[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E176-E177]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                GOVERNOR WHITMAN'S SPEECH TO THE NATION

                                 ______


                            HON. BOB FRANKS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 25, 1995
  Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last night New Jersey Gov. 
Christine Todd Whitman delivered the Republican response to the 
President's State of the Union Address from the historic assembly 
chamber in Trenton.
  As my colleagues are aware, Governor Whitman has a growing national 
reputation for cutting taxes, slashing onerous regulations, and 
eliminating unnecessary spending. She has demonstrated the leadership, 
determination, and guts to govern effectively. She has proven that 
government can be smaller and less costly and still be responsive to 
the people it serves.
  Mr. Speaker, many political pundits are touting Governor Whitman as a 
possible Vice Presidential nominee, and rightly so. Governor Whitman's 
successful policies are a model that should be adopted nationally.
  I commend Mrs. Whitman on her excellent speech last night. Below is 
the text of the Governor's speech for my colleagues' review.
                      State of the Union Response

       Good evening. I'm Christie Whitman, Governor of New Jersey, 
     and I am addressing you tonight from the historic legislative 
     chamber in Trenton, one of the oldest in the nation. Speaking 
     to you this evening is a tremendous honor for all of us here 
     in New Jersey.
       It is appropriate that we have come together tonight in 
     Trenton. On Christmas morning in 1776, George Washington 
     crossed the icy Delaware River and surprised King George's 
     mercenaries in their barracks here--on these grounds. The 
     Battle of Trenton was a turning point in the American 
     Revolution.
       Just as that revolution two centuries ago began in the 
     colonies, there is a revolution sweeping America today, begun 
     not in Washington, D.C., but in the states. In Wisconsin, in 
     Ohio, in Massachusetts, in South Carolina, in California. The 
     American people are seeking freedom in a new revolution that 
     began before I ever came to office.
       It is a revolution of ideas, one in which the voters are 
     given a clear choice between bigger or smaller government, 
     higher or lower taxes, more or less spending.
       It is a revolution about a free and sovereign people saying 
     they want power to return to them from their state houses, 
     their county governments, their city halls.
       In elections all across America, the voters have chosen 
     smaller government, lower taxes and less spending.
       They rejected the tyranny of expanding welfare-state 
     policies, the arrogance of bigger and bigger government. The 
     frustration of one size-fits-all answers.
       In a word, they have chosen freedom.
       They elected leaders like Governor Bill Weld of 
     Massachusetts--who, in his first month in office, cut state 
     spending by 1.7 billion dollars. Since then, he's cut taxes 
     five times and brought Massachusetts the third-lowest 
     unemployment rate in the nation.
       And Governor Pete Wilson, who has already reformed health 
     care in California--using market forces to guarantee access 
     for millions of uninsured and made health care more 
     affordable for small businesses.
       They elected governors who said we should have a smaller, 
     more efficient government--and they meant it. Like Governor 
     Tommy Thompson in Wisconsin--he's cut spending, cut taxes, 
     and led the most comprehensive welfare reform movement in the 
     country.
       And Governor Fife Symington, who became one of several 
     Republican governors to cut tax every year they were in 
     office and see their economies boom.
       In state after state, the revolution of ideas took hold.
       By 1994, Governor George Allen reformed the criminal 
     justice system and abolished parole in Virginia.
       And the same month Bill Clinton signed the largest tax 
     increases in American history, Governor John Engler signed 
     the largest tax cut in Michigan history, helping bring the 
     lowest unemployment rate to the state in twenty years.
       Here in New Jersey--like so many other governors--I was 
     told my tax-cutting policies were a ``gimmick.'' I heard we 
     couldn't do it--that it was ``impossible''--that it would 
     ``hurt the economy.''
       But I had given my word to the people of New Jersey that we 
     would cut their taxes. And we did.
       In the first year, with the help of the New Jersey 
     legislature, we cut business taxes.
       We reduced income taxes not once but twice. We lowered 
     state spending--not recklessly--but carefully and fairly.
       Just yesterday, I announced a third wave of income tax 
     cuts--another 15 percent, taking us to a 30 percent 
     reduction, to put more money in the hands of families like 
     yours.
       The results have been solid: State revenues are up even 
     from the income tax--and 60 thousand more New Jerseyans are 
