[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 134 (Thursday, September 22, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 22, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE

  (Mr. GEPHARDT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, this morning, I would like to ask my 
colleagues to take a walk down memory lane.
  The year is 1980. And the Republican Party offers its bold agenda for 
change--
  Huge tax breaks for the rich. Massive defense increases. A balanced 
Federal budget. Best of all, they said their plan was all gain, no 
pain. They said the tax cuts would pay for themselves, and we would all 
be better off.
  Unfortunately, the rhetoric did not come close to matching the 
reality. The deficit exploded--from $40 billion in 1980 to almost $400 
billion in 1992. And to pay for all those tax breaks for the rich, the 
Republicans had to launch a dangerous assault on the elderly, and on 
working Americans.
  I think it's important to learn from those lessons of the past. 
Unfortunately, today's Republican leadership is more concerned with 
fantasy than with history.
  This Tuesday, they are presenting their bold new agenda for change, 
and it includes--guess what?--tax breaks for the rich. Massive defense 
increases. A balanced budget amendment.
  In other words, it is Reagan reupholstered. The same broken down, 
busted piece of furniture--with a new set of seat covers.
  But this time, we will not be fooled. A news report in today's Wall 
Street Journal called the agenda ``well-worn ideas that have failed 
previously.'' And it notes that ``even the fine print will not spell 
out how to pay'' for them.
  In a separate article, the Journal calls these proposals ``frauds,'' 
``blue smoke and mirrors,'' ``camouflage goodies to upper-income 
taxpayers,'' and ``upside-down social policy.'' The Washington Post 
called it the same ``contradiction in policy [that] tripled the 
national debt in just 12 years'' under Reagan and Bush.
  In my opinion, it is not too late for the Republicans to take a 
chapter from history--before they doom us all to repeat it.

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