[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 27 (Friday, February 10, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              UPDATE ON REPUBLICANS' CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Smith] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, in the first week of January the 
U.S. House of Representatives got rid of 3 standing committees, 25 
subcommittees; we fired 682 congressional bureaucrats, and we totally 
reformed the procedures of the House of Representatives in addition to 
passing a bill that would make the Members of Congress live under the 
same laws and rules that we make everybody else in our society live 
under.
  A couple of weeks ago we passed a balanced budget amendment. Week 
before last we passed legislation to keep the Federal Government from 
imposing unfunded mandates on the States.
  Last Monday, on Ronald Reagan's birthday, we passed the line-item 
veto.
  For conservatives across America, it is beginning to sink in: We won 
the election last November 8.
  I think Republicans now have a great opportunity, but make no 
mistake, the responsibilities that come with victory are much greater 
than the responsibilities that come with defeat.
  It seems to me we are now at a crossroads where we can change from 
being a nation at risk to being a nation with a hopeful future. I do 
hope all Americans realize they are part of a historic group, they are 
in a historic time as we try to revolutionize the Federal Government's 
role in our lives.
  Thirty-three years ago, when I got out of the Air Force and I bought 
my farm and I joined the local Hillsdale County Republican Party in 
Michigan, I was concerned because I was faced with a Federal Government 
that was telling me how many acres of different crops that I had to 
plant on my farm. It seemed important that I try to tell the Federal 
Government that if they want efficient farming, they cannot pass those 
kinds of mandates, not only on farmers but on all businesses of this 
country.
  I think we all should be energized and excited to have this historic 
opportunity to bring about what many of us have been fighting for for 
many years, that is a leaner, more efficient Government, lower taxes, 
and stronger family values with more control and responsibility over 
our own lives.
  But we can assume it is automatically going to happen. The forces of 
big government liberalism are stunned and in retreat, but they are not 
defeated. To make the spending cuts necessary to stop mortgaging our 
children's future will be very difficult. We are going to have to say 
``no'' to the special interest groups and the lobbyists who fight for 
their pet projects.
  It would seem to me that if we really wanted to look out for the 
future of this country and for future generations, we Republicans and 
Democrats and the President's people would get in a room and we would 
kick out the pollsters and the specialists of the special-interest 
lobbying groups and we would make the kind of tough decisions that we 
know must be made if we are going to cut down the overspending and 
over-regulation of this Government.
  By cutting some of the programs we can no longer afford, even some of 
the good ones, Americans will have to make tough sacrifices.

                              {time}  1550

  But one lesson we have learned over the last 40 years is that, if we 
do not have the energy, and ability and willingness to do it today, it 
is not going to be done. I, for one, am willing to say no to that 
additional spending.
  The time for talking is over. I think the American people will no 
longer tolerate excuses from Government, and I am giving this speech 
today because I am already seeing some traditionally conservative 
Members of this Chamber, even some Republicans, that are talking about 
backing away from the tough spending cuts. For this Chamber, for this 
Congress, to be successful, people all over America are going to have 
to do two things, I think. They are going to have to be willing for 
Government to do less for them, and they are going to have to be active 
in helping explain how serious this problem really is.
  In conclusion let me challenge you, Mr. Speaker, and the Members of 
this body with a few statistics:
  The interest on the Federal debt this year will be $339 billion. That 
is more money than we take in, as my colleagues know, in total--one 
quarter, 25 percent of all the total revenues coming into this national 
Federal Government will be used, utilized, in paying the interest on 
the Federal debt. We are mortgaging our children's future, and I hope 
we will all be industrious and energetic in trying to make the tough 
spending cuts that we are going to be faced with.


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