     at work today than were a year ago--making this year our best 
     year for job creation since 1988.
       And we did it all under a balanced budget amendment to our 
     state's constitution.
       In November, the revolution came to Washington.
       Now people want less government, lower taxes, and less 
     spending from the federal government.
       People want results.
       In both houses of Congress, the Republican party has been 
     elected, like many of us in the states were on an agenda of 
     change:
       We're committed to reforming welfare--to encourage people 
     to work, and to stop children from having children.
       We want to force the government to live within its means by 
     stopping runaway spending and balancing the federal budget.
       We want to lower taxes for families and make it easier to 
     achieve the American Dream--to save money, buy a home and 
     send the kids to college.
       We're going to stop violent criminals in the tracks--with 
     real prison time for repeat offenders and a workable death 
     penalty.
       We must send a message to our young people that crime 
     doesn't pay.
       And we're going to slash those unnecessary regulations that 
     strangle small business in America, to make it easier to 
     create more jobs and pay better wages and become more 
     competitive in the global marketplace.
       We intend to create a new era of hope and opportunity for 
     all Americans.
       Many of these ideas are the same ones Governors have been 
     enacting here in the states.
       Time after time, Republicans and Democrats--have found that 
     things work better when states and communities set their own 
     priorities, rather than being bossed around by bureaucrats in 
     Washington.
       Our colleagues on Capitol Hill are facing the same 
     opposition we did--the same cries of ``it can't be done'' 
     from the Washington-knows-best crowd. People who think 
     government can't be too big and that there is virtue in 
     raising taxes.
       Well, there's nothing virtuous about raising taxes. There's 
     nothing heroic about preserving a welfare system that entraps 
     people. And there's nothing high-minded about wasting other 
     people's money on Big Government spending sprees.
       We overcame the same objections, the same stalling and 
     distortion, the same footdragging. We've heard it all. And in 
     the end, we have won the battle of ideas in our states.
       Now it's time to win the battle of ideas in Washington.
       If the people's agenda is to succeed in Congress, everyone 
     needs to work together.
       And while at times tonight some of the President's ideas 
     sounded pretty Republican, the fact remains that he has been 
     opposed to the Balanced Budget Amendment--he proposed even 
     more government spending--and he imposed the biggest tax 
     increase in American history.
       It's clear that your votes in November sounded a warning to 
     the President. If he has changed his big government agenda, 
     we say great--join us as we change America.
       Republicans welcome your ideas for making government not 
     bigger but smaller.
       [[Page E177]] As we move forward in the next two years, the 
     President and Congress should be reminded that success is not 
     measured in the number of laws passed, but in the results.
       Is government serving the people better?
       Are neighborhoods safer?
       Are families stronger?
       Are children learning more?
       Are we better prepared to meet the future?
       Do we have more freedom?
       The election in November was a beginning, not an end--and 
     we are committed to fulfilling the verdict of the voters and 
     enacting our agenda of hope for the families of America. 
     Change is hard. But we're going to work hard.
       We will keep faith with America.
       We will keep our word.
       We will do what you elected us to do.
       We will give you results.
       On election day you gave us your trust. We accept your 
     mandate.
       President Clinton, you must accept it as well.
       Put the principles of smaller, more effective government 
     into action. Reduce spending and cut taxes.
       Two weeks ago, in my State of the State address to the 
     people of New Jersey, I made them a pledge which, in closing, 
     I would now like to make to the American people on behalf of 
     the Republican Party. By the time President Clinton makes his 
     next State of the Union address:
       We will have lower taxes.
       We will have more efficient government.
       We will have a stronger America.
       We will have more faith in our politics, more pride in our 
     states and communities, and more confidence in ourselves.
       We will go forward together, as one family with many faces, 
     building a future with opportunity.
       A future with security.
       A future based on mutual respect and responsibility.
       And most of all, a future filled with hope--for our 
     children and our children's children.
       Thank you very much and God bless America.
       

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