[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            END THE BOTTOMLESS PIT: ENACT THE LINE-ITEM VETO

  (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, for decades now Congress has treated the 
American taxpayer as an unlimited source for revenue. Congress has 
spent millions and ultimately billions of dollars on programs and 
policies which have limited our freedom and imperiled the dignity of 
millions of Americans by entrapping them on welfare.
  The spending habits of this body over the last quarter century has 
come at a terrible cost. The Federal Government has racked up almost $5 
trillion in debt. This is the height of irresponsibility. It is an 
utter disregard for future generations.
  Mr. Speaker, today we will vote on the line-item veto. This measure 
will give the President the power to review our budgets and veto 
unneeded projects, and thus help eliminate budgetary fat.
  Last November the American people sent a clear message to this body. 
They said they were tired of the waste, tired of the deficits, tired of 
the mismanagement, and thus tired of Government.
  Mr. Speaker, in the last 4 weeks this body has worked on a bipartisan 
basis to pass unfunded mandates reform and a balanced budget amendment. 
Now we must pass the line-item veto on a similar basis and stop 
treating the American taxpayer as an unlimited bottomless pit.

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