[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H185]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    THE UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT OF 1995, THE FIRST STEP TOWARD 
                       REDUCING UNFUNDED MANDATES

  (Mr. MARTINI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MARTINI. Mr. Speaker, it has become clear over the last several 
years that the burden of unfunded Federal mandates placed on States and 
localities has risen to unacceptable levels. I am pleased to inform 
that yesterday, the Government Reform and Oversight Committee took the 
first step in addressing this problem by marking up H.R. 5, the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
  As a local official in New Jersey, I have felt the sting of unfunded 
mandates firsthand. Despite cutting discretionary county spending by 3 
percent in 1994, the part of the State and county budget mandated by 
the Federal Government actually rose by 10 percent. Despite our best 
efforts, we were forced to raise county taxes.
  Mr. Speaker, the taxpayers are angry, not just because Federal taxes 
are too high, but because local property taxes are also skyrocketing 
due to unfunded mandates.
  The voters spoke loudly on November 2. What they demanded was a 
government that was smaller, smarter, and less costly. Today we begin 
the process of accomplishing all three goals by putting an end to 
unfunded mandates and returning to the U.S. Government to its proper 
role in its relationship with the States.

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