Speaker Joe Martin of Massachusetts banged 
down the gavel to close the last session of Congress--the last time 
Republicans were in the majority.
  That is right--the Democrats have controlled the House of 
Representatives for 40 straight years.
  The last 40 years have seen both productive and unproductive sessions 
of Congress. The one constant has been Democratic control of the House.
  I have seen 40 years of control generate a belief among some Members 
of the majority party that they can pass legislation without any 
bipartisan consultation and support. Is it any surprise, that after 40 
years of one-party rule, many political commentators refer to this 
House as the ``Imperial Congress''?
  I hope that, as the Democrats look back on 40 years of one-party 
dominance and look forward this November to the first real challenge to 
their control in 12 years, the Democrats will realize that the major 
success of this Congress was a bipartisan one: NAFTA--the North 
American Free-Trade Agreement. I also hope that they note the failure 
of their partisan approach to crime. That approach has brought this 
House to the chaos of the last 20 weeks. But the change is coming as we 
witness the rapid progress made in recent days by a bipartisan 
coalition of Republicans and Democrats working on a realistic crime 
bill.
  I hope that the lessons of the last 40 years will be kept in mind as 
we debate health care in the coming weeks: bipartisanship works, one-
party rule--and the arrogance which goes with it--fails.

  Forty years after the end of Republican control of the House, it is 
time for a change and the time for a new beginning. I look forward to 
seeing a Republican majority in Congress next January--a majority which 
can reach across the aisle and incorporate the best ideas regardless of 
their origin.
  The country expects constructive legislating, not destructive 
partisanship.

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